Dredging Up Hong Kong’s Colonial Past

HMS Tamar before her conversion to a floating depot ship

According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the remains of the HMS Tamar may have been discovered in the midst of the Wan Chai Development project in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. If the vessel is indeed the Tamar, then its re-discovery dredges up a chapter in Hong Kong’s history that most of the cast of characters involved would prefer remain silent. Built in 1863 (some sources state she was launched in 1865), the Tamar was named for the Cornish river Tamar in southwest England and was the fifth vessel to carry the name.

Tamar arrived in Hong Kong on April 11, 1897 as a transport vessel and was transitioned to a floating office and depot ship. For the next forty-four years she served in this capacity until Hong Kong was threatened with Japanese invasion in December 1941. On the night of December 11/12th, the Tamar was towed out to deep water and scuttled, however, due to her enlarged superstructure, the vessel did not sink immediately and shore artillery had to finish the job. Thirty-five of the two hundred fifty ship’s company of sailors and Royal Marines perished in the next two weeks as the British fought against long odds to hold off the Japanese invasion force.

                                                                            HMS Tamar as a floating depot ship

Following the liberation of Hong Kong in 1945, the wreck was removed so as not to be a hazard to navigation and the Royal Navy’s shore station was renamed HMS Tamar in 1947. Despite the salvage effort, it is likely elements of the ship’s keel and lower decks were left in the mud of Victoria Harbour. This is most likely what was rediscovered by the Wan Chai Development crews and how the vessel is treated is an open question perhaps many would rather not have asked. The scuttling of the Tamar is a reminder to Britain of her embarrassing defeat in Asia during World War Two – the loss of Singapore, Hong Kong and HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse to the Japanese severely undermined Britain’s primacy in Asia. It is also a reminder to the People’s Republic of the eight years of misery they endured at the hands of the Japanese as well as the ignominy of having certain ports colonized by foreign powers. Finally, it reminds Japan of a past it would at times rather forget.