ENG-1965 — Page 25

REVIEW

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The Governor continued: 'By 1970 we expect there will be up- wards of two million people living in resettlement accommodation and the experts in figures tell me that by 1974, if the government's 10-year resettlement technical planning target is fulfilled, over half the population of the Colony might be living in resettlement estates. In addition, of course, many tens of thousands of others will be occupying low-cost housing, or living in accommodation provided by the Housing Authority and the Housing Society.

'Since the first multi-storey block was built in 1954, there have been a number of changes in design and layout, each change pro- viding better facilities for the tenants. The first blocks were six storeys in height. We then built seven-storey blocks followed by eight-storey blocks and today we see the completion of the first two . 16-storey_blocks.'

The Governor stressed that it was not enough merely to provide living accommodation in resettlement estates. Residents also needed easy access to a means of livelihood and a whole range of facilities from hawker bazaars to welfare amenities. He added: 'I would like to pay a tribute to the enormous amount of work done by voluntary agencies in resettlement estates. A proportion of space in each estate has been reserved for allocation to voluntary agencies who, at their own expense, carry out a variety of useful activities. These include schools, libraries, milk bars, kindergartens, nurseries, boys' and girls' clubs, medical and dental clinics, and vocational training centres. Their work in this field fulfils a very definite need and I am glad to have this opportunity of saying what a debt we owe them for this rewarding and practical work.',

Last year's review dealt at length with the many and violent tropical storms experienced in the Colony. By comparison the weather in 1965 rarely deviated from the normal until tropical storm Agnes brought torrential rains to the Colony toward the end of September. Between 6 a.m. on 26th September and 3 p.m. on 28th September, a total of 16.28 inches of rain was recorded at the Royal Observatory. The rain continued almost non-stop and by noon on 1st October a total of 20.94 inches had been recorded. This was the heaviest rainfall due to any storm since 1926 when 23.51 inches were recorded between 16th and 21st July. All reservoirs overflowed and there were a number of landslides, but none caused serious damage. The total rainfall in September was 31.43 inches.