Repulse Bay

History

The origins of the bay's English name have become extremely obscure. There are, however, many stories — none resting on any solid evidence that has so far been established. A typical example is that in 1841, the bay was used as a base by pirates and caused serious concern to foreign merchant ships trading with China. The pirates were subsequently repulsed by the Royal Navy, hence the name. There is no evidence of any such origin in the extensive British naval log books of the period. Another story holds that the bay was named after HMS Repulse, which was stationed at the bay at one point. No HMS Repulse ever visited Hong Kong, let alone Repulse Bay and the 1868 Repulse served only on the west coast of the Americas (1872–77) and thereafter in British waters. Although an earlier ship, launched in 1855 and briefly bored the name HMS Repulse, was stationed in Hong Kong from 1874 but by then she had long been renamed HMS Victor Emmanuel. It is known that the name appeared on the earliest British official map of Hong Kong by Lt TB Collinson RE in 1845. However, British Admiralty charts never used the name until the 20th century, instead sticking to the quite erroneous name given by Commander Edward Belcher RN in his 1841 survey, Chonghom Bay. The source of the name remains unknown. In 1898, the Hong Kong Golf Club opened in the valley behind the Deep Water Bay and became a social hub. Roads were developed between the South and the North parts of Hong Kong Island and in the 1910s, Repulse Bay was developed into a beach. The Repulse Bay Hotel was built by the Kadoorie family in 1920. During the Battle of Hong Kong in World War II, Repulse Bay was an important strategic location. The Repulse Bay Hotel was used by the Japanese as a military hospital during the war. American…

Geography

Repulse Bay is located in the southern part of Hong Kong Island, to the east of Deep Water Bay and to the west of Middle Bay and South Bay. Middle Island is located off Hong Kong Island, between Repulse Bay and Deep Water Bay.

Most-observed species

• Red-throated Loon

  Gavia stellata (Pontoppidan, 1763) · Aves
  2
• Semipalmated Plover

  Charadrius semipalmatus Bonaparte, 1825 · Aves
  1
• Rough-legged Hawk

  Buteo lagopus (Pontoppidan, 1763) · Aves
  1
• Glaucous-winged Gull

  Larus glaucescens J.F.Naumann, 1840 · Aves
  1
• Black-legged Kittiwake

  Rissa tridactyla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1
• Sabine's Gull

  Xema sabini (Sabine, 1819) · Aves
  1
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1
• American Pipit

  Anthus rubescens (Tunstall, 1771) · Aves
  1

Most recent

• M 4.2 — 2016-10-30
  Melville Peninsula, Nunavut, Canada