All about the ship that gave Hong Kong’s Tamar complex its name
It’s surprising how much people get wrong about HMS Tamar, the British naval ship that was anchored in Victoria Harbour for 44 years and after which the onshore depot, now site of government HQ, was named
ASK THE AVERAGE Hongkonger what the “Tamar” in Tamar Street, the Tamar government buildings and Tamar Park refers to and you’ll probably draw a blank.
That’s hardly surprising. Knowledge of HMS Tamar, the ship that was part of Hong Kong’s living history from 1865 – yes, 1865 – until it was scuttled, on December 18, 1941, has always been a bit thin, even when she was a floating fixture.
In 1909, the fledgling South China Morning Post described the Tamar as having arrived “about fifteen years ago” – close, but no cigar. Twenty-five years later, in July 1934, the Post stated that the ship had been launched in June 1863 – whoops. It reported that her maiden voyage had been to China – it wasn’t. It went on to state that the Tamar first came to Hong Kong in 1878 – it didn’t. It outlined the ship’s service history as involving two more visits to Hong Kong in 1886 and June 1895 – wrong. The paper rounded off the brief background by saying that in June 1895 the Tamar became the British Royal Navy’s receiving ship in Hong Kong – umm, no and no. It is curious how so much misinformation can accrue in just 40 years and remain set in stone for the next 80-plus. Gresham’s law as applied to history – bad data drives out good.
So what is the story?
Births, deaths, bigamy, murders, suicides, food poisoning, imperial adventure, theatricals, courts martial, stints as hospital ship and royal yacht, fires, groundings, collisions, wars, scuttling, revenge, the Japanese national anthem … and recently rediscovered remains. In the Tamar’s 78 years afloat and 75 years a wreck, a heck of a lot happened. Too much to cover in its entirety here and enough, it seems, for an entire book.
