26 per cent, which was influenced by the receipt of a greatly increased volume of mail from China.
The registration section handled well over 5. million items, an increase of 29 per cent over the previous year.
The Telecommunication Division of the department played an increasingly important part in the supervision of all telecommunication activities in the Colony as well as the collection of various licence fees, survey of ships' radio installations and calibration of their direction finders. Advice was also given to a number of Government departments whilst the maintenance of hospital and other electronic apparatus was carried out. The section also supervised all Government telephone installations and planned systems for various departments.
I regret to have to record in this report of all round increases that no new Post Offices were provided for the department during the year, but at the same time it gives me pleasure to be able to say that work on the foundation of the new Kowloon Central Post Office was put in hand. It is also hoped that offices at Sha Tau Kok, Tai O, Aberdeen and Kwun Tong will shortly be opened and in fact at the time of writing this report the first two named were in operation. Plans have also been drawn up for Post Offices in a number of other areas by the Planning and Survey section of the department. This section continued to study the changes which are constantly necessary in a department whose activities are wide-spread, continuously growing and cannot be allowed to stand still. These studies included the most economic use of staff and transport, and the use of mechanization where it was felt it would be an advantage.
It can be judged from the detailed report which follows that the year 1961-62 has not been an easy one for the department, traffic and financial figures reached astonishing levels, and yet a saving of almost half a million dollars of the estimated expenditure was achieved. Staff had constantly to perform overtime and I cannot speak too highly of the work of all grades. I am indeed fortunate in having a staff whom I regard as second to none in the service for honest endeavour and loyalty.
25th June, 1962.
2
A. G. CROOK,
Postmaster General.