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27-519: The dockyard occupies a site of 98 hectares on the northeast coast of Stonecutters Island in Hong Kong and has an 8.3-hectare protected water basin as an operational base for vessels operated by the Marine Department . The dockyard has a shiplift system and three ship-hoists capable of drydocking vessels of up to 750 tonnes. An on-line computerised information system is employed to co-ordinate

54-604: A cable-stayed bridge linking the Kowloon peninsula with Tsing Yi Island to form part of Route 8 , opened on 20 December 2009. 22°19′20″N 114°8′10″E  /  22.32222°N 114.13611°E  / 22.32222; 114.13611 HMS Tamar (shore station) HMS Tamar ( Chinese : 添馬艦 ) was the name for the British Royal Navy 's base in Hong Kong from 1897 to 1997. It took its name from HMS Tamar ,

81-522: A colony on 26 January 1841. Naval store sheds were erected there in April 1841. The site had been referred to as the "HM Victualling Yard" in the Navy's own register. The first naval storekeeper and agent victualler, Thomas McKnight, appointed on 21 March 1842, served until October 1849. Early maps show that major construction was also carried out at another, slightly more westward site, between 1845 and 1855. In fact,

108-411: A commercial interest on the island; Jardine Matheson along with DuPont erected an explosives factory to cater to the ever-growing need for commercial blasting explosives. The factory manufactured several tonnes of water gel and other commercial explosives per week. Limited stocks of Chinese, British and other commercial explosives were stored in the island's Victorian explosive storage tunnels. During

135-691: A hundred years since HMS Tamar's definitive arrival for service as a base depot ship (the Tamar had arrived in Hong Kong for conversion on 30 September 1895) and just under a century after her commissioning on 1 October 1897, the British naval shore establishment in Hong Kong was de-commissioned. The last HMS Tamar on Stonecutters Island is now a government marine facility, now known as the Government Dockyard . The vacated site in Central, Hong Kong Central, now known as

162-548: A ship that was used as the base until replaced by buildings ashore. The British Navy arrived during the First Opium War to protect the opium traders. Sir Edward Belcher , aboard HMS Sulphur landed in Hong Kong on 25 January 1841. Possession Street still exists to mark the event, although its Chinese name is 水坑口街 ("Mouth of the ditch Street"). Commodore Sir Gordon Bremer raised the Union Jack and claimed Hong Kong as

189-618: The People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China occupied the Prince of Wales Building (now Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building, or collectively with other buildings and the area enclosed by walls, the Central Barracks). HM Naval Base was relocated to the northern side of Stonecutter's Island , off Kowloon , prior to the handover in 1997. On 11 April 1997, just over

216-553: The Star Ferry terminal in Kowloon. Additional boats were provided by 415 Maritime Unit RCT and crewed by Local Employed Personnel (LEPs). During the 1960s, 70s and 80s, the island was used as a 'Rest and Recuperation' resort, having several chalet style bungalows built around the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes shop, restaurant and swimming pool complex on the South Shore. There was also

243-596: The Tamar site , became a valuable piece of real estate and after much debate as to how to best use the site has now become the location of the new Hong Kong Government's Central Government Complex . Post holders included: Post holders included: The following is a list of naval squadrons and fleets that called Tamar home: A list of facilities used or built by the Royal Navy in Hong Kong: A list of facilities used or built by

270-527: The naval base is now operated by the People's Liberation Army Navy . The island was connected to the Kowloon peninsula by the West Kowloon Reclamation in the 1990s to provide land for the construction of the road and railway network to the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok , and for the Container Terminal 8 of Kwai Tsing Container Terminals . Stonecutters Island is

297-514: The 1850s it was the site of a prison. A Royal Navy Radio Interception and Direction-finding Station was established on the island in 1935. From 1935 to 1939, the base was the main radio interception unit for the Far East Combined Bureau , which was four miles (6.4 kilometres) away across the harbour in the naval dockyard. After World War II the island became host to British Army units including 415 Maritime Unit RCT and

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324-423: The 1970s and 80s, the island was also the forward operating base (FOB) of a Royal Navy Hovercraft unit deployed to assist the Hong Kong government with anti-illegal immigration operations. The Royal Navy unit (Naval Party 1009) was under the control of Cmdr Chris Stafford and two SRN6 Mk6 Hovercraft were continually operated until 1985 when the unit was finally disbanded. Some buildings or military facilities within

351-607: The 1980s. Black kites often hovered overhead, looking for prey and carrion amongst the many tamarind , ficus benjamina and banyan trees. The island was ceded by the Qing dynasty to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland along with Kowloon in 1860 through the Convention of Peking . It was initially used for quarrying by the British, hence the English name for the island. In

378-548: The Ammunition Sub-Depot RAOC. Explosive storage became more important following the 1967 riots and the Mines Division elected to have all commercial explosives stored on Stonecutters prior to being issued to the various blasting sites around the colony. British Royal Army Ordnance Corps soldiers oversaw all commercial explosive issues post-1968 until 1994, at which time the Royal Navy took over care and custody of

405-517: The Navy announced that the dockyard would be closed down over a 2-year period. However, in 1959, the Navy, which had retained some land on the waterfront, began planning a compact naval base on the site. From 1959 to 1962, the Wellington Barracks were upgraded to better serve the colony and reflect the changing times for the Royal Navy in the Pacific region. Old naval buildings were demolished, and

432-621: The Ngong Shuen Chau Barracks are now graded historic buildings. Stonecutters Island was captured by the Japanese Imperial Army on 11   December 1941, following heavy shelling. Merchant ships in the island's docks were scuttled, and demolitions were carried out at Kowloon Naval Yard and on the island. During World War II , radio installations on the island were used by the Japanese for military purposes and for extending

459-450: The harbour from 1897 to 1941, when she was scuttled during the Battle of Hong Kong during World War II, to avoid being used by the invading Japanese Imperial forces. At the turn of the 20th century, land adjacent to the site was needed for expansion. Unable to obtain it, as the site was surrounded by army barracks, the Navy began work on the construction of a floating basin (sheltered bay) and

486-463: The island during the British era. They enjoyed field hockey, and were often seen playing bare-footed on the field. During the early 1980s, the ADP boasted two Indian national hockey players. It was common to see their blue pagris (turbans) drying in the sun outside their barracks. The Royal Navy continued to provide a ferry service (known as T-Boats) connecting the islanders with HMS Tamar on Hong Kong and

513-473: The machinery and spare parts, respectively, needed to maintain and repair ships in the dockyard, and for dry goods and foodstuff in the victualling yard. HMS Tamar , was a 3,650 ton British troopship laid down in 1862 and launched in 1863. She first visited Hong Kong in 1878 with reliefs crews, returned once in 1886. She finally arrived in Victoria City on 11 April 1897. She was stationed permanently in

540-521: The maintenance activities and support services to maximise maintenance efficiency and vessel availability. The dockyard is adjacent to Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Plant is accessible by Ngong Shuen Road . This dockyard was the final Tamar shore station prior to the handover and used briefly by the Royal Navy . The base was closed on April 11, 1997, a few months prior to the handover and centenary of HMS Tamar's arrival to Hong Kong . The base

567-558: The military explosives at the site. Civilian explosive storage and issues was controlled by civilian contractors. The Royal Navy retained care and custody until the colony was transferred to China in 1997. Before then, it was the training and HQ depot of the Hong Kong Military Service Corps . The island was policed by Indian Sikhs , because traditionally they neither smoke nor drink alcohol. The Army Department Police (ADP), as they were known, saw continuous service on

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594-740: The naval authorities demolished the West Point store sheds and surrendered the land to the colonial government in 1854 in exchange for a plot of land where the Admiralty station of the Mass Transit Railway stands. The Second Opium War in China (1856–1860) caused a military build-up, in which the yard expanded westwards in April 1858. A victualling yard was added at what was then the North Barracks. Two officers were initially appointed as responsible for

621-534: The range of transmission of the NHK Overseas Broadcasting Bureau. The Japanese (during the WW2 occupation) used the unique isolation of the island to house a snake farm. The snakes were milked of their venom to provide antidotes for their soldiers bitten on active duty in the Pacific theatre. Following the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China on 1   July 1997,

648-471: The reclamation of the east arm of the dockyard, in 1902. This project, involving 160,000 square metres of land reclamation , a 36,000 square metre floating basin to repair and refit vessels afloat, and also a 183-metre graving dock, was completed by 1908. At the end of World War II, the Royal Navy re-established their naval base at Wellington Barracks , vacated by the British Army . On 28 November 1957,

675-452: The rubble used as landfill for the reclamation of the dry dock in October 1959. The Royal Navy decided to demolish the Wellington Barracks and build a modern naval facility in Hong Kong. The Prince of Wales Building was completed in 1978 and became the headquarters of the new naval base, HMS Tamar . Shortly before the departure of British forces in 1997, the Tamar basin was reclaimed, and

702-400: The site of a large sewage treatment facility known as Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works. Since the facility was built in 2001, it has reduced the amount of E. coli in the nearby water by 99 percent, while other pollutants have been reduced by 70-80 percent, allowing coral to return to Victoria Harbour and make Hong Kong's beaches safe for swimming again. Stonecutters Bridge ,

729-841: Was used to service 3 of the Peacock class patrol ships : The ships remained at the decommissioned base before being sold to the Philippine Navy . List of government departments with vessels serviced here: Stonecutters Island Stonecutters Island or Ngong Shuen Chau is a former island in Victoria Harbour , Hong Kong . Following land reclamation , it is now attached to the Kowloon Peninsula . The island once boasted at least three mating pairs of sulphur-crested cockatoos as well as many snakes; banded kraits , brown cobras and bamboo snakes were all common denizens as late as

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