The Sulphur Channel is a narrow inshore passage between Green Island and the northwest tip (

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

) of

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 ...

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 ...

. The Sulphur Channel is mainly used by small craft and inter-island ferries passing between

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 ...

and the East Lamma Channel. The channel was named after HMS ''Sulphur'', a

bomb vessel A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons (Naval long gun, long guns or carronades) – although bomb vessels carried a few cannons for self-defence – but ...

commanded by

Edward Belcher Sir Edward Belcher (27 February 1799 – 18 March 1877) was a British naval officer, hydrographer, and explorer. Born in Nova Scotia, he was the great-grandson of Jonathan Belcher, who served as a colonial governor of Massachusetts, New ...

who took the first British survey to Hong Kong harbour on 25 January 1841. Captain Belcher left HMS ''Sulphur'' with a landing party on 26 January 1841, disembarked on the northern foreshore, and raised the Union Jack over Hong Kong at

Possession Point Possession Street () is a street in Sheung Wan, from Queen's Road West to Hollywood Road, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The street marks the boundary of Queen's Road West and Queen's Road Central. Name The original Chinese name was (''Po ...

(what is today

Hollywood Road Park Hollywood Road Park () is an urban public park in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The park is built in Chinese architectural style and is surrounded by buildings nearby. History In maps of the 1980s and before, Hollywood Road Park is ...

). After raising a toast to the Queen with his companions, he officially declared the island the property of Her Majesty Queen Victoria and a Colony of the British Empire. In the 1990s, the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...

had planned to reclaim the channel but withdrew later due to opposition from environmental concern groups.

References

Channels of Hong Kong {{HongKongIsland-geo-stub

See also

References