Queen's Pier
| Queen's Pier | |||||||||||||
Queen's Pier at night, 2006
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| Traditional Chinese | 皇后碼頭 | ||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | huang2 hou4 ma3 tou2 |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | wong4 hau6 ma5 tau4 |
| Jyutping | wong4 hau6 maa5 tau5 |
Queen's Pier, named after Queen Victoria, was a public pier in front of City Hall in Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong. For three generations it served not only as a public pier in day-to-day use but also as a major ceremonial arrival and departure point. The pier witnessed the official arrival in Hong Kong of all of Hong Kong's governors since 1925; Elizabeth II landed there in 1975, as did the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1989.
The second and final pier structure, built along the newly reclaimed waterfront, was designed in a modern utilitarian style and was opened by Maurine Grantham, wife of Governor Alexander Grantham, in June 1954.
On 26 April 2007, the pier was closed by the government to enable land reclamation, soon after the adjacent Star Ferry pier was closed. There was fierce opposition by conservationists, who carried over their campaign to preserve the landmark. Police officers evicted some 30 protesters from the site on 1 August 2007; activists filed for a judicial review, and the High Court hearing began on 7 August. On 10 August, the court dismissed the request.
Finally, the Queen's Pier was completely demolished in February 2008. Its base piles were also removed in March 2008. In 2008, since dismantling, the government attempts to create the appearance of public support for reassembling the pier at the new waterfront has been criticised by conservationists.
A former wooden pier at the site known as "Queen's Statue Wharf" was replaced in 1925. It was a ceremonial landing area for the British Royal Family visiting Hong Kong, and for successive governors to assert their authority on arrival. The first governor to land there was Cecil Clementi, in November 1925. The preceding governor, Reginald Stubbs, boarded the Victoria from the pier at the end of his term on 31 October 1925.
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