On January 26, 1841 (the 21st year of Emperor Daoguang's reign), the British army landed in Sai Ying Pun, which is now Possession Street (水坑口街), and Sai Ying Pun was not as prosperous as it is today. In May of that year, according to the population census published in the Hong Kong Gazette, there were approximately 7,450 people in Sai Ying Pun. Sai Ying Pun, which developed in the 1850s, is a microcosm of Hong Kong history. Due to its location by the sea and steep mountains, the Hong Kong government chose Sai Ying Pun as the British military camp for the Bengal Volunteers from India, which had 800 Indian soldiers. The camp was located on the hillside of present-day Water Street. In 1842, Canton Press (廣州周報) reported on the construction plan of Hong Kong: "About four miles from west to east along the northern bay, to the east is the peninsula where the Jardine Matheson Company's buildings are located, to the west is the military camp where the Bengal Volunteers are stationed, and a road connects the two east and west outposts." The Bengal Volunteers military camp referred to here is Sai Ying Pun (lit. the Western Military camp).
Queen's Road was the first road built in the area. It meandered around the camp structures and extended along the north coast of Hong Kong Island. Sai Ying Pun was settled as Chinese immigrants moved into Hong Kong and built to the west of Tai Ping Shan. Europeans were assigned areas above
High Street where Chinese were excluded from living. In the early 1880s, sewerage was installed into the area, with the main flow coming down
Centre Street. Streets were also macadamised or concreted at this time. Around 1882, Battery Road was renamed
Bonham Road. From 1884 to 1887,
many brothels were declared by the Government to be unlicensed and closed down. These were mainly in
First,
Second and
Third Street, but also in Sheung Fung Lane, Ui On Lane and Centre Street. In 1894, an epidemic of
bubonic plague struck and afflicted Sai Ying Pun residents. It was not initially as bad as in neighbouring
Tai Ping Shan, which was abandoned and demolished to improve hygiene. However, Sheung Fung Lane residents were almost wiped out. Government reports called this area the number IX health district and went into great detail about the buildings where the disease occurred. In 1896, there were 115 cases, in 1898, 153 cases, in 1899, 263 cases, in 1900 98 cases, in 1904 there were 149 cases with 144 dying, and 55 cases in 1905. The great majority of infections in this district resulted in death. , built in 1926 In 1902, number 10 and 12 Second Street partially collapsed killing four people and injuring six. An additional storey had been added to number 10 at the beginning of 1901. It fell on number 12 and caused it to collapse as well. The extension had been designed by architects Denison and Ram. Also in 1902, a cookhouse at 56 First Street collapsed, one person was killed. In 1899, there were 1017 houses and a population estimate of 24,800. Most houses in
Des Voeux Road and First Street were three stories, and in Second and Third Street they were two stories. In 1904 population was 24,900 and average occupancy per floor of each house was 8.9. In 1905, the population was 25083. In 1903, most houses were made from soft blue bricks, they had basements, and retaining walls at the front and back due to the steep slope. In the early 1900s, there was a Berlin Foundling House in High Street, a Sailors Home, and a Lunatic Asylum. ==Main streets==