Military History of Macau

Sitting is corporal Reis and standing with the binoculars is private Machado. Mister Machado unfortunately passed away a few years ago. Fortunately I was able to interview mister Reis and ask him about the observation duties on the Mong Há fortress. A very interesting first-hand account of a landscape and lived experiences that are almost unfathomable in today’s reality. A photo taken from the same spot, some 60 years ago. Less surprises on today’s walk, but definitely travelling in time.

Well, this one caught me by surprise, even 10 years later. Here I was on a stroll with my wife and...there it was. A pillbox I marked as demolished. It's there. One of the fortifications built under the watchful eye of my grandfather. Under the fitness trail. Pillbox HA-66 in the Mong Há hill, one of the last fortifications built in Macau, with mountings built specifically for two... water-cooled Chinese Type 24 heavy machine guns. Chinese? Yes, the Portuguese Army garrison in Macau in the 1950's was deploying Chinese Maxims to several fortified positions in the territory (a story which is in on it's own mind boggling for some). There it is. It's in a position that made me think "Surely nothing survived the urbanization and landscaping of the last 70 years". But, there it is. 70 years later it's intact. After these photos I had to quote Portuguese journalist Fernando Pessa: "E esta, hein?" Now getting inside is the tricky part. I've had way too many char siu paus in the last few months, so sneaking inside seems out of the question. I guess this can be a motivator for me to lose a few kilos. In the meantime, there it is.

Today I went for a stroll with my wife on the Guia hill, revisiting some of the military heritage sites that have been preserved to this day. It was a bittersweet stroll.
On the one hand, the heritage sites are seemingly well taken care of, with resources devoted to their preservation and this latest effort to highlight the underground tunnels of the Guia artillery battery is sure to catch the eye of many visitors that pass by this hill. On the other hand though, the lack of accurate information on display sure provides me with a good chuckle. I've posted less and less over the years, for a variety of reasons, with more time devoted to diving in depth to archives and oral testimonies.
One of the things that I found in the last two years was the profiles of soldiers that came to Macau's military garrison. In the third photo of this post I attach a photo of one of those soldiers and his contributions to the heritage that people can witness today on the Guia hill. His name was Daniel Fernandes Marques and in 1926 he was commended for his workmanship and leadership in the fortification works done on the underground galleries. Unfortunately, the information on display in the Tunnel A (that is, the tunnel that is open to visitors on a regular basis) is, putting it mildly, quite amusing. Seeing a rather confident statement indicating the tunnels were built in 1931 and here I have an original document from 1926 that is very clearly indicating this man's contributions to the whole endeavour, I must say a chuckle did come out of me. Hopefully more resources can be devoted to this heritage that sure could use it.

All the best,
Ricardo

Some 9 years later, I’m still having the pleasure of interviewing these old timers from seemingly bygone days, collecting their memories and registering the evolution of the military garrison in Macau through their eyes. Obrigado senhor Cambeta

O senhor Veiga chegou a Macau há cerca de 60 anos, cumprindo o serviço militar no Destacamento de Manutenção de Mong Há. Uns 60 anos depois de cumprir o serviço militar obrigatório, ele ainda por aqui anda na mesma zona, a uns 100 metros da sua antiga caserna.
Veiga先生於 20 世紀 60 年代抵達澳門，在望廈維修分隊服兵役。自他來澳履行義務兵役以來，約 60 年過去了，他仍居住在同一區域，距離當年的營房約 100 米。
Mister Veiga arrived in Macau in the 1960s, fulfilling his military service in the Mong Há Maintenance Detachment. Some 60 years after arriving in Macau to serve his mandatory military duty, he still lives in the same area, some 100 metres from his former barracks.

I would like to thank the Institute of European Studies of Macau for hosting this last weekend’s talk and walkabout and to the gracious support of the Macau Foundation. It was a pleasure and an honour participating in this event, seeing familiar and new faces, and sharing some new perspectives on Macau’s military history.
Best regards
Ricardo

I will be the guest speaker for this coming weekend’s talk and walkabout. Thank you to the Institute of European Studies of Macao for hosting this event and the gracious support of Macau Foundation.
Hope to see you there, kind regards
Ricardo

IEEM Weekend Activity: Talk and Walkabout 2025
Date: 14:30 to 16:30 29th November 2025
Venue: Institute of European Studies of Macau
Language: Portuguese

Estimados visitantes, informamos que já se encontra disponível a nova edição em mandarim do livro "A aventurosa viagem do Pátria - De Portugal a Macau em avião (1924)".
Adquira já o seu exemplar por 16 €.

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Dear visitors, we would like to inform you that the new Mandarin edition of the book ‘The Adventurous Voyage of the Pátria – From Portugal to Macau by Airplane (1924)’ is now available.
Get your copy now for €16.

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尊敬的访客，我们在此通知，中文版《帕特里亚号的冒险之旅——1924年从葡萄牙飞往澳门》现已发行。
欢迎以16欧元购买您的副本.