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View Of Belfield Street, Ipoh, During Post-War Slump
This photograph shows the view of Belfield Street during the post-war slump.
The table in the e-Book below shoes the Tin Production, Price and Employment figures for Perak from 1910 t0 1941. Frim this it can be seen that the tin mines suffered three times in this period, during the war: 1914 to 1917 when tin price fell and employment bumbers reduced accordingly; A reduction in numbers employed 1921/22 (the post war slump); and then 1930 t0 1933 (the Gerat Depression).
Fur the second slump tin production started to recover in 1923 after World War I, and reached its peak in 1929. The Great Depression in late 1928 triggered the third Slump, which in Perak lasted from 1930 till 1933, with tin prices hitting rock bottom between 1931 and 1933. The slump caused mass unemployment among Chinese labourers, which many turned into crimes or illegal hawking to survive.
In such circumstances, about 33,000 Chinese males in Perak were repatriated to China, while those who remained had their wages reduced to below subsistence levels.
The photigraph shows om the left, the De Silva Building, the Chun Thye Phin Building and next to it, The Season Store. The Ipoh Provision Store is one shophouse away. After WW2 Season Store moved to 41 Station Road.
To read more about Belfield Street, click here.
To read more about the book ‘Kinta Valley’, click here.