THE ROYAL INSTITUTION OF CHARTERED SURVEYORS
Hong Kong & China Branch
It is possibly not generally known that there is in existence in Hong Kong a very active branch of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. The membership of this Branch. though small, plays an important part in the engineering and business activities of the building industry and individually and collectively exerts considerable influence in the maintenance of harmony and understanding between the professional and the commercial sides of the industry.
G. W. GREY, F.R.L.B.A., F.R.I.C.S., F.L.ARB.
The history of the surveyor's profession is a lengthy one beginning in pre-Christian times with references in early Egyptian records to persons who carried out quantity survey- ing duties, but in England it was not until the middle of the 19th century that the business of land, its management, development and valuation began to emerge as a distinct profession. This was the outcome of the industrial revolution which called for men of skill to deal with the new and complex problems which began to arise in a country the face of which was rapidly changing from agricultural to urban development. Parliament had to deal with numerous private bills for the acquisition of land for town improvements, railways, docks and harbours and the result was power to acquire land com- pulsorily for public and essential purposes, and compensation where an owner was deprived by statute of his right and interest in land. This created a need for men skilled in the measurement and valuation of land who, to quote a phrase from the various land acquisition Acts of that time, were "able, practical surveyors."
Around the same time quantity surveying emerged as a distinct profession and then as now the information required by building contractors in arriving at their estimates was by measurement from architect's drawings or specifications.
The contacts made between these early surveyors formed friendships which brought about the Institution of Surveyors in 1868. The title was later changed to The Surveyors' Institution, and in 1930 by permission of His Majesty's Privy Council the name "Chartered Surveyors Institution" adopted.
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In May 1940, His Majesty the King commanded that henceforward the Institution be known as The Royal Institu- tion of Chartered Surveyors.
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The Institution to-day has membership, including students and probationers, of over 15,000 and 34 branches in the United Kingdom and overseas. It seeks to promote the intellectual advancement of the profession and lays down a very definite code of professional conduct.
Entrance is by examinations the original high standard of which has been kept constantly under review in line with changing technical requirements.
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The examination syllabus is divided into five sections:- (1) Land Agency (ii) Valuation (iii) Building and Quantities (iv) Mining and (v) Land Survey, and a Student of the Institution, who must be engaged in some branch of the pro- fession, may have to pass a preliminary educational test before proceeding to sit for the professional examinations leading to corporate membership.
The Hong Kong and China Branch formed in 1926 by a small band of local chartered surveyors has since grown in strength and its activities have been carried on even in the midst of the vicissitudes of war, having the distinction of holding annual meetings under the auspices of Japanese internment.
While some members of the branch are in private practice most are in the Public Service, the Crown Lands and Surveys, Architectural Office, Building Ordinance Office and the Valua- tion and Resumption Office of the Public Works Department and in the Rating and Valuation Department, also some private firms concerned with landed property have in post war years taken to engaging chartered surveyors in connection with the conduct of their business.
Until this year there have been no private firms in Hong Kong practising exclusively in quantity surveying, contracts being let on a Drawing and Specification Basis and so it is usually considered that contractors are not accustomed to Bills of Quantities. However, one London Firm of Chartered Quantity Surveyors has recently opened an office and results so far obtained indicate that contractors have in many cases a very fair idea of the implications of a Bill of Quantities and welcome the opportunity of tendering for work where precisely defined lines of responsibility and quantities are given.
Members of the branch have been invited to serve on Government appointed enquiries such as the post-war Building Costs Committee and have been nominated to Boards of Arbitration in connection with compensation for the resump- tion of land.
The Branch holds regular meetings at which papers are read and topics of interest discussed, and, under its direction, the Institution's examinations are held in Hong Kong. This is a facility much appreciated by would-be chartered surveyors in the Far East, and those seeking further information about the Institution and its examinations are advised to contact the Branch Honorary Secretary as all applications made direct to the Institution's Headquarters in Westminster are auto- matically referred back to the applicant's district branch for comment.
The affairs of the Branch are administered by a Chairman and committee elected annually who have the full benefit of guidance and assistance from the Institution's staff at Head- quarters.
Those holding office at present are Mr. G. W. Grey (Chairman), Mr. J. E. Richardson (Vice-Chairman), Messrs. A. M. J. Wright, W. A. Johnson, C. R. Holmes, and F. Shanks (Hon. Secretary).
Fellows, Colonial Fellows
Grey, G. W. (Branch Chairman).
Richardson, J. E. (Branch Vice Chairman). Ring, J. (Past Chairman).
Skinner, W. J.
Wilson, G. L. (Past Chairman).
Professional Associates
Allport, K. B.
Barron, C. S. Clarke, R. C. Cooke, N. Currie, A. V. De Ville, M. I. Edwards, T. F. Evans, A. F. Fairbairn, R. Giles, A. R.
Graham, G.
Holmes, C. R. (Branch Ctte.).
Hooker, F Lt. A.J., R.A.F.
Hughes, R. H.
Johnson, W. A. (Branch Ctte.).
Shanks, F. (Branch Hon. Sec.). Shawe, P. V.
Smith, A. W. S.
Wicks, J.
Wright, A. M. J. (Branch Ctte).
Siu, C. T.
Siu, C. Y.
Students
Mullins, Capt. C., R.E.
Turner, G. P.
The first private firm of Chartered Quantity Surveyors to operate in Hong Kong are Messrs. Langdon & Every F.F.R.I.C.S., who have opened an office at Edinburgh House, Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong. The office is under the control of Mr. C. R. Holmes, A.R.I.C.S., Senior Surveyor.
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