The government began to develop the low ground between Causeway Road and Tung Lo Wan Road after the Second World War. In the 1950s, the eastern part of the ground was raised for the construction of Queen’s College (then called Central College).

At the same time the government constructed Queen’s Road, named after Queen Victoria, along the coastline, east to west from Sai Wan to Wan Chai. All the coastal buildings had their south-facing front doors looking out on Queen’s Road and their north-facing back doors at the waterfront.

In 1951, a large-scale reclamation project set off in Causeway Bay — the first of such an extent after the Second World War, embodying the largest ever typhoon shelter project in Hong Kong. With it, the original typhoon shelter was filled up by dredged mud and gravel from the seabed nearby, and the filled ground became a park, namely Victoria Park. Along the coast, three embankments were constructed, which mapped out the new typhoon shelter of 65 acres. A causeway connecting Kellett Island was also raised on the west to allow access to the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.

Reclamation afforded the government a good opportunity to lead off the entrance construction of the Cross Harbour Tunnel. The scheme began in the late 1960s, and it was accompanied by another reclamation that connected the Wan Chai formation with Kellett Island and part of Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter south of Victoria Park. The nullah at the west gate of Victoria Park was also covered up to make way for the section of Gloucester Road and Gloucester Road Flyover we now see. By then, the Causeway Bay waterfront that we are familiar with was put in shape.

Causeway Road is where the natural bay and causeway were in the past. The name “Causeway” duly reflects its origin.

The area around Central Library and Queen’s College was a marshy low ground vulnerable to floods. It was protected only by a raised causeway. The natural landscape of this part explains why Causeway Bay Sports Ground is lower-lying than Causeway Road — if you have ever noticed it.