My Hong Kong 1967 - 3 Telecommunications

I arrived in Hong Kong on 17 April 1967. This was my first trip outside Australia and as a twenty year old I was rather green and did not know what to expect upon my arrival there.

My concerns started with the landing at Kai Tak airport. The aircraft, on descent, seemed to get closer and closer to the water. An imminent splash down in the harbour seemed inevitable. It was not until the wheels thumped on the runway that a safe arrival was signified. It was safe to breath again.

The next major concern was the collection of all my worldly possessions packed into a kit bag and a small suitcase.  Fortunately both items turned up on the luggage carousel and after collecting them I was met by a chap from the Australian Trade Commission who guided my through Customs and Immigration without any dramas.

Once the formalities were completed we walked to the arrivals area where I was greeted by Gary Williams and Des Chilcott. I had gone through training with them at Radio School and they were now stationed at Little Sai Wan and living in the "Single Quarters". We caught the ferry at Kowloon City Ferry Pier and crossed  Hong Kong Harbour arriving at the North Point Ferry Pier. From the ferry terminal to where their car was parked was just a short walk. However, en-route I entertained some serious apprehensions about spending the next two years here.  The streets were littered with so much rubbish and filth that it necessitated constant vigilance to avoid stepping on something indescribable.

The drive from North Point to Siu Sai Wan (Little Side Bay) was another new experience. The traffic was chaotic. There were cars, Taxis, buses, trams, stop-go's (mini buses picking passengers up and dropping them off at random) and pedestrians who seemed to have a death wish with cars just missing them as they crossed the roads. I later learnt that they did this on purpose as they were trying to knock off the evil spirits attached to them. Despite all the mayhem we reached our destination safely.

The quarters for the single personal was a long two story building with nine large rooms upstairs and eight down. Mid way on each level and off set at right angles was an ablution block. It was a rather cold trip during the winter months as the walkways along the front and back of the rooms were open to the elements. The rooms were very spacious, measuring six by six metres. They were designed originally for four occupants but now only had one person in them due to how few single military personnel were stationed at Sai Wan.   View towards Hong Kong Harbour from Sai Wan

My room was downstairs and next door to Brian Cuthbertson's. He was an Army Chinese Linguist. Apart from the Single Members living in the quarters it was also home to a German Shepard called Harry and a monkey named Claudia. Brian would take Claudia for walks around the base and earned the nickname "Marlo Jai" (Monkey Boy) by the Chinese workers living in the married quarters at Sai Wan. Brian moved out when he brought his fiancee out from Australia and got married.

Sai Wan was rather isolated as there was no public transport. There was only one way in and out via a narrow winding road that followed the cliffs above the base. Apart from getting a lift from people going to or from work there was no way of getting into town. I bought an old beat up Vauxhall Velox for $300 HK ($50 AUD) from Gary Williams who in turn bought an MG from one of the “Married Members” returning to Australia. The Vauxhall was built, and drove like a tank, had rust all through it and no exhaust. However, it started and ran without problems.
1966 saw the rise of Mao Tse-Tung, founder to the People's Republic of China (PRC). His goal was to change China from an agricultural based economy to one of industry. He instigated the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and formed the Red Army. As a result there was a famine causing millions of people to die from starvation. Also any who opposed his ideologies were killed, purged, as being counter revolutionary elements. The people had to live in accordance with the “Little Red Book” containing his thoughts.  This reign of change lasted for ten years. During this period many people perished attempting to flee China for the British Hong Kong Colony. On my last tour of Hong Kong in 1976 we would go scuba diving around the outer islands of Hong Kong and on several occasions we had to contact the water police to report bodies of people who had died trying to swim from mainland China. During 1967 there were often reports of bodies washing up on the beaches of Hong Kong. These were believed to have washed down the Zhujiang (Pearl River) from Guangzhou (Canton) into the South China Sea.

From late 1966 through 1967 there was a lot of turmoil in the region. Portuguese ruled Macau experienced riots and disturbances sponsored by pro communist leftists. Macau initially succumbed to joint  rule by both Portugal and the People's Republic of China (PRC). Finally the Portuguese colony came under total control of the PRC. Macau, just a short ferry ride from Hong Kong, was a popular destination for the Australian and United Kingdom personnel working at Sai Wan. It was an easy destination to reach and made for an inexpensive holiday. However, when China took over it was placed out of bounds to us. As a result, I never had the opportunity to go there.

The Hong Kong riots started as minor labour disputes over pay and working conditions. However, following the PRC success in Macau PRC supporters escalated the disturbances into large scale demonstrations and riots followed by bombings. When the situation eventually eased and the PRC factions were brought under control many of the China Product stores were found to have fully equipped hospitals complete with operating theatres. This lends credence to the conclusion that the riots were not a spur of the moment occurrence.  Little Sai Wan Sports Oval during Typhoon

During the riots and bombings of '67 Hong Kong was subjected to very strict curfews that were to assist the authorities to regain control of the Colony and prevent further deaths. Of the bombs placed a great many were dummies but you could never tell which ones were genuine so it was always prudent to give a wide berth to any boxes lying in the middle of the road. The curfews went on for several weeks. No one was permitted out after 8pm. One day, Brian and I thought we would get away from Sai Wan for a few hours and go into Wan Chai and catch an afternoon movie. It would finish early enough to give us sufficient time to drive back to Sai Wan before the curfew was enforced. Normally the main thoroughfare, Kings Road, was extremely congested with trams and traffic. Usually the faster option was to travel through North Point using Java Road. However, on this occasion the traffic on Java Road was practically at a standstill. It took almost a half hour to cover one hundred metres. We eventually came to a side street and upon looking up the road it was possible to see Kings Road completely bereft of traffic. We opted to turn right and take the narrow one way side street up to the main road. We were about halfway along the street when there was a loud bang on the roof. It was followed shortly after with another. Finally there was a barrage of miscellaneous items striking the car the majority of which were bottles. Some broke, many didn't. We couldn't go back as the road behind was blocked by cars and we were uncertain what awaited us going forward. We decided to carry on turning left into Kings Road. The barrage of missiles finally stopped. I am not too sure why they pelted the car with debris. Maybe they felt we were a threat and trying to breach the building. Initially we thought we were
My 1953 Vauxhall Velox
safe. However, we weren't out of the woods yet. A  hundred metres up ahead we were confronted by a blockade manned by heavily armed police. When we got to the police line we were stopped and some very serious weapons were pointed at us through the windows. I sat still with my hands on the steering wheel and if Brian had put his hands up any higher they would have been protruding through the roof. Being a linguist I expected him to speak up but he didn't utter a word. When I first arrived in Hong Kong the other single chaps taught me two Cantonese phrases to use if ever I found myself stranded or in trouble.
They were Ho Jow Yung (Australian) and Siu Sai Wan (little Sai Wan). With Brian's complete and utter silence I thought I had better try something and used the sum total of all my Chinese language. After checking the car the police waved us through and for some reason seemed to be really angry with us. The side street we took had taken us right alongside one of the China Product Department stores. That explained why we had been bombarded. On the positive side we managed to avoid the traffic jam and got back to Sai Wan well before the curfew started.

Also during this period there was a drought. The situation further compounded by China periodically turning of the water supply. As a result water rationing was introduced and everyone was allowed water for four hours every four days. In the “Singles Quarters” we didn't have  facilities to store water. Therefore in order to avoid going the full four days between showers we would go the the British Army Victoria Barracks in Central District, have a game of squash then freshen up afterwards with a shower. On one occasion, Les Staplton, the Admin Officer, invited us to his flat on his water ration day to have a shower. We met his wife and daughter, drank tea while we took turns having a shower. I was a little intimidated to be associating with an officer and his family after having it drummed into us fraternisation with officers was not allowed. I seemed to have all sorts of problems drinking my tea without making audible gulping noises which I believed everyone could hear.  Never the less I have never forgot his act of kindness and many years later had the privilege of  working with his granddaughter at Air Services Australia. Talk about a small world.  

One of the favourite beaches for the “Single Members” was Big Wave Bay on the eastern side of the ridge line from Sai Wan. It was not as crowded nor as easily accessible as Repulse Bay plus it had a good surf just after a typhoon. We would often go there and enjoy the surf much to the disgust of the Life Guards who ran up and down the beach trying to stop us.

All-in-all my first eight months in Hong Kong proved to be quiet memorable. It is amazing what will trigger the memories of those days.
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