History
The island was ceded to Britain together with Hong Kong Island. A small fort was built on it in 1841 for the protection of the eastern section of Victoria Harbour, and a battery with three cannons was added in 1854. The island was renamed in the 1860s (some sources mention 1842) after the naval officer Sir Henry Kellett. Kellett Bay and Mount Kellett were also named after him. After Kowloon Peninsula was ceded to Britain in 1860, the defense position of Kellett Island declined in importance, and it was used by British armed forces for ammunition and gunpowder storage.
The island remained for the use of the Navy until 1938, when the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, formerly located in North Point, moved to Kellett Island. The Clubhouse was built in 1939 on the foundations of the old Naval Powder Magazine. The new premises were formally opened on October 26, 1940 by the then Acting Governor, Lieutenant General Sir E. F. Norton.
After the fall of Hong Kong in 1941, occupying Japanese forces kept military supplies there, including fuel, gunpowder, artillery and ammunition. After the War, the Yacht Club was reopened there on September 17, 1945.
A causeway completed in 1952 was built to give access to the island by means other than water. Following reclamation work in the 1960s and the completion of the Cross Harbour Tunnel in 1972, Kellett Island was connected to Causeway Bay and its original outline disappeared, although the name remained.
In October 1991, a pottery jar containing large quantity of Chinese copper coins was discovered at the island by The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. The coins were dated to Sui, Tang and Song dynasties (589-1279). The coins and the pottery jar were then handed over by the Club to the Antiquities and Monuments Office.
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“A man acquainted with history may, in some respect, be said to have lived from the beginning of the world, and to have been making continual additions to his stock of knowledge in every century.”
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