boarding houses which existed before the war was completed but the booking in such establishments was very heavy and in the ordinary way it was difficult to obtain a reservation
even for
very short periods.
The number of premises held under requisition at the begin- ning of 1948 was 131; at the end of the year this had been reduced to eighty-nine. Although the powers to requisition property were still extant it has been the policy of Government to de-requisition premises wherever possible and return them to their registered owners.
Rebuilding.
Tenement type housing for 160,000 persons and European type housing for 7,000 persons suffered destruction or serious damage during the years 1941-1945. A large amount of this damage was made good by the end of 1947, but the great influx of persons to the Colony largely nullified the effect of this. During 1948, the erection of new buildings, and the rehabilitation or repair of those damaged during the war, continued to make good progress. Residents returning to the Colony in the latter months of the
year noticed a considerable change in the aspect of the slopes above the harbour caused by the erection, during their absence, of many buildings ranging from bungalows to large blocks of flats.
In streets where the width permitted, it was formerly the practice to erect verandahs at the fronts of buildings. These veran- dahs, which were a blessing to the pedestrian in the alternate heavy rain and hot sunshine of the summer, extended over the footpaths and were supported at their outer edges by brick piers or reinforced concrete columns. This practice has ceased and it is now the rule to erect balconies cantilevered out from the buildings. This does away with the supporting columns, allows more light and air to the ground floor and gives the streets an appearance of much greater width, but affords less protection to the pedestrian on the payment, who suffers quietly in the interest of progress. In the rural areas many new sites have been carved out of the hillsides and large European type houses have been or are being erected on them.
Chinese Tenements.
But
More buildings of the Chinese tenement type than any other were erected during the year. In addition a large number of those damaged during the war were repaired or rehabilitated. serious over-crowding still exists, with the result that many build- ings in urgent need of repair are occupied. This probably contributed to the number of collapses of buildings which occurred during the year causing eleven deaths and injury to thirty-six
persons.
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