Cape D'Aguilar Battery, Artillery battery in Southern District, Hong Kong.
Cape D'Aguilar Battery is a 1939 coastal battery on the hillside of the Cape D'Aguilar Peninsula, Southern District. Its two 4-inch naval guns stood on the slope, supported by a command post, searchlight, magazine, lookout and bunker. A machine-gun pillbox, PB33A, was built on the western beach at D'Aguilar Bay.
Built in 1939 as one of three improvised batteries on Hong Kong Island's south coast, Cape D'Aguilar Battery mounted two 4-inch naval guns on a hillside position. It supported Stanley Battery and guarded the rear of the larger Bokhara Battery. On 19 December 1941, its garrison of the 1st Battery, Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, destroyed the facilities and withdrew to Stanley Peninsula, fighting until the surrender on 26 December. Abandoned after 1945, it was listed as a Grade II historic building on 18 December 2009.
The battery's name honours Major-General Sir Charles D'Aguilar, a 19th-century Governor of Hong Kong, while its Chinese name, Hok Tsui, refers to the peninsula's shape. The site is now a Grade II historic building, and visitors can see the remains of the gun positions and command post.
Visitors access the battery through narrow paths that branch off from Cape D'Aguilar Road and climb upward. Sturdy footwear is recommended as the terrain is steep and uneven in several sections.
The battery's two 4-inch guns were supplied by the Royal Navy, and a machine-gun pillbox, PB33A, stood on the rocky shore of the peninsula's west coast to stop landings from Tai Tam Bay. The garrison of the 1st Battery, Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, disabled the guns before withdrawing to Stanley on 19 December 1941.
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