The Historical Significance of the Kowloon Park

For Hong Kong locals, the Kowloon Park is a good venue for a nice afternoon reading session, a place for sitting-down after shopping at the nearby Park Lane, or otherwise swimming at its swimming pool. We take its leisure purpose for granted and few people look for its historic significance beyond its role as a park. I have never known the history of Kowloon Park until recently, when I came across photographs of the war relics on site. The predecessor of the Kowloon Park is the Whitfield Barracks. At the time, the location at which Kowloon Park now occupies was strategically advantageous for defense purposes. It started as a military base as one could overlook the Kowloon side of the Victoria Harbour there. It was meant to be a temporary encampment in the beginning. When the British took over Kowloon in 1861, they named it the Whitfield Barracks and it became a permanent military site. At first, the Indian garrison was stationed at the Whitfield Barracks. At one point, the Whitfield Barracks had more than 85 buildings. Of all of these buildings, only four barrack blocks and the battery were preserved to the present. Given this early history of the Kowloon Park, there is still a site in the current park where military relics stand. The Kowloon West II Battery was built during 1878 and 1880. It was built in concrete. There are three gun emplacements, a command center, ammunition storage spaces and a machinery room. Each gun emplacement was fixed with a 7-inch cannon. The use of the fortress ceased in 1916. In 1970, the former Whitfield Barracks were turned into a park space, as such permanently altering its strategic role and became a key cultural and leisure site for Hong Kong people. #hongkonghistory #hongkong #park #kowloonpark #kowloon #barracks #fortress #battery