Maps

China - Map of Kowloon and part of New Territory. Reduced from a survey in 1902 - 1903 by Major H.S.King R.E.. Topographical Section, General Staff No 2100.

Heliozincographed at the Ordnance Survey Office, Southampton, 1905. Scale 2 inches to one mile.

A 12 section linen backed folding map. A key provides information on roads, boundaries, footpaths, Chinese roads, European built houses, Chinese built houses, nullahs, marshy ground etc. With heights shown by contours and spot heights.

An exceedingly rare map of Kowloon and part of New Territory. The British Library has a similar map dated 1908 whith Confidential in the upper right corner.

One of the earliest ordnance survey maps of the New Territories and because of the confidential nature of the map not for general circulation. In 1899 surveyors were seconded from India to undertake a survey of the New Territories. Prior to this the first map of the area to give useful information was drawn by the Italian missionary Monsigneur Simeone Volonteri which was published in 1867. There were two projects undertaken by the surveyors. Firstly to prepare a topographic map. Secondly to prepare a cadastral map for a Crown Rent Roll, recording of land title and land classification. The second part was particularly important from an administrative point of view because it would show who owned the land. In the New Territories there were a number of people living on land to which most claimed some sort of title and the ownership had to be established. This is still an issue today in 2010. The cadastral survey was eventually decided to be measured at 32 inches to one mile. The inhabited land was divided into 477 demarcation districts (DDs) each covered by one cadastral sheet, with a few having two or more sheets. The first completed survey of part of the New Territories was done by Major King with the Indian surveyors, on the scale of two inch to one mile, together with the cadastral surveys. King's survey covered the accessible parts of the territory and at eight inches to one mile remained the largest scale topographical map available for many years. In fact it was still in use with occasional revisions, for much of the area until after World War II. The confidential nature of the map may have something to do with the boundaries with China.

The map has been used and is quite worn.

Not in Empson.

Reference

Wattis Fine Art   A History of Hong Kong in 50 maps. 2019. page 22.