The spot where HK was declared a British colony
- Possession Street 水坑口街
- 24/7
Possession Point
It was here in 1841 that a small British naval force led by Captain John Bremer rowed to shore (remember that Queen’s Road was the original shoreline!), climbed the hill, planted the Union Jack on Hong Kong soil and declared the island a British colony. From then, the historic landmark was referred to as ‘possession point’.
We landed on Monday, the 26th, at fifteen minutes past eight, and being the bona fide first possessors, her Majesty's health was drank with three cheers on Possession Mount.
Then... Tai Tat Tei
Possession Point was kept as an open square in the colonial days, locally known as ‘Tai Tat Tei’ (large piece of land). In the 1960s it became a very popular night market with cheap food and entertainment, fortune tellers, magicians, kung fu masters, food stalls, mah jong tables and sing-song girls: ‘a poor man’s nightclub’.
Now… Hollywood Road Park
In the early 1980s, the site was cleared and transformed into a park. The name ‘Possession Point’ disappeared from the maps and was replaced by ‘Hollywood Road Park’: a pretty park where old men practice tai chi and play chess. When it gets quiet after dark, some of them may still reminisce about the bustling place it once was.