History
In February 1862, the concession to supply gas to the city of Victoria (now referred to as Central), was obtained from then governor Sir Hercules Robinson by William Glen, a newcomer to the gas industry. Incorporation took place on 31 May 1862 and by 3 December that year there were 15 miles (24 km) of pipes and 500 gas lamps along Queen's Road and Upper Valley Road. In Kowloon, residents continued to rely on candles and oil lamps until gas was laid on 28 years later. The company's original generating plant, the first in Asia, stood on the waterfront at West Point near Whitty StreetA and provided gas for lighting to Jardine's offices, the The Hong Kong Dispensary and the Hong Kong Hotel. For 80 years the plant was coal fired and produced 120,000 cubic feet (3,400 m3) of gas per day. It was run directly from Britain until 1954 when a majority shareholding was purchased by local firm Wheelock and Marden Company Limited who moved the company's registered domicile from the UK to Hong Kong.
As of 2011, the only surviving four gas lamps installed by the company are situated at the top and bottom of a flight of broad granite steps linking Ice House Street and Duddell Street. These are still maintained by Towngas, while the site is one of the Declared monuments of Hong Kong.
Read more about this topic: The Hong Kong And China Gas Company
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