During the Japanese occupation, many of the inhabitants were massacred, among them large number of government servants. The British Military Administration continued until 15 July 1946, when North Borneo became a Crown Colony and civil government was resumed. A lot of pre-war records had been destroyed. The emphasis in the immediate post war period had to be concerned with rehabilitation and reconstruction. A reconstruction and development plan for the years 1948-1955 was adopted in 1948 for the Colony. There had been much program in the field of social services. The Tawau Town Board was constituted in 1955 with control over its own finances and local authorities.