Murray Battery was an

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to f ...

located on Battery Path, beneath Government Hill in Central,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Named after Sir George Murray, it was built in 1841, shortly after the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

took possession of

, and served to protect the colonial government's headquarters. It was demolished in the 1950s and replaced with the

Former Central Government Offices The Former Central Government Offices (also the Government Headquarters), now called Justice Place, is an office building complex that formerly housed most of the major offices of the Hong Kong Government. The complex is located in Cen ...

History

During the

First Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...

, the British occupied Hong Kong in 1841 and one year later, the territory was ceded to them in the

Treaty of Nanking The Treaty of Nanking was the peace treaty which ended the First Opium War (1839–1842) between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain and the Qing dynasty of China on 29 August 1842. It was the first of what the Chinese ...

. The new administration chose the site around Battery Path to build its headquarters and defences. The coastal fortification consisted of five

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

positions that overlooked and guarded

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbor, harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. It acts as both a major trading hub and tourist attraction of Hong Kong in general. Lying in ...

in 1882 (however, due to land reclamation, the site is no longer situated on the coastline). These were removed in the late 19th century, due to the military's relocation and development of

artillery batteries In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fac ...

in more obscure and outlying areas in

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...

—namely the Lei Yue Mun Fort built in 1887. Prior to 1856, Murray Battery also marked the limits of the city's

street light A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, streetlamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution b ...

ing; all roads east of the battery were not illuminated. However, the site of the battery still existed until the 1950s, when the colonial government decided to redevelop the area in order to build a new headquarters building that would consolidate all government departments in one place. As a result, the battery was demolished and the new (now former)

Central Government Offices The Central Government Complex has been the headquarters of the Government of Hong Kong since 2011. Located at the Tamar site, the complex comprises the Central Government Offices, the Legislative Council Complex and the Office of the Chi ...

(CGO) was built in its place, with construction being completed in 1959. The West Wing of the CGO now occupies the site of the battery. Today, a replica cannon located near the CGO pays tribute to Murray's Battery.

References

External links

1860 picture of Murray Battery
{{Portal bar, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, British Empire Former buildings and structures in Hong Kong Forts in Hong Kong Military of Hong Kong under British rule Artillery battery fortifications

History

See also

References

External links