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To the 31st March, 1946,, in this district, 260 applications were approved under the. Native Housing Act, 1935, for erection and repairs of buildings. These approvals totalled £107,270, being £40,177 under " Act " and £67,093 from the Special Fund. Houses completed to date are— Special Fund— Erected . . .. . . 27 Repaired .. .. .. .. .. 2 Native Housing Act— Erected .. .. .. . . .. 70 Repaired .. . . . . .. .. 10 Rehabilitation: Erected .. .. .. 1 A further 16 houses were purchased with advances made under the Native Housing Act. The dwellings completed for the year ended 31st March, 1946, numbering 29, with 9 dwellings in the course of erection and 2 additional repair jobs in progress. The following shows the position of expenditure and repayments, from which it will be noted that since the inception of the housing scheme approximately one-third of the expenditure has been repaid and of the houses built in nine cases repayments have been made in full:— Expenditure. Repayments. £ £ Ordinary . . .. .. 43,267 17,356 Special . . .. . . .. 22,236 8,552 AOTEA NATIVE LAND COURT DISTRICT An increasing number of Maoris are evincing an interest in the Native Housing Scheme, due, at least in part, to the activities of the Department's officers. This has resulted in the receipt and investigation of a much larger number of applications for assistance The advisability of accumulating funds towards a deposit for a house has been suggested to several applicants, who have been encouraged to make payments with this object. The District Maori Land Board allows interest at Post Office Savings-bank rate on such deposits, and many have availed themselves of this scheme. The appointment of Building Supervisors for the Taranaki and Taumarunui areas has added greatly to the scope of work which could be undertaken, and the wisdom of such appointments is reflected in the increased number of Maoris whose living conditions have been bettered as compared with the figures for the preceding twelve months. Fifteen new houses have been erected and additions and repairs carried out on 11 others. Three houses have also been purchased. Five miscellaneous farm buildings necessary for the maintenance of production have been erected. Until the last few months, when availability of supplies again tightened, materials were more readily procurable, and these, together with those obtained from buildings purchased for demolition, have warranted the employment of extra workmen, so that the year closes with fifteen additional men employed and four more building teams operating. The establishment of bulk stores at Wanganui, Hawera, and Taumarunui is proceeding as rapidly as conditions allow, and these, when stocked and functioning, should lead to still further improvement in the efficient running of the Department's building organization in this district.

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