Incredible images of Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak from 19th century – sedan chairs, the Peak tram – in new book

View towards Mt Gough with Peak Church. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

Along with a ride on the Star Ferry and a visit to the Big Buddha, a journey up Victoria Peak is high on the bucket lists of most visitors to Hong Kong.

Signal Station. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

And soon after settling in Hong Kong, many new residents quickly receive a potted history of the city’s most exclusive district – how it was first settled by the British seeking a respite from the summer heat, and how its upper-class inhabitants were originally hauled up the steep, winding paths in sedan chairs and rickshaws.

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Now, The Peak’s evolution from an isolated summer getaway for the colony’s elite to the top tourist attraction has been charted in The Peak – An Illustrated History of Hong Kong’s Top District by Richard J. Garrett, a historian, civil engineer and long-term resident of the exclusive enclave.

A rickshaw at the Matilda (undated). Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

The Peak, like much of Hong Kong, was very much the “barren rock” described by then British foreign secretary Lord Palmerston when the colony was established in 1841. It was left untouched until 1860, when a signal station was built to signal the arrival of the mail and other shipping, and a small military sanatorium followed in 1862.

A sketch of the newly opened Peak Tram. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

Several years later, the government converted the failed sanatorium into Mountain Lodge – “for the use of His Excellency the Governor and the officers of the Government” – and governor Richard MacDonnell became a regular visitor from 1867.

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Garrett writes: “Obviously if The Peak was good enough for the governor, it was good enough for lesser mortals, and following his example businessmen and other officials were soon wanting their own summer house on the hill.”

The Peak Tram timetable. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

It was all uphill from there. The opening of The Peak Tram in 1888 led to an influx of affluent residents and the establishment of The Peak as a high-class residential district (which it remains today), and eventually to a constant flood of tourists, due to the commanding views it leads to.

The Peak Club (undated). Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

The area’s evolution is bought to life in The Peak – An Illustrated History of Hong Kong’s Top District through the use of an impressive 140 pictures, including early paintings showing The Peak towering over the young colony, photographs of the first Peak mansions such as The Eyrie and La Hacienda, and beautifully colourised postcards showing expensive villas sprouting on the lush hillsides as the colony flourished.

The sedan chair shelter (today it’s The Peak Lookout restaurant). Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

The Peak may now be something of a tourist trap and offer slightly tackier forms of entertainment than the garden parties of yesteryear, but Garrett’s book is an informative, well-researched account of how a barren rock became one of the world’s most exclusive addresses and most coveted selfie spots.

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Barracks on The Peak (formerly Austin Hotel). Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

The view towards Victoria Peak. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

A Peak Tram at Barker Road. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

A couple in sedan chairs on The Peak. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

The Peak Hotel circa 1920. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

A cannon on The Peak overlooking Victoria Harbour. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

La Hacienda circa 1890. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

La Hacienda and Bangour. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

La Hacienda today. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

The Peak Church. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

The view from Victoria Peak. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

Mt Austin Barracks. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

View of Falls and WM Hospital. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

The cover of The Peak – An illustrated history of Hong Kong's top district by Richard J Garrett. Photo: courtesy of Richard J Garrett

The Peak – An Illustrated History of Hong Kong’s Top District was published last month by Blacksmith Books.