Antiquities Advisory Board and Antiquities and Monuments Office

The Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) of LCSD continued to be the executive arm of the Antiquities Authority, i.e. Secretary for Home Affairs to preserve Hong Kong's heritage and promote public awareness through various education and extension projects.

The Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) comprises 21 appointed members. It advises the Government on sites and structures that merit protection by declaring them as monuments and on other matters related to antiquities and monuments.

In 2004, the AMO continued to undertake restoration and repair works at various historic buildings, including the Tin Hau Temple in Causeway Bay, Cheung Ancestral Hall in Shan Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long, and Lui Seng Chun in Mong Kok.

To encourage participation from owners of private historic buildings in conservation works, the AMO provided technical advice and assistance in their maintenance and restoration projects. The AMO, for example, supervised the restoration of Liu Ying Lung Study Hall undertaken by the Liu clan of Hin Shing Tong in Sheung Shui.

In its endeavours to preserve cultural heritage in face of impending development projects, the AMO conducted a number of conservation studies including that on Tsang Tai Uk in Sha Tin, Tat Tak Communal Hall in Ping Shan, Yuen Long, as well as the historic buildings in Tung Ping Chau, among others.

Apart from drawing up conservation guidelines for important historic buildings like Central Police Station Complex and Kom Tong Hall in Central and Lui Seng Chun, the AMO also monitored important development projects affecting the built heritage. Examples were the heritage tourism development of the former Marine Police Headquarters Compound in Tsim Sha Shui and the redevelopment of the former St Joseph's Home for the Aged in Ngau Chi Wan.

The AMO continued to contribute to the Environmental Impact Assessment for development projects, and monitored field investigations and implementation of mitigation measures under the Heritage Impact Assessment. For example, archaeological studies were conducted for the development of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and Tonggu Channel of Shenzhen Port.

Rescue archaeological excavations conducted in December 2003 and June 2004 have saved abundant artefacts dated to the Bronze Age in So Kwun Wat, Tuen Mun, before development in the area commenced. Similar operations were also organised before works began on village house developments in areas such as Tuen Mun, Tai Po, Cheung Chau and Lamma Island.

On May 7, 2004, relics were discovered from a drainage work site at the junction of Soy Street and Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok. Subsequent site monitoring further retrieved four intact pottery vessels dated from Eastern Han to Jin dynasties together with a small quantity of prehistoric artefacts.

The AMO and the City University of Hong Kong organised an international conference on 'Chinese Export Ceramics and Maritime Trade, 12th to 15th Century' in June. Over 60 experts from the Mainland, Hong Kong and other countries attended the conference. It provided an opportunity for scholars to share results of the latest research on ceramic trade and maritime history between China and Southeast Asia.

The Hong Kong Heritage Awards 2004 was a highlight education activity of the year. The objectives of the Awards were to promote preservation of Hong Kong's heritage and to give recognition and encouragement to the community for their commendable achievements in heritage conservation and education. Entries for the Awards have been invited since September and adjudication work will start in early 2005.

The setting up of the Heritage Discovery Centre in Kowloon Park is in good progress. Facilities such as a thematic gallery, lecture theatre, reference library and activity rooms will be commissioned for public use by phases from late-2005 onwards. A standing exhibition on Hong Kong's archaeological and built heritage is to open in early 2007.

Lord Wilson Heritage Trust

The Lord Wilson Heritage Trust aims to promote the preservation and conservation of Hong Kong's heritage.

During the year, apart from sponsoring $610,000 for four heritage-related activities and research projects, the trust granted $245,500 to the Conservancy Association for undertaking the project on 'Heritage Conservation — We all gained'. The project aims to collect and put forward views and comments of the public on heritage conservation as well as to strengthen the public's knowledge on the same subject.