LATE WHISTLES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 304, 24 December 1941, Page 5

LATE WHISTLES

POSTMEN'S BIG DAY

CHRISTMAS EVE* RUSH

Postmen's whistles were heard well after dark in suburban streets in some parts of Auckland last night as postmen completed probably the longest delivery round in their experience. From early in the morning they had been busy distributing a great .volume of Christmas mail, and in Epsom, Remuera and the Upper Symonds Street areas the last letters, gift parcels and parcels were placed in the boxes around ten o'clock, while in other districts the deliveries were finished as daylight was fading. To-day the postmen were faced with another heavy task, as the volume of mail, although slightly reduced, was still very large, and youths assisted in carrying the full bags. As there has been only one round daily to deal with this year's Christmas rush, the position has been different from anything in past experience. In the climatic conditions, however, the postmen have been favoured.

In the telegraph branch the staff has been working ten to twelve hours daily at the Chief Post Office, and last night continuous communication was maintained between the main centres. When the offices were reopened to the public again this morning the flood of messages rose to the peak expected on Christmas Eve, and it was stated that the machines and operators would be busy until a late hour to-night. There was similar activity in the telephone toll branch.

The staffs in all sections are working excellently under the pressure," said a leading official, "and we are well pleased with the way they have risen to the occasion." A J*"? 1 rush was anticipated in the Savings Bank branch, reaching its climatx this afternoon. Replying to a question regarding tne effect of the Government's decision not to install any further telephones during the war emergency, except in essential cases, the official said the waiting list of applicants for telephone service in Auckland had not shown any appreciable decrease in the past few months.