1947-1948

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By triangulation and traverse the Colony coordinates of the following six New Territories Fundamental Bench Marks were computed :- "B" Kowloon Reservoir; "C" Shatin; "E" Fanling; "H" Sham Tseng; "I" Tsun Wan and Castle Peak Bay control B.M. No. 2. Similarly the Colony coordinates of the following eight New Territories milestones B.M.'s were computed: 8/48 Shatin; 181/38 Taipo Road; 19/37 Taipo Fanling Road; 20/36 Fanling Cross; 321/24 Ping Shan; 42/14 Tsing Lung Tau; 431/13 Sham Tseng and 44/12 Sham Tseng Wan Road.

(iv) General:-

Only a few new bench marks were fixed owing to pressure of other work. Of about 400 bench marks in the Colony prior to the war inspection has shown that about 220 remain with height values recorded.

By analysis of the recorded hourly readings of the Cosmopolitan Dock Tide gauge at Kowloon, the mean sea level for the year 1947 at Cosmopolitan Dock was computed as 3.90 feet above the Principal Datum of Hong Kong.

Previous yearly computations have given figures of 3.7 to 4.0. The Public Works Department's automatic tide gauges formerly at Kennedy Town and Ah Kung Ngam were destroyed by the Japanese and have not been replaced.

73. General Remarks:- Survey Section Staff:-

The actual strength of the Survey Office Section of the Crown Lands and Surveys Sub-department, at 31st March, 1948, as compared with the approved establishment was follows:-

Strength 1948 Approved Establishment Deficiency Asst. Supt. of Surveys 1 1 0 Land Surveyors 6 20 14 Asst. Land Surveyors 1st Class 2 7 5 Asst. Land Surveyors 2nd & 3rd Class 12 27 15 Computers 12 44 32 Head Survey Coolies 6 6 0 Survey Coolies & Messengers 28 72 44

The deficiency of 6 Land Surveyors and 7 Assistant Land Surveyors, and the deficiency in plans and records due to war losses affects the potential output and the rapidity of the necessary reconstruction required. The output for the year 1947/48 has not been inconsiderable, however, as the following comparison shows:-

Comparison of the principal features of Survey in the year 1947/48 against similar items in the year 1939 when the Survey Section was working with full establishment and with unimpaired plans and records;

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