The Government today (November 22) announced that the Antiquities Authority has declared two historical buildings on Hong Kong Island, the Cenotaph in Central and the Béthanie at 139 Pok Fu Lam Road, as monuments under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance. The notice of the declaration has been gazetted today.
The Cenotaph was unveiled on May 25, 1923, by the then Governor, Sir Edward Stubbs. It is the earliest memorial formally constructed to commemorate the dead of the First World War in Hong Kong. Initially, the Cenotaph was simply inscribed with the words "The Glorious Dead" and the years of the First World War, i.e. "1914-1918". The years "1939-1945" were subsequently added to honour victims of the Second World War. In the 1980s, eight Chinese characters meaning "May their martyred souls be immortal, and their noble spirits endure" were carved on one side of the Cenotaph corresponding to the inscription "The Glorious Dead" to make it clear that the Cenotaph commemorates all who fell, especially those who fell in the defence of Hong Kong. Commemorative activities are still held by the Government and other relevant associations at the Cenotaph every year.
The Cenotaph is built of dressed ashlar blocks, designed with a stepped plinth and the upper part diminishing by offsets to culminate at the top in a rectangular sarcophagus upon which rests a stone wreath. The architectural style of the Cenotaph is Classic Revival, based on formal symmetry and principles of pure Roman and Greek forms, founded on archaeological studies and scholarship. The apparent simplicity of the Cenotaph is based on exquisite refinement of classical principles.
The Béthanie was completed in 1875 by the Society of Foreign Missions (Société des Missions Étrangéres) as their first sanatorium in East Asia for sick missionaries. The premises was closed in 1974 and was sold to Hongkong Land. The premises was subsequently taken over by the Government. It was then leased to the University of Hong Kong from 1978 to 1997. In 2002, the Government decided to restore and lease the Béthanie together with the adjacent Old Dairy Farm Cowshed Building (a Grade 2 historic building) to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) for conversion into their second campus. The conversion was completed in 2006 and the Béthanie has served as the School of Film and Television of the HKAPA since then.
The Béthanie consists of three parts: the chapel, the sanatorium and the service wing. The Béthanie's architecture is of Neo-Gothic style and the plan is in symmetrical form with verandahs on all four sides. Rubble and ashlar plinth wall at the basement level, ornamental balustrades and arched colonnades at the verandahs form the elevations of the building. The most impressive part of the building is its beautiful chapel.
Information on the two monuments is available on the heritage conservation website of the Development Bureau (www.heritage.gov.hk).
Ends/Friday, November 22, 2013
Issued at HKT 11:59
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