The port of Hong Kong and Victoria Harbour have always been key to this remarkable, ever-changing city. Opening at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum this November and running to February 2025 is “Voyage Through Time” – a photo exhibition that explores the dynamic changes to Hong Kong’s port during the middle of the twentieth century.

The exhibition photos, taken between the 1940s and 1970s, portray Victoria Harbour, the port, shipping, maritime life and the boat people. The images cover about 30 years. Those crucible decades saw Hong Kong recover postwar. Then, despite challenges and severe setbacks, an economic and social resurgence gradually took hold.  

The exhibition’s images were taken by three photographers. In the order of their “Voyage Through Time“ photos, they are Hedda Morrison, Brian Brake and Edward Stokes. Each, in different ways, captured Hong Kong’s central feature: the visually dramatic – and economically vital – harbour and its maritime life.   

To endure, any port must remain competitive and evolve. Its operations must respond to global technological changes and regional pressures. Those influences are seen in this Hong Kong Maritime Museum exhibition.  

The greatest maritime change between the 1940s and 1970s was the shift to cargo containerization. This affected every aspect of the port. With it came many other needs: reclamations, infrastructure, decentralization of the port, ship crew sizes, retraining for shore cargo handling and much else. 

Morrison’s, Brake’s and Stokes’ photos encapsulate the transformation, with the shift from loose or “break bulk” cargo loading or unloading to containers or “boxes.” In Hong Kong, this was driven by the bold vision – and risk-taking – of established and newly arrived shipping companies and families. From 1946 and 1948, the tonnage of vessels entering and clearing Victoria Harbour had doubled. By 1957, despite the geopolitical headwinds, the shipping volume had reached its pre-war level. 

The investment in ships and shore facilities that took place between the photo periods was urged on by the Hong Kong Shipowners Association, set up in 1957. Underpinning every aspect of these major maritime changes were the Hong Kong port’s tradition of efficiency, nimble future planning and its multi-faceted services: banking, insurance, ship broking, chartering, shore facilities, vessel repair, regulations, rapid customs clearance – and much else. 

During the postwar years mid-stream cargo work had remained the norm, with some vessels berthed at docks. By the mid-1960s, the future was clear: containerization. The change offered much faster port turnaround times, a critical factor in shipping operations and costs. Yet the investment in ships and shore facilities was massive. In land-scarce Hong Kong, there was another challenge: where could a container port be sited? 

In 1966, the Government and shipping companies explored the options. Three sites for reclamation around the central harbour were initially proposed. But by far, the largest – and most promising – site was at Kwai Chung. With speed typical of the times, the first container berth opened in 1972 at Terminal 1 Kwai Chung. Massive, specialized gantry cranes reared up. Computers, albeit infinitely simpler than those today, coordinated the unloading and loading countless “boxes” for dispatch overseas – around Hong Kong – into China.

Well into the 1960s, most vessels entered Hong Kong by Lei Yue Mun’s narrow strait – as seen by Hedda Morrison’s 1946 -1947 photos. Later, in Brian Brake’s 1970s period, and now with larger ships, more vessels came in from the west – steering directly to Kwai Chung. By the late 1970s, as shown in one of Stokes’ photos, the East Lamma Channel had become the major fairway. The exhibition’s “past and present” photos and dramatic 2024 drone images are startling evidence of these changes.

‘Voyage Through Time’ is presented by the Hong Kong Maritime Museum. It is originated by The Hong Kong Photo Heritage Programme and its curator, Edward Stokes. The exhibition is sponsored by The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation HK and The Swire Group Charitable Trust. 

The exhibition opens at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum on 13 November and runs to early February 2025. Entry to the exhibition’s special gallery is free to the public. 

For more details, visit www.hkmaritimemuseum.org