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offensive deposit, or the choking of a gulley, and the reconstruction of
a combined system of drainage for four or five houses. The former
probably is abated after one visit of the inspector, the latter requiring
visits at intervals during two or three weeks. In proof of this, I may
state that no less than 36,101 visits of re-inspection were made during
the year, which work out at an average of about nine visits to each
nuisance abated.
House-to House Inspection.—In addition to the inspections
made on complaint, and in houses where infectious disease has
occurred, considerable progress has been made during the year in what
is known as house-to-house inspections. This has been rendered
possible by the diminution of notifiable infectious disease in the
district during the year. Nearly 1,000 houses were so visited by the
inspectors, and notices served for the abatement of any nuisance
found on the premises.
Infectious Disease.—The number of inspections made after
infectious disease was less than one-half those requiring inspection
during 1899—the number in 1900 not reaching higher than 1694,
whereas, the year before, it totalled 4,246. The drains of each house
visited were tested, and any nuisance found abated.
The rooms fumigated numbered 1659, in addition 529 of these were
stripped of their wall paper and cleansed. The articles disinfected by
super-heated steam numbered 10,038, and those destroyed by request
of the owners 51.
The disinfectants distributed to persons applying at the Town Hall
for such, were 7,952 bags of sanitas powder, and 1,182 bottles of
carbolic acid. For list of articles disinfected, etc., see appendix.
Accommodation for persons during the disinfection of their homes
was paid for by the local authority on two occasions. These do not
represent the whole of those who were deprived of their homes for
one or more nights, but those only who made application to the
Public Health Department for the means to provide accommodation.