214
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Works that there is no doubt that the average figure of 100,000 per annum, which was previously quoted to you, can be exceeded.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Do I understand, Mr. Chairman, that the figure could well be about 95,000 by the 31st March, 1963?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-That is correct.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-I am rather staggered by this figure and have decided not to ask any supplementary questions. (Laughter).
MR. BERNACCHI :-I have one to ask. Is not the Commissioner for Resettlement being rather too optimistic? The evidence is that only 55,000 odd persons were resettled during the first three quarters of the financial year, so that to live up to expectations he has to resettle almost as much again in the last quarter of the year.
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-That is correct. The pace will have to be increased very considerably and we are aware of the need to increase it.
DR. R. H. S. LEE asked the following question:-
Is the Chairman satisfied with the progress of the City Hall Museum? Can he state what steps have been taken to recruit the necessary staff and to obtain adequate space for such a project?
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-
In all fairness the answer must be that nobody concerned with the administration of the City Hall, least of all the Manager or Curator themselves, is satisfied with the progress so far made on the Museum.
The difficulty in recruiting the Curator prevented the essential forward planning, equipping and staffing of the Museum, as well as the acquisition and preparation of exhibits before the City Hall opened.
Members will recall that the Curator arrived only a few weeks before the actual opening and he and the Policy Select Committee were faced with two alternatives:
(a) to keep the Museum floor closed for a considerable period until such time as the policy, staff, equipment and exhibits were established, or
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
215
(b) to keep the Art Gallery and Museum alive and active from the beginning with a series of stimulating exhibitions of various kinds.
The latter alternative was chosen with the result that the Art Gallery and Museum will have shown about 20 different exhibitions of museum and art material drawn from local and overseas sources in its first year which in itself is very creditable, particularly when it is realized that the burden of arranging and mounting these exhibitions has fallen almost entirely upon the Curator working without any professional assistance.
The more permanent policy of the museum has been established by the City Hall (Policy) Select Committee on the advice of the Museum and Art Gallery Sub-Committee and its development drawn up for implementation in three phases. Recommendations on the staff considered necessary for the implementation of this policy were made at the same time. Unfortunately the request for the provision of the additional staff coincided with the annual review of staff and estimates and the pressure of this work has delayed Government's consideration of the request for museum staff.
I have been assured that this matter will be given consideration as soon as is practicable this month, but Members will appreciate that the establishment and appointment of this staff may be a prolonged process which will inevitably delay the development of the museum still further. In its very nature a museum develops slowly and results are not to be expected very quickly, nor indeed should growth be in forced unduly if the exhibitions are to be worthwhile. In the meantime a considerable amount of preparatory work has been initiated by the Curator upon the historical material available and some progress made in its organization and mounting, but as has been indicated progress upon this work has necessarily been slow.
With regard to the last part of this question, the space available in the City Hall is considered adequate for the first phase of the development of the museum. However, if large static displays are to be housed additional facilities will be required, and one suggestion that has been put forward for consideration in due course is that the old Murray Barracks Officers' Mess be used for this purpose eventually. This naturally will have to be considered as one suggestion among others for the ultimate use of that building, if the building is to remain as a permanency.
Page 115 of 150
Page 115
Page 116
214
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Works that there is no doubt that the average figure of 100,000 per annum, which was previously quoted to you, can be exceeded.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Do I understand, Mr. Chairman, that the figure could well be about 95,000 by the 31st March, 1963?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-That is correct.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-I am rather staggered by this figure and have decided not to ask any supplementary questions. (Laughter).
MR. BERNACCHI :-I have one to ask. Is not the Commissioner for Resettlement being rather too optimistic? The evidence is that only 55.000 odd persons were resettled during the first three quarters of the financial year, so that to live up to expectations he has to resettle almost as much again in the last quarter of the year.
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-That is correct. The pace will have to be increased very considerably and we are aware of the need to increase it.
DR. R. H. S. LEE asked the following question:-
Is the Chairman satisfied with the progress of the City Hall Museum? Can he state what steps have been taken to recruit the necessary staff and to obtain adequate space for such a project?
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-
In all fairness the answer must be that nobody concerned with the administration of the City Hall, least of all the Manager or Curator themselves, is satisfied with the progress so far made on the Museum.
The difficulty in recruiting the Curator prevented the essential forward planning, equipping and staffing of the Museum, as well as the acquisition and preparation of exhibits before the City Hall opened.
Members will recall that the Curator arrived only a few weeks before the actual opening and he and the Policy Select Committee were faced with two alternatives:
(a) to keep the Museum floor closed for a consider- able period until such time as the policy, staff, equipment and exhibits were established, or
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
215
(b) to keep the Art Gallery and Museum alive and active from the beginning with a series of stim- ulating exhibitions of various kinds.
The latter alternative was chosen with the result that the Art Gallery and Museum will have shown about 20 different exhibitions of museum and art material drawn from local and overseas sources in its first year which in itself is very creditable, particularly when it is realized that the burden of arranging and mounting these exhibitions has fallen almost entirely upon the Curator working without any professional assistance.
The more permanent policy of the museum has been estab- lished by the City Hall (Policy) Select Committee on the advice of the Museum and Art Gallery Sub-Committee and its development drawn up for implementation in three phases. Recommendations on the staff considered neces- sary for the implementation of this policy were made at the same time. Unfortunately the request for the provi- sion of the additional staff coincided with the annual re- view of staff and estimates and the pressure of this work has delayed Government's consideration of the request for museum staff.
I have been assured that this matter will be given consideration as soon as is practicable this month, but Members will appreciate that the establishment and appointment of this staff may be a prolonged process which will inevitably delay the development of the museum still further. In its very nature a museum develops slowly and results are not to be expected very quickly, nor indeed should growth be In forced unduly if the exhibitions are to be worthwhile. the meantime a considerable amount of preparatory work has been initiated by the Curator upon the historical material available and some progress made in its organiza- tion and mounting, but as has been indicated progress upon this work has necessarily been slow.
With regard to the last part of this question, the space available in the City Hall is considered adequate for the first phase of the development of the museum. However, if large static displays are to be housed additional facilities will be required, and one suggestion that has been put forward for consideration in due course is that the old Murray Barracks Officers' Mess be used for this purpose eventually. This naturally will have to be considered as one suggestion among others for the ultimate use of that building, if the building is to remain as a permanency.
Page 115 of 150
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