大埔圓崗休憩處

Tai Po Contour Sitting-out Area

圓崗，又稱運頭角，在大埔乃至新界的發展歷史中一直扮演重要角色，為昔日殖民地統治權力的象征。由於毗鄰吐露港方便英軍登陸，且地勢較高可俯瞰環視四周，1899年3月，港英政府在此處搭建舊大埔警署，4月，平定新界六日戰後在此處舉行升旗禮，以標誌正式接收新界租地，故此地稱為「旗桿山」。1907年，港英政府又於大埔警署旁興建新界首幢民政大樓舊北區理民府，成為管治新界的中心。到1980年代後期，在兩處建築物之間的山坡上加建一個花園，成為90年代末改建的大埔圓崗休憩處的基礎。休憩處被設計為平整的台地，被枝繁葉茂的烏桕和楓香籠罩，有一涼亭設於東側，其餘空間未加添過多設施，只放置幾張長椅，遊人透過草木間依然能眺望吐露港景色，與兩所古跡交織，感受歷史變幻。

Tai Po Contour, also known as Wan Tau Kok, has played an important role in the development of Tai Po and the New Territories, and is a symbol of the colonial power in the past. In March 1899, the old Tai Po Police Station was erected by the British Hong Kong Government because of its proximity to Tolo Harbour, which was convenient for British troops to land and was a strategic position to overlook the surrounding area. By April, a flag-raising ceremony was held here after the Six-Day War of 1899 to mark the formal acceptance of the New Territories concessions, hence the name “Flagstaff Hill”. In 1907, the British Hong Kong Government built the Old District Office North, the first civil administration building in the New Territories, next to the Tai Po Police Station, which became the centre of governance in the New Territories. By the late 1980s, a garden was added to the hillside between the two buildings, which was later transformed into Tai Po Contour Sitting-out Area in the late 1990s. The sitting-out area occupies a flat terrace and is covered with leafy Sapium sebiferum and Liquidambar formosana. A pavilion is located on the eastern side of the site, and the rest of the space is unfurnished except a few benches. Tolo Harbour visible through the grass and trees and two monuments adjacent to the site allow the visitors to experience the changes in history.