Fearless of the Night, the Light is Always Bright
Book Release and discussion panel “Seeing in the dark: Hong Kong Harbour and Lighthouses”
Time & Location
12 Dec 2021, 15:00 – 17:00 GMT+8
Hong Kong Maritime Museum
About the Event
Fearless of the Night, the Light is Always Bright
Book release and discussion panel “Seeing in the dark: Hong Kong Harbour and Lighthouses”
The sea is so broad that it can accommodate all rivers. As a cosmopolitan city surrounded by sea on three sides, Hong Kong's civilization has been nurtured by the sea, and its ability to embrace diverse cultures has also been honed.
The traffic flow of this city is busy. While the urban crowd rushes through the grey forest of concrete and steel, there is a group of people who gave up the urban glitz and left their families to guard the safety of the similarly busy maritime transport day and night.
They are lighthouse keepers.
Charles Beattie Allenby Haig Thirlwell was born in a British family in Hong Kong in 1918. His father served Tai Koo Dockyard as Master Mariner and captain of the tug “Tai Koo.” Fearless of solitude, Thirlwell chose to live in and guard guarding Waglan Island Lighthouse and Green Island Lighthouse for more than 20 years. He was not only devoted to the management of the lighthouse, but also helped to promote the integration of fishermen with the Hong Kong community, breaking down barriers and building bridges between land and water cultures.
He has passed away, but his voice is still there, and his family and friends will tell us more about him.
“How did Charles Thirlwell become father of fishermen in Hong Kong in the 1980s?”
“Why was a "gweilo", the expatriate inspector on Waglan Island, able to speak the fishermen’s language?”
" How did the Thrilwell family spend Christmas on Green Island, far from the urban area?”
“What is the early life of those people living on water like? What did Charles do for them on Waglan Island?”
If you are curious, just come and listen to the stories of the lighthouse keepers. This event will invite the Thirlwells, Mary Leung, James Thirlwell, Catherine Thirlwell, Christine Thirlwell, and Olivia Thirlwell and his friends, Peter Ying-lun Chan, Lai Chi Keung, Lai Tim and Lai Wing Hung to share their anecdotes and feelings. The students from City University of Hong Kong’s Lighthouse Heritage Research Connections (LHRC) who have contributed to the book will also be there to tell us the story of Hong Kong's lighthouses from the perspectives of different disciplines. Spoiler alert, these students will include visually impaired students who have also contributed to this research. You will be able to find out more about them in person.
Date & Time: 12 December, 3-5 PM
Venue: Hong Kong Maritime Museum
No registration is required. The participants will receive a free copy of the “Seeing in the dark: Hong Kong Harbour and Lighthouses” book. The book is limited to 100 copies, and will be distributed on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Click the links below to watch documentaries of this project:
Lighthouse Memories: Waglan Island Lighthouse (Cantonese)
Lighthouse Memories: Waglan Island Lighthouse (Putonghua)
Lighthouse Memories: Waglan Island Lighthouse (English)
Lighthouse Memories - Green Island Lighthouse (Cantonese)
Lighthouse Memories - Green Island Lighthouse (Putonghua)