In the 1860s, the government elevated the low-lying Wong Nai Chung and Ngo Keng with the clay extracted from Morrison Hill and Jardine’s Hill. The valley portion of the region was developed into Happy Valley Racecourse, and the waterfront part became a commercial and industrial district. This built-up area was named Bowrington after the current Governor, sometimes referred to as Bowring Town, while the Chinese are in the habit of calling it Ngo Keng. It encompassed the area around today’s Hennessey Road, Morrison Hill Road, Leighton Road and Matheson Street, therefore also today’s landmarks like Times Square, Tang Lung Street, Canal Road Flyover, Bowrington Road, Ngo Keng Market (lit. Gooseneck Market, aka Bowrington Road Market) and Yue King Building. Residents of the newly developed Bowrington were mainly Chinese and Indians who worked for Jardine Matheson & Co. In 1904, Hong Kong Tramways (then called Electric Traction Company of Hong Kong) built a tram depot and a power station at Russell Street, making Bowrington the eastern tram terminus.

Have you wondered why the always-buzzing Canal Road (Canal Road East, Canal Road West, and the Canal Road Flyover in-between) receives such a peculiar name? It might be hard to imagine, but the ever-flowing waterway would have been right under our feet!