Chapter 5 - Battle ! In the Dawn Market
第五章 - 決戰！天光墟
25th December 1963
Today is Christmas, our most exciting and favourable day of the year! We had an annual Christmas dinner today.
Although it was Christmas time, we needed to work hard as usual. We woke at 4:30 am to prepare the homemade clothes sold in the dawn market. However, my brother lazed in bed; how dare! The dawn market would wait for nobody. If we were late, we would miss the market.
It could be Christmas; the market is more lively than on weekdays. Before 5 am, frequent customers were waiting for us. We made a roaring trade. Frequent customers settled an account, and many ordinary customers generously purchased. Around 7 am, most of our clothes were sold. It seemed it was morning, so we packed up and returned home for breakfast (Life Bread), then continuously worked at home.
1963年12月25日
今天是聖誕節，是一年一度我們一家最興奮、最喜愛的日子！因為今天能吃到一年一次的聖誕節大餐。
雖然是聖誕節，但早上亦要努力工作。如常地我們一家在四時半就起床準備要到天光墟出售自家製的衣服鞋襪，可是我弟這個臭小子居然在賴床，天光墟不等人，遲到了就會錯失賺錢的機會。可能是聖誕，今天的墟比平日熱鬧，五點還未到就有不少熟客上前等待我們開檔...
今天生意很好，不少熟客都付清之前的欠帳，還有不少生客大方購買，七點多就差不多賣完大部分的貨。反正都天光了，我們便早點收拾回家吃生命麵包做早餐、繼續開工生產。
Life Bread 生命麵包
Life Bread started producing in the 1960s. It shows no difference from other bread but purposely contains different nutrients when baking. In the 1960s, Hong Kong society was not wealthy, and most people worried about food and clothes. The generation of Life Bread is under this social condition. Life Bread aims to be a nutritious and cheap daily food for Hong Kong people, and the Garden company mixes minerals and vitamins inside the bread. The bread, which provided the needed nutrients for life, was produced and became affordable and convenient. Most Hong Kong people will start their day with a piece of life bread.
生命麵包於六十年代開始生產，眼看着一般麵包無異，但其實麵包裡加入不同的營養素。六十年代香港社會不富裕，市民要為基本溫飽而煩惱，生命麵包的產生正因如此。生命麵包主要想為市民提供有營養，而且平價的糧食。在麵包中加入礦物質及維他命，為市民提供生命所需的營養，就成為了當時既便宜又方便的糧食。大部份市民都會以生命麵包作為一天的開始。
Sham Shui Po Dawn Market for Garments
The dawn market is operated at dawn and established by Sham Shui Po residents. Before World War II, the market was formed by wholesalers who sold old clothes and was located at Cheung Sha Wan Road. During the early period of the Japanese assault, residents tended to sell their clothes in the market because it is not suitable for carrying massive baggage to flee. After the war, the dawn market moved to the junction between Shek Kip Mei Street, Yu Chau Street and Apliu Street in the 1950s to 1960s owing to the establishment of a bus route. Simultaneously, the demand for garments from Hong Kong people was continuously enhanced; thus, numerous family factories in Sham Shui Po started to engage in the garments industry by processing and producing. Having the production, they will sell their garments to wholesalers for selling all their products. The dawn market transferred from selling old clothes to hand-made garments.
1
The location of the Dawn Market
1 is the location before WWII,
2 is the location during 1950-1960s.
The dawn market started operating from 5 to 8 every morning. Most hawkers were garment wholesalers, while only a few came from family factories. Hawkers who operated a family factory would produce clothes at home and go to the market to sell their clothes to the wholesalers before sunrise. Some of them would also act as hawkers and sell their products in the market to earn money. The majority of customers were residents or lived in the surrounding district. Thus many hawkers had their own frequent customers. Frequent customers were allowed to buy on account by showing the invoice, while ordinary customers needed to pay by cash.
The generation and the business in the dawn market represented the living culture and standard of residents in that period. Sham Shui Po held the largest fabric business area, and massive wholesalers worked on cloth and spinning. The garment industry was generated owing to the fabric business. Simultaneously, owing to the lower living standard and poor living environment, many residents participated in producing garments at their homes. Owing to the lower cost of family factories, they could get with the trend and produce more clothes in fashion. Therefore, their clothes were popular among residents, and most of them loved purchasing clothes from the market. The dawn market reflecting Sham Shui Po has been flourishing in the fabric and garment industry since the 1950s. Also, the dawn market is a place for residents’ bread and butter, and consumption because of the poor living environment.
2
The Dawn Market
天光墟的面貌
3
February 1958, Hawkers in Yu Chau Street
1958年2月深水埗汝州街的小販
深水埗成衣天光墟
天光墟是一個由深水埗區居民自發形成的一個晨曦市集。早於戰前，墟市位於長沙灣道，由批發故衣的攤檔組成。第二次世界大戰日軍初攻打香港時，居民回鄉不便帶過多行李而將衣物賤賣，於墟市擺賣。戰後，五十至六十年代起，由於巴士路線，天光墟遷移到石硤尾街、鴨寮街和汝州街一帶。由於市民成衣需求不斷增加，不少在深水埗家庭式工廠選擇在家加工及製作成衣，然後出售給批發商以爭取賣完自家的手作。因此墟市亦由故衣市場演變成出售自製成衣的市場。
圖中為天光墟的位置
1為戰前
2為五十至六十年代 。
1
天光墟主要由凌晨五時至早上八時擺賣，大部份小販都是成衣批發商，有一小部份小販是來自自家經營的家庭式工廠。他們會在家生產衣服，然後趕在在天亮時到墟市賣給批發商，或是有些會充當小販的角色直接售賣成衣，幫補家計。大部分到天光墟購物的都是該區居民，因此大部份小販都有固定的熟客。熟客可以憑單據賒數，生客須即時現金付款。
天光墟的產生及擺賣，反映了當時深水埗區居民的生活文化及水平。深水埗是全香港最大的布行區，有大量的批發商在此做布匹、紡織生意，成衣業因此而生。同時由於當時市民經濟不佳，不少居民加入成衣業，在家生產。而由於家庭式工廠成本較低，他們往往能緊貼潮流，製作款式較多，因此他們的成衣受當地居民喜愛。一般居民都喜歡到天光去購買生產的成衣。由此可見，天光墟反映了當時深水埗是個布業、成衣業蓬勃的地區。同時由於生活水平不高，天光墟成為當時居民幫補生計及消費的地方。