Central & Western District Special ①: Duddell Street Steps and Gas Lamps

Built between 1875 and 1889, the granite Duddell Street Steps was declared a statutory monument on 15 August 1979 together with the four gas lamps on its two sides.

According to the catalogue of the manufacturer, Suggs & Co., the four gas lamps belonged to the two-light Rochester models produced in 1922. There was, however, no record of their year of installation. Being erected on the balustrades on both sides of the stone steps, these four gas lamps have shorter lampposts than those of the ordinary ones.

In 1862, the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) was founded to provide street lighting service. Since gas lamps did not require to be refueled, they replaced kerosene lamps very quickly and Hong Kong became one of the first cities in East Asia where streets were streets were lighted with gas lamps. At that time, these gas lamps had to be ignited and extinguished manually with a long rod daily.

After World War II, gas lamps throughout the Territory were gradually replaced by electric lamps. The four gas lamps at Duddell Street Steps are the remaining ones for which Towngas is now responsible for gas supply and maintenance. Having been equipped with automatic switches, they are now turned on and off daily at 6p.m. and 6a.m. automatically.