NOTES.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20242, 21 May 1931, Page 6

NOTES.

Messrs Button and Whyte are building- two shops and an office in ; brick, at 186 Antigua'street, for Mr L. A. Woodward: A hut is to be erected near the wellknown Scoria: - flat ski-ing grounds at National Park. It is to bo known as tho bait Memorial Hut, after the late Mr W* Salt, whose . bequest of £IOO, together with £25 from the National l J ark Board, will finance tho building. The hut will be 24ft by, 10ft, and will contain two rooms. Skis and equipment will bo stored in. the hut, thus avoiding daily carrying to and from the sports grounds.

A new company, manufacturing steel l'orgings ami motor chassis parts, will shortly begin operations, probably in Sydney. Some of the plant will arrive next month from England mid Germany, and a factory will be built almost immediately. 'The firm is known as the Australian Drop-forg-ing Company, Limited. Tho managing director (Mr it. W. Perkins), who has been making investigations abroad, returned by the It.M.S. Monowai last week. Mr Perkins said that he had entered into negotiations with Vickoi's, Ltd., the British steel firm, which might result in the extension ol their activities to Australia.

"Building operations in this borough and other boroughs of tho Hutt Valley." said a local body officer to a "Dominion'' reporter, "are almost at a standstill. But they will improve. These setbacks always come in cycles. A few years ago, with the Government iending • money at low rates of interest, men returning from the war, industries working at top speed, and wages high, there was a rush 'to build. The result was overbuilding. Then came the slump," and that gave a grent setback to youug men getting married and setting up house for themselves. It is one of tho curses of a depression that it delays marriages sometimes for years. Young nitn are afraid because they do not know how long they will remain in employment or wlmt ' the future will bring forth. All this, surely, must have a direct effect on the building trade."

A cablegram from Auckland to the Nfcw York "Times" states: Soviet cheap; labour has ruined New Zealand's timber export trade with Great Britain. _ Loudon brokers have advised local mills that, as Russian timber, ply-wood, and joinery is procurable in England at. prices far below that imported from New Zealand, it is useless for New Zealand to send further the 'leading timber -meephants in Britbia haVei.«i*rariged to take the whole oj, the 1931 quota fpssfa had allotted to England. F ?

The Nelson type, of wooden school 1 which is much fatourccll>v the Minister for Education, the lion. H. Atmore, has one corridor running the whole length, at the back of the classrooms, and each room has windows down to within two and a half feet of the floor at both the front and the ,baek. The windows in front open to the playground, but. those at the hack open to the'corridor. Tho corridor however, .has similar windows ;ialong its whole ; length. At each end -of the building is .a coat room,: itr, which. are hot watfer pipes, ; so that the iscrats of the children can be put in there wet in the morning and taken out dry : at lunch, time. The whole building is heated with- water, minimising ■ the daftger .of fire: " The new Beekenham Library, work on which lias been commenced by Mr V. J. Moir, - will be in bricks covering an area of approximately 40 feet by 30 feet. A committee and newspaper room, with a librarian's room, will be provided at the rear, leaving space for a general library room of approximately 28 feet by 28 feet.' The brick porch entrance will have seg-ment-headed double doors, giving the building an imposing front. . The whole of the porch and the basement for a height of three feet will be done in white cement, and all the brick work will be white cement pointed. The building will have a tiled roof. Inside the walls in the genera] library room will be lined with shelving for holding the books, and there will also be two island bookcases. Benches will accommodate the newspaper files in the room, and a table and seating accommodation will bo provided in the librarian's room. The slow progress being made with the erection of Dunedin's new Post Office is the subject of representations from time to time, to the Government. Work was started .upon the foundations several years ago. and hag proceeded in a leisurely manner to which the citizens have more or less grown, accustomed. The latest representations on the subject were made to the Minister for Pubiic Works, the Hon. W.: B. Taverner, who replies as follows: "I desire to assure vou that the Government fullv appreciates the need that exists for a proper post office building in Dunedin. and the _ matter is receiving special consideration; In connexion with the preparation of estimates of expenditure for the current financial year I am personally hopeful that the financial resources available will permit of a sufficient appropriation io enable the work to proceed at an earlv date, and as soon as Cabinet has finallv considered the matter I sh"ll be glad to advise you of the result."