Across Victoria Harbour

_{Header image courtesy of Hong Kong Maritime Museum 香港海事博物館 (via Facebook)}

The Hong Kong Maritime Museum is hosting a special exhibition titled “Across Victoria Harbour.” Taking Hong Kong’s iconic harbour as its subject, the exhibition delves into the vibrant history of ferries, sampans, motorboats, and cargo ships that have sailed across the harbour since Hong Kong’s early colonial period. 

Visitors can admire nautical equipment, vessel models, old documents, and photographs among the exhibited items. Divided into four sections, visitors are taken on a journey through time, beginning with “The Harbour, the City, and the People,” which highlights the development of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the Victoria Harbour from the start of British colonisation in 1842 up until the 1930s. “Crossing the Harbour” details increasing water traffic in the early days of the colony, which led to the popularisation of water transportation such as ferries and motorboats.

“Freight Transport” demonstrates the development of the cargo trade in Hong Kong, with larger vessels such as tugboats and barges gradually becoming the main form of transportation throughout the years. Finally, the exhibition culminates in “Changes in Harbour Voyages,” which documents the rapid reduce in demand for water transportation since the first cross-harbour tunnel opened in 1972.