New Zealand's Roads

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22121, 17 June 1937, Page 3 (Supplement)

New Zealand's Roads

Some recent statistics about our roads indicate that for such a young country of only a small area comparatively, New Zealand caters well for motor and other road traffic. The total mileage of constructed roads is 51,400, of which about 3000 miles are "sealed," that is bitumen, asphalt or concrete-surfaced. The total length of metalled or gravelled roads is 35,800, while about 12,700 miles of road have been formed but not surfaced. The large number of rivers and creeks in New Zealand and the frequency of steep slooes make road-making more difficult than in most countries. The roads alone (that is not counting the railways) include more than 6000 bridges of more than 25 feet in length, together forming considerably more than 100 miles. Besides these there are many thousands of smaller bridges and culverts or tunnel-drains. Tigers Though we generally associate tigers with hot tropical forests, the largest of all are to be found in the snowy latitudes of Manchuria. But the Indian tiger is a big fellow, and the natives dread him. Every year he carries off thousands of their cattle and many hundreds of natives. The Eiffel Tower, in Paris, is the third highest structure in the world. Eiffel, the man -who built this tower, lived in a room in it for many years.