Police stations' numbering system
To date, the Western Police Station is still known to many people as the Number 7 Police Station. The reason for this is the fact that the Force formerly used a numbering system for the police stations on Hong Kong Island. There were altogether nine police stations within the system.
The locations of these stations are listed as follows:
No. 1 Police Station, built in 1853, was located at the beginning of Percival Street, i.e. the present site of the Eastern Exchange Tower at the junction of Percival Street and Leighton Road. It was demolished in the mid-1930s.
No. 2 Police Station located at Praya East, i.e. at the junction of the present Wan Chai Road and Johnston Road, was first occupied in 1868. A new No. 2 Police Station was completed in 1932 following completion of the Praya East Reclamation in 1929. This is now known as the Wan Chai Police Station.
No. 3 Police Station, situated in Queen's Road East, was built in 1847. It was vacated after 1905, and demolished subsequently. The former Wan Chai Post Office was built in its place.
No. 4 Police Station built in 1863 was close to the former Victoria Barracks, east of the former Naval Dockyard.
No. 5 Police Station, in use from 1857, was located at the junction of Wellington Street and Queen's Road Central. It later became the Chief Fire Station of the Fire Brigade and its quarters until the former Central Fire Station in Des Voeux Road Central was inaugurated in late 1921.
No. 6 Police Station at Victoria Gap was in use from 1869. It was later replaced by a new police station at Mount Gough in 1886, which was renamed the Peak Police Station. It was later used as quarters, vacated in the 1930s, and demolished in 1948.
In the next issue, we shall talk about the locations of No.7, 8 and 9 Police Stations.
No. 1 Police Station before demolition
Wan Chai Police Station in use since 1932