Tales of Lamma ( 2014/04/17 )
| Being the third largest island in Hong Kong, Lamma Island has been inhabited since 3,000 B.C.. During the Tang and Sung Dynasties, Lamma was designated as a stopover for foreign merchant ships before entering Guangzhou, hence, the island was given the name Pok Liu(1). As recorded in the inhabitation history of Lamma, settlers were once forced to move out the island. This incident happened in early Qing Dynasty (mid 16th century), when the Qing Government was determined to stifle pirates ganged up in Taiwan. As a result the inhabitants living along the coast of Guangdong were forced to move 50 miles inland, and thus all the population of Lamma Island were evacuated(2). It was not until early 18th century that people started to come back to Lamma again and the Yung Shue Ha Village in Southern Lamma was established. In 1874, when only the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon peninsula were British colonies, a group of Hong Kong fishermen entered the waters in the vicinity of Lamma Island. The fishermen were attacked by Chinese navy as the latter believed that the Chinese border had been violated. The event provided a reason for the British government to request expanding their territory in Hong Kong. The Convention Between Great Britain and China Respecting an Extension of Hong Kong Territory was signed that leased the New Territories and another 236 nearby islands including Lamma Island to Britain for 99 years. The boundary of Hong Kong as we know today was defined by this Convention(1). We shall continue to share with you tales and history of Lamma Island. Reference (1) 鄭敏華、周穎欣，《南丫島故事》，思網絡有限公司，香港，2008 (2) Peter T.L. Ng, New Peace County – A Chinese Gazetteer of the Hong Kong, Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong, 1983 |
Yung Shue Wan in its old day |
