Previous posts have mentioned the
fact that over the years graves within the Hong Kong Cemetery have had to be moved
in order for tunnels and flyovers to be built.
One such grave is that of Henry Fletcher HANCE who arrived in Hong
Kong in 1844 seeking employment as a clerk in the new
administration. A few years later, in a
moved aimed at broadening his horizons, Henry was successful in obtaining a
post in Canton with the Superintendent of Trade for China and rose to become
Keeper of the Archive. This led on to a
long career as a consular official in Whampoa with acting appointments up and
down the China Coast. Life in Whampoa would have been quiet in the
extreme but to brighten his life he had a wife whom he adored. His leisure hours were spent in pursuit of
his favourite science – Botany – and he became an authority on the plants of China. Henry
died in 1886 in Amoy and his body was brought back to Hong
Kong for a funeral fit for an Acting Consul. His grave could originally be found in
Section 8 but this was one of those sections affected by the road widening
schemes of the 1970s. The grave of the Botanist
can now be found in Section 4 of the former Hong Kong
Colonial Cemetery
in Happy Valley.
The full story of the life and
career of Henry Fletcher HANCE can be found on my China Interlude Blog - the following link will take you there:
