Hong Kong’s government survey service provided the mapping essential to land administration, boundary surveying, public works and development during British Crown colony rule. Its maps bear names including the Crown Lands & Survey Office and Lands & Survey Department within the Public Works Department. The Survey and Mapping Office subsequently operated within the Lands Department from 1982, the Buildings and Lands Department from 1986, and the Lands Department again from 1993.
Publications ranged from detailed 1:1,000 plans in the HP1S and HP1C series to 1:5,000 HP5C surveys and 1:20,000 HM20C colour maps for wider use. The examples here record Ma Tau Wai and Ho Man Tin building by building, To Kwa Wan’s industrial waterfront beside Kai Tak, Deep Bay’s villages and fishponds around Lau Fau Shan, and eastern Lantau around Silver Mine Bay and Discovery Bay. These 1980s maps preserve streets, shorelines and rural landscapes subsequently transformed by reclamation, transport projects and redevelopment.