Under British rule 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. It was initially used for quarrying by the British, hence the
English name for the island. In the 1850s it was the site of a prison. A
Royal Navy Radio Interception and
Direction-finding Station was established on the island in 1935. 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. After World War II the island became host to
British Army units including 415 Maritime Unit RCT and the Ammunition Sub-Depot RAOC. Explosive storage became more important following the
1967 riots and the
Mines Division elected to have all commercial explosives stored on Stonecutters prior to being issued to the various blasting sites around the colony. British
Royal Army Ordnance Corps soldiers oversaw all commercial explosive issues post-1968 until 1994, at which time the Royal Navy took over care and custody of the military explosives at the site. Civilian explosive storage and issues was controlled by civilian contractors. The Royal Navy retained care and custody until the colony was transferred to
China in 1997. Before then, it was the training and HQ depot of the
Hong Kong Military Service Corps. The island was policed by Indian
Sikhs, because traditionally they neither smoke nor drink alcohol. The
Army Department Police (ADP), as they were known, saw continuous service on the island during the British era. They enjoyed
field hockey, and were often seen playing barefoot on the field. During the early 1980s, the ADP boasted two Indian national hockey players. It was common to see their blue
pagris (turbans) drying in the sun outside their barracks. The Royal Navy continued to provide a ferry service (known as T-Boats) connecting the islanders with
HMS Tamar on Hong Kong and the
Star Ferry terminal in Kowloon. 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. There was also a commercial interest on the island;
Jardine Matheson along with
DuPont erected an explosives factory to cater to the ever-growing need for commercial blasting explosives. The factory manufactured several tonnes of water gel and other commercial explosives per week. Limited stocks of Chinese, British and other commercial explosives were stored in the island's Victorian explosive storage tunnels. During the 1970s and 80s, the island was also the forward operating base (FOB) of a Royal Navy Hovercraft unit deployed to assist the Hong Kong government with anti-illegal immigration operations. The Royal Navy unit (Naval Party 1009) was under the control of Cmdr Chris Stafford and two SRN6 Mk6 Hovercraft were continually operated until 1985 when the unit was finally disbanded. Some buildings or military facilities within the Ngong Shuen Chau Barracks are now graded historic buildings.
During World War II Stonecutters Island was captured by the
Japanese Imperial Army on 11December 1941, following heavy shelling. Merchant ships in the island's docks were scuttled, and demolitions were carried out at
Kowloon Naval Yard and on the island. 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 Japanese (during the WW2 occupation) used the unique isolation of the island to house a snake farm. The snakes were milked of their venom to provide antidotes for their soldiers bitten on active duty in the Pacific theatre.
After 1997 Following the
transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to the
People's Republic of China on 1July 1997, the
naval base is now operated by the
People's Liberation Army Navy. ==Infrastructure on the island==