既是炮台又是學校？
兩代村民共同守護東涌炮台逾190年歷史回憶
A Fort, A School, A Memory:
Guardians of Tung Chung’s 190-Year Story
撰 文 Author Emily Shu
🔊📖 聲音導賞
離東涌站只有10分鐘車程的東涌炮台內，凜然的石牆和已棄置的課室在平日下午顯得有點冷清。走進這個小型清朝堡壘，放眼望去便是東涌公立學校的舊址。左邊設有展覽廳和東涌鄉事委員會。向中間的課室探頭窺望，雖然已然荒廢，但還會看到昔日學校保留下來的牌匾、電腦和桌椅。走上圍繞學校的防禦牆拾級而走，更能看見炮台學校的全貌，還有面向東涌灣的石牆上裝有的六門大炮。
早在清代，東涌炮台就有「東涌所城」之稱，是大鵬右營的水師總部。自新界在1898年租借給英國，炮台曾先後作警署和華英中學，至1946年再改為東涌鄉事委員會及東涌公立學校，是東涌好幾代人學習的地方。
上嶺皮村的李村長早在1960年代便在炮台學校讀書。他憶述小時候農忙時就幫家人下田耕種，當時政府頒布政策規定適齡兒童可入學讀書，「當時我工作至十多歲，才有機會讀書識字！」當時東涌公立學校吸引了大嶼山的許多兒童讀書，有的清晨5時便起床，跨山而來上學，全盛時期全校有400多名學生。
當年生活雖然簡樸，但學校生活熱鬧愉快。除了讀書，李村長最記得大家會在學校裡種菜和摘果實，與老師和同學分享︰「大家就像家人一般，好開心！」後來李村長長大後還成為了校監，而於1980年代在炮台學校讀書的馮村長、羅村長和吳先生，便對於李村長在課室外經過監督學生上課的身影深有印象！不過，小孩子當然就愛玩，每逢課後他們總喜歡跑上圍牆玩大炮。「我們還試過在草叢附近找到鐵炮彈呢！」
時移世易，與其在鄉村學校讀書，新一代家長都希望子女能夠去新式學校升學。久而久之，東涌公立學校的師生人數漸漸減少。馬灣涌漁民代表楊村長指 ︰「到我讀書的年代，人數已少得只有四至六年班，我們還要跨級合班上課。」作校監的李村長面對學校即將停辦，都曾經寫推薦信介紹老師到其他學校另謀高就。
時代淘汰是常態，豁達的馬灣涌村人亦見慣不怪，甚至不少人長大後都離開東涌入市區居住。然而，面對學校日漸凋零、停辦，甚至今日炮台學校的遺址仍有破爛，言談間都感覺到村代表們的無奈與惋惜。學校停辦後雖然曾利用舊址空地舉辦舊生展覽、甚至「東涌炮台同樂日」，但炮台學校的長遠發展仍然有待討論。
為了好好保存大家的集體回憶，東涌鄉事委員會曾鼓勵馬灣涌村民收集舊物，以待將來能在炮台學校建立博物館。「最希望可以將這裡修葺好成博物館，把炮台的歷史和我們的回憶承傳下去。」由清末時代抵抗海盜外敵，到孕育多代東涌人成長，走進東涌炮台會讓人聯想起昔日的炮火聲和師生們的歡笑聲，這也是馬灣涌村人竭力爭取妥善保育舊校的原因，盼望守護他們的集體回憶，也映照香港歷史的一頁。
Only a ten-minute drive from Tung Chung Station lies Tung Chung Fort, where the solemn stone walls and abandoned classrooms carry a quiet stillness on a weekday afternoon. Stepping into this small Qing dynasty fortress, one immediately sees the old site of Tung Chung Public School. To the left is an exhibition hall and the Tung Chung Rural Committee office. Peeking into the central classrooms, although deserted, one can still glimpse the preserved plaques, computers, and desks left from the school’s past. Climbing the defensive walls surrounding the school offers a panoramic view of the fort, including six cannons mounted on the stone walls facing Tung Chung Bay.
Dating back to the Qing dynasty, Tung Chung Fort, also known as “Tung Chung Fortress,” served as the naval headquarters of the Dapeng Right Battalion. Since the New Territories were leased to Britain in 1898, the fort has successively served as a police station, Wa Ying College, Tung Chung Rural Committee, and finally Tung Chung Public School—a place where generations of Tung Chung residents studied.
Village Representative Mr Lee of Sheung Ling Pei Village attended school at the fort in the 1960s. He recalls helping his family in the fields during busy farming seasons and how government policies at the time encouraged school attendance: “I worked until I was over ten before I had the chance to go to school and learn to read and write.” Tung Chung Public School attracted many children from all over Lantau Island, some waking as early as 5 a.m. to cross the mountains to attend. At its peak, the school had over 400 students.
Though life was simple, school life was lively and joyful. Beyond studying, Mr Lee fondly recalls planting vegetables and picking fruits at school to share with teachers and classmates: “We were like family, so happy!” Mr Lee later became the school principal. Village Representatives Mr Fung, Mr Law, and Mr Ng, who studied there in the 1980s, still remember Mr Lee patrolling outside classrooms supervising students. Of course, children loved to play, often running up the walls to play around the cannons after class. “We even found cannonballs hidden in the grass once!”
Times changed. New generations of parents preferred sending their children to modern schools rather than a rural village school. Gradually, the number of teachers and students at Tung Chung Public School declined. Fisherman representative Mr Yeung noted, “By my school days, there were only four to six classes left, and we had to combine grades in one classroom.” Faced with the school’s impending closure, Principal Lee wrote recommendation letters for teachers to find positions at other schools.
Though change is inevitable, the resilient people of Ma Wan Chung have learned to accept it, with many moving to urban areas upon growing up. Still, the gradual decay and closure of the school, and the ruin of the former fort school site today, bring a sense of helplessness and regret in the leaders’ words. While the old school grounds have hosted alumni exhibitions and even “Tung Chung Fort Fun Days,” plans for the fort school’s long-term revitalisation remain open for discussion.
To preserve collective memories, the Tung Chung Rural Committee encouraged villagers to collect old artefacts for a future museum at the fort school. “Our greatest hope is to restore this place into a museum that carries forward the history of the fort and our memories.” From resisting pirates and foreign enemies in the late Qing period to nurturing generations of Tung Chung residents, stepping into Tung Chung Fort evokes the sounds of cannon fire and student laughter from days gone by. This is why the villagers of Ma Wan Chung are so passionate about protecting and preserving their old school—hoping to safeguard their shared heritage and illuminate a chapter of Hong Kong’s history.
