An ex-pat’s pictures have shed fascinating light on a world of boat trips, polo and picnics in former British colony Hong Kong 120 years ago before it was given back to China.
Navy officer H. J. A. McCaffrey travelled widely around China, Hong Kong and Macau, mingling with the well-heeled colonial administration – and now his newly-revealed snaps have sparked a bidding war.
There were not only plenty of picnics, boat trips and pagoda visits but also sports days with sack and wheelbarrow races.
McCaffrey explored famous landmarks including Hong Kong harbour, Victoria Peak and Tiger Island’s Pearl River.
He was accompanied by his wife Rhoda and her friends who wore stylish white dresses with bonnets.
The couple encountered many Hong Kong and Chinese natives who lived in humble villages and farmed the land.
There are images of McCaffrey’s military parades and the Wellington Barracks’ Coronation Arch complete with British flags.
Another photo shows a Chinese prisoner in the stocks, while a woman is seen holding her young child on a street corner.
The album, consisting of 365 images, went for eight times their £500 estimate at auctioneers TW Gaze, of Diss in Norfolk.
It ultimately sold for £3,400, with auctioneers’ fees taking the final figure paid by the undisclosed buyer to £4,200.
Specialist Robert Henshilwood said: ‘The album has come to us from a dealer and unfortunately we don’t know more about it.
‘We have had enquiries from collectors in Hong Kong and one person thought they may be a descendant of the McCaffreys.
‘What stands out to me about the album is how extensive it is with over 300 images, and also the variety of them.
‘It is not just topographical photos, as there are lovely images of the local population farming and going about their everyday lives.
‘It was colonial times and the British do seem to have been enjoying a very privileged lifestyle, so there is a contrast with the villagers.’
The UK handed Hong Kong over to Chinese control at midnight on July 1, 1997.
Under a deal agreed by then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Hong Kong was given to China with a scheme called One Country, Two Systems meant to protect its freedoms until 2047.
She signed the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration involving a lease that ended on July 1, 1997, when the ceremony was carried out involving governor Chris Patten.
China’s Beijing regime produced in 2019 a Hollywood-style blockbuster to recreate the handover ceremony amid anti-government protests.
Pro-democracy demonstrations broke out that year only to be crushed by the Chinese government.
China’s president Xi Jinping railed against Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists in June 2022 as he arrived to attend celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the city’s handover from Britain.