The government announced in July this year that the Bonham Road Government Primary School was listed as a statutory monument.
The Secretary for Development, Wong Wai-lun, published a blog today (22) to introduce the characteristics of the school.
He said that Bonham Road Government Primary School has a history of 80 years. It is the old school building of "Luo Fuguo Normal College", the first full-time normal school in Hong Kong. To this day, the main entrance of the main building still vaguely sees the former "Luo Fuguo Normal College". Traces of the name.
In addition, there are two air-raid shelters in the basement, which are quite rare among the existing historical buildings in Hong Kong.
The top of the spiral staircase in the school building also hangs a "Foucault pendulum". It is an astronomical device installed when the school was built to prove the rotation of the earth. It is one of the school's cultural relics preserved by the school.
The Bonham Road Government Primary School in Sai Ying Pun was once the old school building of Luo Phu Quoc Normal College and was completed in 1941.
In July this year, the government announced that it was declared a monument.
(Photo of Development Bureau)
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The front entrance still has traces of the English name of "Luo Fuguo Teachers College"
The Bonham Road school building was built from 1940 to 1941, and it was the old school building of the first full-time normal college in Hong Kong, "Luo Fuguo Normal College".
During the Japanese occupation, the school building was used as a headquarters by the Japanese military police.
Later, the Bonham Road campus was used by the United College of the Chinese University of Hong Kong until the college moved to Shatin in 1971.
Since January 2000, the school building has been Bonham Road Government Primary School.
Since the Bonham Road school building has been used for educational purposes, traces of the former English name of "Luo Fuguo Teachers College" can still be seen at the entrance of the main building's outer wall.
Old photo of Luo Fuguo Normal University.
(Image source: Hong Kong Education Museum, The Education University of Hong Kong)
Two air-raid shelters are provided with the most characteristic curved exterior wall and central rotation
According to Xiao Lijuan, Executive Secretary of the Antiquities and Monuments Office, the main building of the school is three stories high and is constructed of concrete with a basement; the building is in an E-shaped layout, with a long and narrow middle part, with attached wings at both ends, symmetrical.
Xiao Lijuan said that the design of the main building is a typical example of a modern streamlined style building, characterized by the use of curves and horizontal lines, focusing on functions and minimal decoration.
In addition, the curved exterior wall facing Bonham Road and the central spiral staircase are distinctive, and the wooden doors, wood or steel frame windows and their small hardware in the main building, the cement staircase tiles decorated by Italian slabs, and the wooden floor are also preserved. It's very good.
When the main building was built, there were two air-raid shelters in the basement, each with airlocks, which can also be used as escape exits. It is now used as a library and activity room.
She described that this kind of air-raid shelter design is quite rare among the existing historical buildings in Hong Kong.
When the school building was built, there were two air-raid shelters in the basement, each with an air lock, which can also be used as an escape exit; it is now used as a library and activity room.
(Photo of Development Bureau)
Foucault pendulum was installed when the school was built
Feng Yuan, the former president of the Luo Fuguo Alumni Association, also pointed out that the Foucault Pendulum (Foucault Pendulum) was hung from the top of the school’s stairs. It was an astronomical device installed when the school was built. It is one of the cultural relics still preserved in the school.
In addition, Wan Liying, who is an alumnus of Luo Phu Quoc Institute of Education and the current principal of Bonham Road Government Primary School, also said that the school deliberately added historical architectural elements to the school-based curriculum to strengthen students' awareness of conservation.
The Foucault pendulum suspended from the top of the revolving staircase is an astronomical device installed when the school was built to prove the rotation of the earth.
(Photo of Development Bureau)
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