Police Museum assumes new look
The Police Museum at The Peak is greeting its visitors with a completely new look, following the first major renovation in its 21-year history.
The museum re-opened to the public on October 17, two days after Director of Personnel and Training Ma Wai-luk officiated at a re-opening ceremony as Chairman of the Force Museum Advisory Committee.
The 10-month renovation, carried out by the Architectural Services Department on behalf of the Force, has given the museum a facelift in terms of configuration, layout of galleries, display cabinets, space, lighting, and air-conditioning. Even the environment outside the museum has been improved with glass railings, tactile guide path, canopy, flowerbeds, and floor tiles.
Explaining the background of the renovation, Force Curator, Dr Lam Kam-yuen, pointed out that over 21 years after opening of the museum, the original facilities looked outdated and were aging. "Therefore this major renovation, the first of its kind after the museum opened in 1988, was carried out in order to enhance the museum's facilities and the Force's image, and to enable visitors to enjoy services in a cosy and ideal environment," he said.
Dr Lam further pointed out that many residents and tourists showed a great interest in the museum's collections of exhibits. "For example, many visitors were attracted by the head of the Sheung Shui tiger, which fatally injured two police officers before being shot dead by the police in 1915," he said.
"The Police Museum's collections are very unique, witnessing the Force's historical changes in the past 160 odd years. There are some 4 000 items in the collections of which 700 are on display in five galleries, namely, Orientation Gallery, Triad Societies and Narcotics Gallery, Then and Now Gallery, Heroin - manufacturing Laboratory Gallery and Current Exhibition Gallery," he noted.
To coincide with its re-opening, the museum is staging a three-month exhibition on the histories and developments of the police forces on the Mainland, Taiwan and Macau. The artefacts on display, including documents, certificates, badges, insignia, and old photographs, are by courtesy of the Police Historical Artefacts Collection Society and the Hong Kong Police - Public Security University Alumni in Hong Kong.
This thematic exhibition, Dr Lam said, represents the Police Museum's continuing efforts to forge closer ties with its counterparts on the Mainland and overseas with the longer-term objective of making exhibits available on loan to each other.
The "completely new" museum is housed in a historic building, which has also witnessed the Force's transformations and developments. Visitors to the museum not only would get an insight into the Force's history and developments, but also would be captivated by the story behind each exhibit.
The museum is located at 27 Coombe Road, The Peak.
Public transport: Bus No. 15 (from Exchange Square to The Peak). Get off at the stop between Stubbs Road and Peak Road.
Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday from 9 am to 5 pm, and Tuesday from 2 pm to 5 pm. Closes on Monday and public holidays. For enquiry: 2849-7019.
 Mr Ma, Mrs Chan Wong Yan-lan, Police Civil
Secretary, and two members of the Force Museum Advisory Committee, Mr
Stephen Verralls (second right), and Mr Christopher Bilham perform the
re-opening ceremony |
 Mr Ma, accompanied by Dr Lam, tours the
museum after the re-opening ceremony |
 Dr Lam explaining the background to the
head of the Sheung Shui tiger |
A plague broke out in 1894 and was not put
under control until two years later. To express its gratitude, the Hong
Kong community awarded medals to the personnel who assisted in coping
with the disaster. In 1970, the son of Inspector George Hennessy, a
recipient of the medal, donated this plague medal to the Force |
 A model of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal
officer with a bomb disposal wheel-barrow |
 Various types of police weapons |
 Police notices offering rewards for kidnap
and robbery cases |
 Replica of a heroin-manufacturing
laboratory |
 "Triumph" motorcycle with sidecar, used in
late 1960s |
Part of the three-month thematic exhibition |