Chapter 16: The Unauthorised Addition

Chapter 16: The Unauthorised Addition

The index at the back of the particular edition of the annual report entitled Hong Kong 1970 contains a curious entry on page 330; an entry that exists purely to direct the reader back to itself. It simply states 'Dougherty P.W., Editor, Hong Kong 1968, 69, 70, 330'. Denied the opportunity to officially accept the credit for editing that complex and demanding record for three consecutive years, Paul Dougherty found his own unofficial way to circumvent the prohibition.

Later editors, commencing with Anthony Tobin in Hong Kong 1975, would indeed receive accreditation, immediately following the title page, when the embargo was finally lifted by Director David Ford. And other editors, like Dougherty, would find themselves trapped in the editor's chair year after year, simply because there were few contenders - and certainly no volunteers - for this thankless task.

Tobin was succeeded by Joyce Savidge (two successive reports), Philip Rees, Dianne Wood (two), Cynthia Kerr Rao (later Cynthia Lockeyear), Mark Pinkstone, Melinda Parsons (two), Bill Knight (two), Aladin Ismail (three), David Roberts (two), Renu Daryanani (one) and the record-holder Bob Howlett (four), who has been in the chair since early 1994. Like the Editorial Sub-division - now the Publishing Sub-division - in which they served, these editors also pursued their displaced existence away from the power centre of Beaconsfield House.

For several years the sub-division enjoyed a splendid isolation at Baskerville House in Icehouse Street, before coming to rest alongside the Promotions Sub-division in the French Mission Building. The sub-divison - along with the Promotions and Creative Sub-divisons - found a temporary home at the Shiu On Centre in Wan Chai from March 1995 until 'reunification' in January 1999 with ISD Headquarters in Murray Building.

As the flagship of ISD's editorial production, the year book topped the priority list for the Design Sub-division (now the Creative Sub-division), whose hard-working photographers laboured to produce ever more spectacular picture essays to embellish its pages and boost its sales.

Until the late '60s and early '70s, the entire publications output of ISD was safely in the hands of one editor, supported by the indomitable Dolly Ng, who had originally been recruited as books designer, and who worked at an adjoining desk on a string of projects including City of Children. However, by the middle of the latter decade, expanding public interest in civic affairs demanded a stepped-up output and more editorial staff.

An early response to this desire for more information on the hitherto mysterious mechanics of government was a series of fact sheets, each treating a different aspect of administrative affairs and each requiring to be updated annually with the latest facts and statistics. The range of titles grew so voluminous that editing them became a year-long job for the particular information officer assigned these duties. The Senior Information Officer assigned to this task nowadays oversees the updating of no less than 67 Fact Sheets, as well as more than 60 leaflets or booklets on how to apply for various government services.

Backing the editorial staff were the sales and marketing personnel, who controlled and painstakingly expanded the department's only source of revenue. Originally seconded from the establishment of the Government Printer, who continued to print ISD publications but declined to take any further responsibility for the goods delivered, these stalwarts pursued an existence so specialised that there were few opportunities for them to cross over into the mainstream of information duties.

Very few succeeded in achieving this transition. The rest heroically and uncomplainingly pursued a closeted existence in the one section of the department most vulnerable to audit queries, producing a virtually flawless record.