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18
(9) Housing.
The majority of the houses in the District are cottages
containing 4 or 6 rooms, some built in terraces,
some in flats of two stories, while others are detached or
semi-detached. A very great number of these have
been built in recent years in accordance with the bye-laws
of the Council, and these have ample airspace both at
back and front. Some of the older houses, however, are
somewhat cramped at the backs.
In 1900 the works in the District were very busy, and
practically every house in the District was occupied,
while building proceeded rapidly to supply the demand
for houses by the workmen who came to the District.
Towards 1906, however, slackness of work, and labour
troubles caused the emigration of a large number of workmen,
and at one time about 750 of these cottages were
empty.
At the time of the Census in 1911, there were 447 uninhabited
houses, the large majority of them being cottages.
Since then, however, there has been a revival of
trade in the District, and at the middle of 1913 there can
have been only a few houses empty.
At the present time the accommodation provided in
the District seems to be equal to the demand made on it;
should, however, any more works or factories be established
in the District, with a corresponding influx of
workmen, the men would have some difficulty in obtaining
suitable houses.
Before the depression in trade occurred, many men
were buying their own houses, through Building and
other similar Societies, and when the bad times came they
were unable to keep up their payments, and were obliged
to sell at a loss.
In many other cases houses which had stood empty
for some time were taken over by the mortgagees, as the
man who built them was unable to keep the interest paid
up regularly.
The effect of all this was to stop any building in the
District, and it is only in the last two years that builders
have regained confidence, and have started to build again.
During the year 1,236 houses were inspected; 437
were found to have some defect in the water supply, 263
in closet accommodation, 351 in drainage, 326 in