Fishtail Rock

Fishtail Rock, named for its fin-like shape, stood on an islet about one and a half kilometres to the south of the eastern end of Boundary Street: the northern border of that part of Kowloon ceded to Britain in 1860. A fairly prominent harbour feature, the rocky islet appears on Captain Edward Belcher’s 1841 Hong Kong Nautical Chart and on later charts, rather grandiosely named – given its small size – Tok Kwu Wan Island. John Thomson photographed the rock, then about half a kilometre offshore, from a sandy beach. His photo looks southeast, with the outcrop hiding Lei Yue Mun, the eastern entrance to Victoria Harbour.