Sir Alexander Grantham
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Sir Alexander Grantham (葛量洪號) was a fire boat for the Fire Services Department (Hong Kong). The fireboat was named after former British Governor Sir Alexander Grantham. The boat has since retired and replaced by other vessels.
On 10th March 2006, the fireboat was successfully hoisted and landed at its new permanent home at the Central Concourse of Quarry Bay Park, Hong Kong, where it will be converted into the Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery, a gallery and opened to the public in April, 2007.
[edit] Public Display
Leisure & Cultural Services Assistant Director for Heritage & Museums of Hong Kong, Mr. Gerard Tsang said lifting a 500-tonne historic boat onto land is the first project of its kind ever conducted in Asia.
Fireboat Alexander Grantham is also the first boat preserved as a historic relic in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Museum of History's largest 'Made in Hong Kong' collection item, he said.
The landing of the Alexander Grantham marks the end of 50 years of service in the harbour. Perched on Victoria Harbour's waterfront, it will be transformed into a gallery.
Mr Tsang said after the fireboat's installation, construction of the exhibition gallery will begin at full speed with the help of the Architectural Services Department and the Leisure & Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong.
[edit] A showcase of HK's sea salvage history
Fireboat Alexander Grantham, the largest in the fleet of fireboats, was built by the Hong Kong Whampoa Dock Company Limited in 1953 and decommissioned in May 2002, after 49 years of service.
Measuring 38.9 metres long, 8.8 metres wide, 15 metres tall and with a loaded displacement of 511 tonnes, it has taken part in numerous fire-fighting and rescue operations, including the Seawise University fire in 1972, the Eastern Gate fire in the 1980s and the New Orient Princess fire in 1993.
Alexander Grantham is also a great example of the local shipbuilding industry's achievements in the early 1950s. It will showcase Hong Kong's sea salvage history of the past century and provide a glimpse of the city's social development.
