Tung Wah Coffin Home

Tung Wah coffin house

Image Courtesy of: Tung Wah Archives

The Coffin Home was originally established in 1875 by the Man Mo Temple in Kennedy Town near a slaughterhouse. In 1899, it was rebuilt in its current location under the new management of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, thus receiving its present name, Tung Wah Coffin Home. 

The Coffin Home is a temporary coffin and urn depository awaiting transference to the birthplaces of the deceased. The coffins mainly belong to overseas Chinese who are transferred and buried in their home villages in China. From the 19th century to the early 20th century, many Chinese people travelled to other countries in North and South America, or to South East Asian countries in search of jobs and better opportunities. Many traditional Chinese individuals hoped to be buried in their birthplaces after their deaths. This was made possible by the facilities and services offered by the Coffin Home even if the dead bodies were overseas. At that time, it was very common for people to ask for help from Tung Wah Coffin Home, where the Coffin Home would transport the dead bodies back to their birthplaces for proper burial. 

As the demand for the depository service diminished in recent years, the compound gradually deteriorated. However, a large-scale repair and conservation project was carried out to restore the Coffin Home from 2002 to 2004 so that the respective historical appearance of the compound could be preserved.

Tung Wah Coffin House archives

Image Courtesy of: Tung Wah Coffin House archives

Tung Wah Hospital

Image Courtesy of: CAHS