Stonecutters Island

Black kites often hovered overhead, looking for prey and carrion amongst the many tamarind, ficus benjamina and banyan trees.

[citation needed] The island was ceded by the Qing dynasty to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland along with Kowloon in 1860 through the Convention of Peking.

From 1935 to 1939, the base was the main radio interception unit for the Far East Combined Bureau, which was four miles (6.4 kilometres) away across the harbour in the naval dockyard.

Additional boats were provided by 415 Maritime Unit RCT and crewed by Local Employed Personnel (LEPs).

During the 1960s, 70s and 80s, the island was used as a 'Rest and Recuperation' resort, having several chalet style bungalows built around the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes shop, restaurant and swimming pool complex on the South Shore.

During World War II, radio installations on the island were used by the Japanese for military purposes and for extending the range of transmission of the NHK Overseas Broadcasting Bureau.

The snakes were milked of their venom to provide antidotes for their soldiers bitten on active duty in the Pacific theatre.