GREAT PROGRESS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 66, Issue 271, 28 August 1946, Page 5

GREAT PROGRESS

RECONSTRUCTION OF HOLLAND STRIKING EFFORT (N.Z. Press Association —Copyright.) (Rec. 11.45 a.m.) LONDON", August 27. Holland’s great progress since the war was described by an official party inspecting and reporting to the United Nations. The most striking effort lias been the draining of flooded land totalling half a million acres. Ten thousand farms were destroyed throughout the country during the war. Walcheren, which in 1944 was almost entirely flooded, is to-day completely drained and dyked. Three-quarters of the island is again fertile, and was sown in barley, oats and clover after beingtreated with gypsum. It is estimated that this year’s yield will be 50 to 60 per cent, of normal. Many temporary farmhouses, barns and stables have been erected. Workmen repairing the dykes are housed in old German pillboxes and Allied nissen huts. Reconstruction is advanced in Rotterdam, where in wartime the entire heart of the city was flattened and some 4j miles of quayside destroyed. The city centre is now cleared of debris, and fine new buildings are being erected to conform to the new municipal plan. Canal walls are being reconstructed with salvaged bricks. A large part of the harbour system, including the most modern wharves, is already in full working order.