Page 355 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (IV)_Neat
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The erection of a new, larger transport shed was started in Ramadan, on a site selected just
East of the main entrance to the Fort. The shed is 190 ft. x 60 ft. x 18 ft. high, and in the com
pounds arc offices and stores, with a house above for the Transport Foreman.
3. For the Medical Department.
(a) The old Mental Home was pulled down and rebuilt. The work had to be done in two
operations so that the inmates could be constantly housed. Accommodation has been doubled and
various new ancillary buildings put up.
(b) A new Public Health Office, with a flat above for the Medical Officer of Health, was started
on the Rafaa Road, opposite the North end of the Government Water Gardens. The building will
provide offices for the Medical Officer of Health, the Quarantine Medical Officer and their assistant
officers viz., the Anti-Malarial Superintendent, the Sanitary Inspector etc. The building was about
one-third complete by the end of the year.
4. As Government Investments.
(a) Eight lockup shops, with four quarters above, were erected on Prior Road, immediately
South of the Dihnun House compound. This was one of the most economical works carried out and
should prove a sound investment.
(b) A block of six residential flats was started on Awal Road opposite the Water Garden. The
accommodation provided is rather better than that in Dihnun House and the position, although not
facing the sea, is most attractive. The Public Works Department achieved its highest standard
in these flats and, at the end of the year, the building was about Co per cent complete.
5. For Education Department.
(a) A site on Muharraq Sea Road was reclaimed at a cost of Rs. 57,000, and the construction
of a school for little boys was started in Shawal. The school will accommodate approximately 300
boys and is so designed that it can easily be extended to take a further 180.
(b) A school for 400 day girls was built on the land purchased from the Manamah Bcladya.
The site is adjacent to the main water tank and is part of an established garden. It is ideally situated
for a girls' school, being central and also secluded, and it was possible to retain many of the trees and
shrubs. In addition to the girls, residential accommodation is provided for eleven mistresses. The
school consists of a two storeyed building built on three sides of a square and a covered stage is built
on the fourth side.
(c) A new Secondary school for boys was erected a few hundred yards North-East of the
Hostel. This school will take over three hundred boys and is complete with mosque, a flat for the
resident Headmaster, up-to-date laboratories, etc.
(d) The Education Hostel.—The Education Hostel, started in 1369, was completed in
Rabi-Thani and officially opened by His Highness Shaikh Sulman before a distinguished company,
which included Sayed Nuri Pasha, Prime Minister of Iraq, on the 12th Jamad al Awal. It is the
biggest building yet erected by Bahrain Government, with accommodation provided for 96 students,
6 resident masters and there is a separate flat for the Warden.
The Hostel is built round four sides of a courtyard, in the centre of which is an oval flower bed
with a fountain. The main entrance is through an archway—with wrought iron gates—on the North
side. Immediately opposite the entrance, on the South side, is the Central Hall, which is used both
for meals and recreational purposes. The main body of the Hall is 55 ft. long by 40 ft. wide, and
there is a balcony at the North end with raised tiers of seats. A raised stage or dais extends from
the South side. Verandahs arc provided on all four sides of the building facing the courtyard, the
facades of those on the ground floor consisting of round arches, while the first floor verandahs have
the more usual straight piers and wing walls.