The church, the mine and the people : discovering the social significance of the Yan Kwong Lutheran Church at the former iron mine village of Ma On Shan

Abstract

Mining Industrial was once an important industrial activity in Hong Kong. The Ma On Shan Iron Mine was the biggest mines in Hong Kong. The boom of mining industry in 1950 with more than 5000 miners, who were the immigrant due to instable political environment of China. Although the iron ore is occupied by Chinese mining communities, sign of Chinese religions are hardly noted in the Ma On Shan iron ore area. This dissertation is focusing on religious activities in Ma On Shan villages, study the establishment, neglect and retrieval of the Churches, and identify if the Church shall be defined as a place with social value. The Church complexes, Yan Kwong Lutheran Church& St Joseph’s Church were graded as Grade II & Grade III Historic Building under the current assessment system of the Antiquities Advisory Board. However, it seems the Historic Building Appraisals (Appendix I) are greatly focused on historic value of the space. Instead, author thinks the social value of the Churches shall be the focal point. It brings up a doubt if social value of the Churches was being overlooked. Characters of social value identified in the discussion paper of “What is Social Value” by Chris Johnston (1992)is the specific theory basis for assessing the social value of the Churches and the relationship in the past and present.