Grand opening of Hong Kong City Hall

Grand opening of Hong Kong City Hall
The governor, Sir Robert Black, is being led by the Director of Public Works, Allan Inglis, who is now inviting him to unveil a bronze plaque on the left of the stairs at the main entrance to mark the opening of City Hall. The governor declares, “I have much pleasure in unveiling this plaque to mark the opening of City Hall.” Sir Robert is now walking up the stairs and heading for the concert hall. He seems surprised to see small wooden hut, which is actually a booth selling tickets for music and other cultural performances. In the company of Mr Inglis and Mr Kenneth Kinghorn, the chairman of the Urban Council, Sir Robert is now entering the concert Hall. To report on the proceedings in the hall, I now hand you over to radio host Au Yeung Yee-tak.

I see the concert hall is filled with guests, 1,540 to be precise, and all of them now rise to receive the governor and his entourage. The stalls and balconies, as well as the two boxes on the left and the right, are all packed with guests. The Hong Kong Police Band is playing music in the box on the right. The stage is split into two sections, with chairs in the front. After the governor reaches his seat in the centre, the (British) national anthem will be played… The governor has been standing by his seat, and the national anthem has just been played. All the guests and councillors are now taking their seats.

Inauguration of Shek Pik Reservoir
That was Governor Sir Robert Black delivering a speech. He is now proceeding to unveil a plaque, accompanied by the Director of Public Works. The plaque is unveiled to deafening applause. The copper plaque was covered with the Union Jack. On it are inscribed the words “Inauguration Ceremony for Shek Pik Reservoir, 28 November 1963” as well as the names of the key engineers involved in the project. Set in a large block of stone, the plaque is situated on a hill to the west of the main dam. Now Governor Sir Robert will preside over another ceremony in the company of the Director of Public Works. I will hand commentary over to Lo Sai-ping.

Accompanied by the Director of Public Works, the governor is inspecting another copper plaque. This one records the dimensions and the capacity of the main dam as well as the materials used to build it. On the other side of this block of stone is a third plaque that features a plan of the complete Shek Pik Reservoir project. It includes the location of the dam, Silver Mine Bay Water Treatment Works and the water pipes, and it shows the whole of Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories. Two gigantic blocks of stone have been moved to the hill where the ceremony is being held today. The first holds the plaque the governor has just unveiled. The other one has two copper plaques. One contains all the figures, as I mentioned a moment ago, and is in both English and Chinese. Another is the plan of the water supply system. The Director of Public Works and the governor are walking up the hill, where they will be able to enjoy a view of Shek Pik Reservoir from above. Lady Black is also with them. The Director of Public Works and senior officers from the department are explaining every part of the reservoir project to the governor and his wife as they go.

Olympic torch arrives in Hong Kong
I can see Cheung Kin-man running down from the raised platform. He is holding the torch up high, and he is being greeted by the cheering crowd. He holds the torch up high, and the flame is producing a lot of smoke. He is now running west alongside City Hall, past the car park and the gate of the Memorial Garden to the west. He is running towards us now. Hong Kong’s “flying fish” is out of the water today. He is running on land, holding the torch up high. I can see him entering the Memorial Garden through the western entrance. And we all know that once he reaches the western entrance, he will come up a few steps onto an elevated pathway. When we come to City Hall, we can all pass through this balcony with its stunning view. Cheung is coming up the pathway. He is coming from the west and has just made a turn towards us. I can see that he is running towards us, the torch held up high. He runs with such a beautiful style. The photographers are fighting for a good shot of him. At the same time, the crowd is welcoming him with warm cheers. Cheung is running towards us. He comes up to the stage, holding the torch up high. Hear all the people cheer. The torch is made of copper nickel. He brings the torch near the cauldron and “boom!” the cauldron is lit. The flame is fuelled by Town Gas. We can smell it. Now that he has lit the cauldron, Cheung stands next to it, still holding the torch up high. There he is, standing proudly. He is the focus of the reporters and the cameras. And now that he has lit the cauldron, he is going into City Hall through a passage.