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47-665: The town is administered by an Urban Council . Horana is the home town of former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ratnasiri Wickremanayake . The name, Horana, refers to the Hora tree , which there were significant numbers in this area in the past. There are number of schools in Horana including Royal College of Horana , Sri Palee College , Don Pedric M.V, Medankara M.V, Taxila M.V, Vidyarathana University College, Prajapathi Balika Vidylaya and Ealla Kanda Thamil Maha Vidyalayam, Ashoka college, and Sussex College. The Sri Palee campus (formerly known as

94-516: A cohesive whole, along a central axis. The entrance to the lower block (exhibition hall) of the City Hall formed an axis with Queen's Pier to lend a sense of occasion to visiting dignitaries. On the façade of the Lower Block once had the old Coat of Arms of Hong Kong, which was removed before the handover in 1997. One major consideration was juxtaposing the city bustle whilst maximising public access to

141-638: A juror, salaried taxpayer, or a member of certain professional organisations as listed in Schedule 1 of the Urban Council Ordinance (Cap. 101, Laws of Hong Kong ). Half of the members of the Urban Council were elected, but by a minority of the population. It was estimated that in 1970 there were 250,000 eligible voters and in 1981 the number had increased to 400,000 – 500,000. Prominent elected Urban Councilors included Elsie Tu and Brook Bernacchi of

188-521: A juror, salaried taxpayer, or a member of certain professional organisations. More details can be found in Schedule 1 of the Urban Council Ordinance (Cap. 101, Laws of Hong Kong ). It was estimated that in 1970 there were 250,000 eligible voters and in 1981 the number had increased to 400,000 – 500,000. In the 1960s, the duties of the Urban Council continued to multiply. City Hall in Central

235-630: A new Central library was opened in 2001; the Hong Kong art gallery (which became the Hong Kong Art Museum in 1969) began life there on the tenth and eleventh floors. The Hong Kong Museum of History relocated in 1975, and the Hong Kong Museum of Art also moved out of City Hall in 1991. The City Hall Memorial Garden , located at the north-western quadrant between the High Block and Low Block,

282-481: A row at the Urban Council and was unpopular with the public. Likewise, the pre-handover government opposed China's decision to disband the two councils and the 18 district boards, and to reintroduce appointed seats, which had been abolished under democratic reforms. The post-Handover Provisional Executive Council met in May 1997 and drafted new legislation that would allow the chief executive-designate to appoint members to

329-670: A significant role in the artistic and cultural development of Hong Kong. It also managed the Urban Council Public Libraries system in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon which, upon the dissolution of the municipal councils, was merged with the Regional Council Public Libraries to form Hong Kong Public Libraries . The Council held the Festival of Asian Arts every year since 1976. The Council also sponsored

376-634: Is a walled garden wherein a 12-sided dodecagon Memorial Shrine commemorates soldiers and citizens who died in defence of Hong Kong during the Second World War. It is a popular spot and obligatory backdrop for photographs of couples who celebrate their marriage in the City Hall Registry. Within the Memorial Shrine are embedded memorial Roll of Honour and Plaques to combat units who fought in Hong Kong during World War II (1941–1945). Inscribed on

423-726: Is a complex providing municipal services, including performing venues and libraries. The City Hall is managed by the Government's Leisure and Cultural Services Department . The Urban Council (UrbCo) managed the City Hall (through the Urban Services Department ) and held its meetings there prior to its dissolution in December 1999. Prior to its dissolution the UrbCo served as the municipal council for Hong Kong Island and Kowloon (including New Kowloon ). The UrbCo had its meeting chamber in

470-648: Is now located at Chatham Road in Tsim Sha Tsui . The Hong Kong Space Museum presents shows in the Space Theatre and exhibitions on astronomy, nature and space exploration with IMAX techniques. The Council directly financed and often even managed many local arts groups. In 1983, at "An Evening With the Council's Performing Companies" – one of the events in the Urban Council Centenary Celebration –

517-496: The ADPL , called the bills a "retrogression of democracy" while Chan Kam-lam of the pro-Beijing DAB claimed that "elections were divisive and appointments would stabilise the community". Also on 1 July, elements of the Urban Council Ordinance and Regional Council Ordinance were repealed to allow the government to determine the composition and tenure of the councils. After the Handover,

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564-564: The Hong Kong Public Libraries , and are available online in digitised form. Before 1973, the chairmanship was occupied by the Director of Urban Services: Hong Kong City Hall 22°16′57″N 114°9′41″E  /  22.28250°N 114.16139°E  / 22.28250; 114.16139 Hong Kong City Hall ( Chinese : 香港大會堂 ) is a building located at Edinburgh Place , Central , Hong Kong Island , Hong Kong . In

611-460: The Reform Club . The size of the Urban Council is as follows: The electorate and turnout of selected Urban Council elections before the expansion of electoral franchise is as follows: The Green Paper: A Pattern of District Administration in Hong Kong was published on 6 June 1980 for public consultations on reforming local administration in Hong Kong. The Green Paper recommended that: Upon

658-508: The 19th century, the British founded City of Victoria in the present-day Central after the establishment of the Crown Colony of Hong Kong . The Crown Colony (including City of Victoria) was governed by a Governor and Urban Council , there was no mayor or city council, therefore, the City Hall does not hold the offices of a city government, unlike most city halls around the world. Instead, it

705-546: The Council and both the chairman and vice-chairman were elected among the 24 members. At the time, the Council was unique in consisting solely of members of the public. The Urban Council celebrated its centenary in 1983, with the Urban Council Centenary Garden in Tsim Sha Tsui East named to commemorate the occasion. In the 1960s, the council proposed that its jurisdiction should be expanded to encompass

752-508: The Faculty of Performing Arts and the Faculty of Mass Media. This Western Province, Sri Lanka location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Urban Council The Urban Council ( UrbCo ) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon ). These services were provided by

799-624: The International Film Festival, which took place annually mid-year and which gave Hong Kong people a rare chance to see a range of international film making, as well as Chinese films. The Independent Short Film and Video Awards were founded in 1993. The Hong Kong Museum of Art regularly exhibits Chinese and Western art and frequently arranges art exchanges with overseas countries. The Hong Kong Museum of History , once housed in Kowloon Park, records local history and oral tradition. It

846-502: The Leisure and Cultural Services Department when the Urban Council was dissolved. In 2001, the groups were privatised and became limited companies, but still receive funding from the government. The Council operated sports grounds, parks, indoor games halls, and public swimming pools . The Council was responsible for street cleansing, refuse collection, and pest control. It operated refuse collection points, public toilets and bathhouses, and

893-688: The Low Block of the City Hall. Hong Kong's first City Hall, which existed from 1869 to 1933, occupied the current sites of the HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building (partly) and the Bank of China Building . It was designed by the French architect Achille-Antoine Hermitte and was opened by Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh , in a ceremony on 28 June 1869. The current site of the HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building

940-591: The Urban Council. The New Territories Services Department was reorganised to form the Regional Services Department , separate from the USD, the executive arm of the Regional Council. In 1994, the Council became fully elected based on universal and equal adult suffrage. After the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July 1997, the Council's name was changed to Provisional Urban Council , consisting of members of

987-529: The Urban Council. Two members were elected. Later in 1952, the number of elected members was doubled, their terms of office extended to two years, and the franchise enlarged. By April 1956, half of the members of the Urban Council were elected, but by a minority of the population. A voter had to be at least 21 years of age, to have lived in Hong Kong for at least three years and to be qualified in at least one of 23 categories, which included educational qualifications ( School Certificate Examination or equivalent), be

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1034-630: The Western campus) of the University of Colombo is also located in the town. The campus was established by the Sri Lankan Government on 20 June 1996 and its name was subsequently amended to Sri Palee Campus on 11 September 1998. It is built on land donated to the university in 1976 by the board of the Sri Palee Trust set up by Wilmot A. Perera , a politician and philanthropist. It has two faculties:

1081-455: The White Paper, which marked an increase by 17 times: The electorate and turnout of selected Urban Council elections after the expansion of electoral franchise are as follows: Changes to the electoral system of unofficial members in the Urban Council are outlined as follows: The Urban Council provided many services to the Hong Kong people over the years. The Urban Services Department was

1128-686: The conclusion of public consultations, the White Paper: District Administration in Hong Kong was published in January 1981. The White Paper solidified expansion of suffrage for Urban Council elections. The Urban Council (Amendment) Ordinance 1981 was subsequently enacted in 1981 to provide for the expansion of electoral franchise and creation of constituencies to the Urban Council election on 8 March 1983 : The electoral franchise were expanded to around 568,000 voters upon implementation of

1175-492: The council was disbanded and replaced with the Provisional Urban Council, which comprised pre-Handover councillors plus new members appointed by the new government. The same was done with the Regional Council. The government then announced that the councils would be abolished in 1999. Both councils jointly objected to this plan, putting forward an alternative merger proposal entitled "One Council, One Department", which

1222-637: The council's executive arm, the Urban Services Department . Later, the equivalent body for the New Territories was the Regional Council . The council was founded as the Sanitary Board in 1883. It was renamed the Urban Council when new legislation was passed in 1936 expanding its mandate. In 1973 the council was reorganised under non-government control and became financially autonomous. Originally composed mainly of ex-officio and appointed members, by

1269-647: The entire colony, but this was not accepted. The Urban Services Department already provided services in the New Territories despite the council not having jurisdiction there. In 1979, the New Territories Services Department was created (within the Urban Services Department) as a dedicated unit to take up these responsibilities. In 1986, Regional Council was set up to serve the New Territories (excluding New Kowloon ), analogous to

1316-453: The executive branch of the Council to implement policies and services. In 1997, it had about 16,000 employees, according to its published leaflet of 'service promises'. The Council's services included: recreational venues and activities, libraries, museums, cultural and entertainment venues, ticketing, wet markets, hawker registration and control, cremation , street cleansing, issuing licenses, and operating abattoirs. The Urban Council played

1363-478: The first generation building. The foundation stone laying ceremony took place on 25 February 1960 with Sir Robert Brown Black , then Governor of Hong Kong , who also presided over the official opening ceremony on 2 March 1962. The City Hall was placed under the responsibility of the Urban Council . Since 2009, it had been listed as a Grade I historic building . On 20 May 2022, the Hong Kong City Hall

1410-521: The government began to separate out from the medical and health service. On 28 May 1946, the Council met for the first time after the Japanese occupation . It was given power to carry out all its old duties – cleaning, burying the dead, running bath houses and public lavatories, hawker control – as well as some new ones, such as the use of bathing beaches throughout Hong Kong. Only in May 1952 did elections return to

1457-630: The government had promised that some powers and duties of the Urban Council and Regional Council would be passed to the District Councils, in fact all were taken up by two newly created government departments: the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department , along with the Home Affairs Department . The archives of the two municipal councils are held by

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1504-405: The new provisional bodies. Three bills re-introducing appointed seats to the post-Handover municipal councils and district boards were passed by the provisional legislature on 7 June 1997. The Urban Council, Regional Council and District Boards (Amendment) Bills 1997 stipulated that Tung Chee-hwa could appoint no more than 50 seats to the provisional municipal councils. Frederick Fung , chairman of

1551-403: The not too distant future we hope to see Hong Kong recognised as a major international centre of the performing arts." The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra was established in 1977, under direct financial support and management by the Urban Council. The Hong Kong Repertory Theatre was also founded in 1977 and was directly financed and administered by the Urban Council. It aims to promote and raise

1598-683: The performing arts in Hong Kong since its inauguration. A number of culture events, including the Hong Kong Festival , Hong Kong Arts Festival in 1973, Asian Arts Festival in 1976, the Hong Kong International Film Festival in 1977, and the International Arts Carnival in 1982 were hosted there. The conference room of the former Urban Council was also at the lower building of the City Hall. The High block once housed Hong Kong's principal public library , until

1645-601: The pre-handover Council, and new members were appointed by the Chief Executive . Elections for unofficial members of the Urban Council were held since 1888. Suffrage was restricted to residents on the special and common jury lists between 1888 and 1973. In 1973, the electoral franchise was widened to residents above 21 years of age who have lived in Hong Kong for at least three years that qualified in at least one of 23 specified categories, which included educational qualifications (School Certificate Examination or equivalent), be

1692-522: The same until the Second World War broke out. The board was renamed the Urban Council in 1936 when the government passed the Urban Council Ordinance, which gave legal motive to the already expanding range of services provided by the Council. After the Second World War ended in 1945, the Council returned to its pre-war form but without any elected members. The work of the Sanitary Department of

1739-487: The standards of the theatrical "stage play" drama in Cantonese in the territory with professional actors, directors, playwrights, administration, training and production. The Hong Kong Dance Company was established in May 1981, and was at one time directly administered by the Urban Council. It aims to combine classical and folk traditions of China with contemporary international awareness. These groups were later taken over by

1786-572: The surrounding area. Thus, the out-sized public areas of the Memorial Gardens and the piazza in front were conceived as a natural extension to promote the "freedom of movement and a sense of unlimited space". The most important civic function performed by City Hall was as a ceremonial location for the swearing in of successive Governors following their inauguration: The 24th to 28th Governors all swore their oaths of office there. City Hall's Concert hall and theatre have been an important home to

1833-470: The then-council chairman Hilton Cheong-Leen said, "Together with the Government, the Urban Council is committed to the development of the arts in Hong Kong. We aim to do so at the professional level so that gifted Hong Kong citizens can develop their artistic potential. We also aim to make available to all members of the community a wide range of artistic performance for their enjoyment and appreciation. And in

1880-529: The time the Urban Council was disbanded following the Handover it was composed entirely of members elected by universal suffrage . The Urban Council was first established as the Sanitary Board in 1883. In 1887, a system of partial elections was established, allowing selected individuals to vote for members of the Board. On 1 March 1935, the Sanitary Board was reconstituted to carry out the work which remained much

1927-727: The walls of the Memorial Shrine are eight chinese characters evoking the everlasting spirit of the Brave and the Dead. The entrance gates to the City Hall Memorial Garden bear the regimental emblems of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps and Royal Hong Kong Regiment . The complex also incorporates a three-storey car park, with 171 car park spaces, which was also designed by architects Ron Phillips and Alan Fitch. The second and current City Hall complex has two buildings,

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1974-482: Was declared a monument under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance . At the age of 60, it is the youngest as well as the first post-WW2 building in Hong Kong being declared as a monument. The building complex erected at the present site based on the original design by Professor Gordon Brown, the first Head of Department of Architecture of Hong Kong University, together with his team including Patricia O'Reilly Mayne,

2021-463: Was completed by British architects Ronald Phillips and Alan Fitch at the cost of HK$ 20 million. With its clean lines and stark geometric forms, the new Hall is an example of the International style fashionable at the time. The structure was constructed using steel and concrete, and much of the equipment was of steel, glass and anodised aluminium. The two separate blocks and gardens were laid out as

2068-441: Was not accepted by the government. Both councils were dissolved on 31 December 1999 as planned. Within days of the dissolution of the Urban Council, its distinctive symbol was systematically removed from public sight, such as by pasting over it with paper on all litter bins and information boards. Shortly afterwards, all the litter bins were themselves discarded, replaced by a similar design, but in green rather than purple. Although

2115-554: Was occupied in part by the old City Hall, and in part by the first and second generations of the HSBC building. The second and current City Hall complex was built in the late 1950s following a public campaign led by the Sino-British Club for the re-establishment of a civic centre in Hong Kong. It was built on a 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft) plot of land on the newly reclaimed seafront, about 200 metres (660 ft) from

2162-561: Was opened in 1962, followed by the first multi-storey market in Jardine's Bazaar in March 1963. In 1973, the Council was reorganised under non-government control. It was given financial autonomy, which meant the budget could be planned without the approval of the Legislative Council. It was also no longer primarily in charge of housing. From then onwards, there were no government officials on

2209-617: Was responsible for rubbish bins throughout the urban area. It was also responsible for the control of hawkers, issuing hawker licences and operating hawker bazaars. In early 1997, chief executive-designate Tung Chee-hwa announced that the two municipal councils would be disbanded on 1 July 1997 ( the Handover ) and replaced by two provisional councils, with members appointed by the government, that would serve until elections in 1999. Tung said that those reappointed must "love China [and] love Hong Kong" and refused to clarify whether democratic politicians met this definition. The announcement caused

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