Points of Interest
Old Dairy Farm Main Office Building
Old Dairy Farm Senior Staff Quarters
(SSQ)
Workers’ dormitories
“The Mains” refers to the first and central farm of Dairy Farm at Pokfulam Road. At the Mains there were built structures including cowsheds, poultry batteries, dormitories for senior staff members, and blacksmith’s shops. The Main Office Building at the Mains was completed in around 1920s with art deco architectural style. Together with the cowsheds, the Main Office Building is revitalised by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) as its campus. There are stone wall trees next to the Building, growing on the original wall of the paddock.
Dairy Farm had six SSQ at Pokfulam, namely the Alandale, the Braemar, the Clanmore, the Domum, the Lamma View and the Sassoon Villa. Completed in 1887, the SSQ at Braemar is the farm’s oldest remaining building. It is comprised of the Main building, the Servants’ Quarters and the Garage Block with 20 rooms. It was given to the government after Dairy Farm ceased dairy farming and was listed as Grade 1 historic building. In 2015, the Development Bureau announced the revitalisation plan of SSQ. It will be transformed into “Pokfulam Farm” by Caritas-Hong Kong in order to demonstrate the history of dairy farming in Hong Kong. The revitalised building is expected to reopen in 2019.
Dairy Farm used to provide free accommodation to its workers near the workplace. The two blocks of dormitories were built after WWII, which housed around 700 employees and their family members. All residents moved out in the early 2000s. There was a plan to redevelop the dormitories to residential buildings. But their future use remains undetermined.
Wellcome Theatre
The development of Dairy Farm was not without its challenges – there was once an epidemic disease which killed all cows. Octagonal cowsheds were built to prevent diseases from spreading among cattle as it could separate the cows and wander them in the paddock. In 2007, the two remaining Cowsheds between Béthanie and Chinese Culinary Training Institute were revitalised into Wellcome Theatre with Dairy Farm’s sponsorship. One Cowshed was transformed into an auditorium, while another one became a small exhibition hall of Dairy Farm’s history. Free entry.
Manure pit
Dairy Farm built manure pits to store cow manure. The manure was fermented into fertiliser. Some villagers of Pokfulam Village recollected playing at the farm during their childhood. When the fermented manure was sprayed across the farm through the pipes, they got their clothes dirty. They washed the clothes and themselves at the waterpool nearby before going home. The remaining manure pit at Pokfulam Village is not graded by AAB and lack of maintenance.
Grass silo
Grass silo were built to store green fodder to feed cows during winter time. Green fodders were converted silage in a traditional method: workers put a layer of grass fodder and scattered salt evenly before adding another layer. The silo next to Pokfulam Village is in lack of maintenance and repair. The access to the silo is in poor condition too, but villagers and volunteers pay effort to clean it up. Under good weather conditions, you may walk up to the hill to view the silo’s roof and Pokfulam Village. Local villagers refer the grass as “Western grass” as it was imported from Britain. At the hillside next to Pokfulam Village (grassy hill) you could still find the grass of the same genus growing in the wild.
Remains of Cowsheds
Though most Dairy Farm buildings were demolished or revitalised after it moved out of Pokfulam, there are still remaining facilities. For instance, close to Pokfulam Reservoir and at Chi Fu Valley between Pokfulam Village and Chi Fu Fa Yuen, there are remains of the paddocks’ stone walls. For about 40 years without human activities, these places become the home of wildlife with ecological value. In particular, there are 20 Chinese banyan “stone wall trees”, i.e. trees growing on the stone walls of the paddocks.
Dairy Farm Union Corp
Dairy Farm Union Corp is located at Pokfulam Village. It is kept even though the villagers no longer work for Dairy Farm.