2007年7月6日星期五

界石之謎﹝二﹞

1903 年 11 月 20 日的香港轅門報,詳錄了 1903 年維多利亞市界線條例的全文,條例對維多利亞市的界線作出以下定義﹝英文原文照錄如下﹞:

On the North. - The Harbour.

On the West. - A line running north and south drawn through the north-west angle of Inland Lot No.1299 and extending southwards a distance of eight hundred and fifty feet from the aforesaid angle.

On the South. - A line running east from the southern extremity of the western boundary until it meets a contour of the hill-side seven hundred feet above the level known as Ordnance datum thence following the said contour until it meets the eastern boundary.

On the East. - A line following the western boundary of the Queen's Recreation Ground until it meets the old Shaukiwan Road, thence to the south-east angle of Inland Lot No.1018, thence along the southern boundary of Inland Lot No.1018, produced until it meets the road on the east side of Wongneichung Valley, thence to the north-west angle of Wongneichung School, produced until it meets the southern boundary.

當中隻字未有提及「 CITY BOUNDARY 1903 」界石。找遍隨後數年的立法局會議記錄、香港轅門報、 Hong Kong Blue Book 等官方文獻,亦不見一鱗半爪。另一方面,界線的定義涉及不少現時已鮮為人知的地標﹝以粗字示之﹞。

筆者在 1898 年 7 月 25 日的立法局會議記錄中找到以下一段文字,雖然這段文字亦有不少地方令筆者一頭霧水,但可推斷「 Queen's Recreation Ground 」可能就是現今浣紗街明渠以西至摩頓臺﹝包括中央圖書館、銅鑼灣運動場及中華樂會﹞的一幅康樂用地:

"That in commemoration of the completion of the sixtieth year of Her Majesty's Reign the piece of ground in question, situate at Causeway Bay, bounded on the north by the Causeway Bay Road, on the south and west by the Quarry Bay Road and Inland Lot 1,149 (Kennedy's Stables), and on the east by the Nullah, running from the Quarry Bay Road to the Causeway Road, may be by Ordinance reserved as a public and open space for ever, may be called the 'Queen's Recreation Ground' and may, under Regulations to be embodied in the Ordinance, be dedicated to the purposes of general public recreation for all nationalities."

此外,據悉銅鑼灣道﹝Tung Lo Wan Road﹞及英皇道﹝King's Road﹞都是筲箕灣道的一部分,直至 1935 年,銅鑼灣的一段才改稱銅鑼灣道。相信東界的定義內所指的「舊筲箕灣道」﹝old Shaukiwan Road﹞,可能接近現今的銅鑼灣道﹝但在 1903 年,所謂「舊」是指什麼?﹞

筆者另於 1911 年 8 月 24 日的立法局會議記錄中找到以下一段:

"THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL -- On clause 39B in the Colonial definitions page 7 the eastern boundary of the city of Victoria mentioned in the last line but one refers to the north-west angle of the Wongneiche[gon/ong] School. That is not a permanent landmark. As a matter of fact it has almost disappeared, so I would suggest that the words 'the south-east angle of inland lot No.1,364' be substituted for the words 'north-west angle of the Wongneicheong School.'

This was agreed to."

從中可以知道,維多利亞市界線條例曾於 1911 年經過修訂,東界定義中提到的「黃泥涌學校」﹝Wongneichung School﹞已被另一地標 ── 內地段 1364 ﹝inland lot No.1364﹞── 取代。

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後記:
從土地註冊處 1977 及 1987 年版的【港島、九龍及新九龍的街道、樓宇門牌號數和地段索引】找到以下資料:

  • 內地段 1299 號﹝Inland Lot No.1299﹞為域多利道 60 號﹝不見於 1987 年版的【索引】﹞。
  • 內地段 1018 號﹝Inland Lot No.1018﹞為聖保祿學校及聖保祿醫院新翼所在地。
  • 內地段 1149 號﹝Inland Lot No.1149﹞為摩頓臺 1-15 號,銅鑼灣道 3-17 號及高士威道 2-36 號﹝摩頓臺﹞之間的地方。
  • 內地段 1364 號﹝Inland Lot No.1364﹞為摩頓臺 1、2、3、7、9 號,銅鑼灣道 19-41 號及信德街 19-21 號之間的地方。