History of the Hong Kong St Andrew’s Society

Introduction

Scots in Hong Kong have been celebrating St Andrew’s Day almost continuously since Hong Kong’s early days as a British Colony. Originally, this was in the form of a St Andrew’s Dinner but, from 1877 and in most years since, has taken the form of an Annual Ball.

The Hong Kong St Andrew’s Society can trace its foundation to 1881 or 1882. Until 1881, the Ball was organised by an ad-hoc committee but from 1882, it came under the auspices of the newly formed Society. The St Andrew’s Ball, and later the Burns Night, have been regularly celebrated by the Society and its members ever since.

This web page sets out to give some idea of what the St Andrew’s Dinner, the St Andrew’s Ball and celebrations of Burns Night were like. For these details, we rely mostly upon detailed contemporary newspaper accounts. These exist for most, but not every year. Very few archives remain from before 1941 as most were lost during the Japanese occupation. In addition, information from Hong Kong government records and other secondary works has also been used. If anyone has any additional material, or access to other useful archives, please be in touch with the Society’s Administrator.

To access details, please click on any of the boxes on this page. Further details will be built up over time. If anyone has any other sources of information, or comments they wish to make, please contact the Society’s administrator.