TRENCH-DIGGING IN CITY

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23513, 16 December 1941, Page 8

TRENCH-DIGGING IN CITY

♦ SHELTERS FOR 2000 NOW IN HAND CITY ENGINEER REVIEWS PROGRESS Up to last evening about 2500 feet of air raid shelter trenches had been dug or were in process of being dug in the central area of Christchurch. This satisfactory progress with the city's emergency measures, which were hurriedly put in hand on Friday morning after the conference of Emergency Precautions Services officials in Wellington, means that protection for more than 2000 persons is now in hand. "Temporary shelters first, improvements to them later, and permanent shelters later still, if time permits,” That is the programme on which tho City Engineer (Mr E, Somers) and his staff are working. The construction of temporary shelters will go on in parks and reserves, vacant lots, and open spaces until there is a sufficient length of trench to provide shelter for the entire working population of the city and the normal complement of shoppers and business visitors, the City Council staff is now taking n“census of tho city population, block by block, to enable the requirements for each district to bo ascertained. Mr Somers said the timbering of manv of the trenches had begun. There had been a satisfactory response to (he appeal for sandbags, but many more were still required. The sites of the shelters now under construction are; —Latimer square. Cathedral square, Victoria souare. corner of Oxford terrace and Gloucester street, Oxford terrace river bank, Cambridge terrace river bank, intersection of Manchester street and Lichfield street. J. and W. Jamieson’s yard in Colombo street, Moorhouse avenue • opoosile the railway station). Midland Motorways yard (Lichfield street), corner of Manchester and St, Asaph streets. Centennial Baths site (Oxford terrace). Mr Somers said the staff engaged on the work, consisting of permanent staff of the council and scheme 13 men, were doing exceedingly well. All other council jobs on which labourers aio employed have been suspended to facilitate tho emergency measures.