MID-CANTERBURY NEWS

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25346, 20 November 1947, Page 5

MID-CANTERBURY NEWS

ASHBURTON NOTES BOROUGH LOAN PROPOSAL CARRIED The loan proposal for the borough of Ashburton to borrow £12,000 for general work was carried by 705 votes to 333 at a poll of ratepayers held in conjunction with the municipal election yesterday. About 2000 ratepayers were eligible to vote. Included in the programme covered by the loan are street and footpath paving and kerbing and channelling. The loan will be secured by a special rate of 2J?d in the £ on the annual value of all rateable property in the borough, and the interest rate will not exceed 3| per cent. A bare majority of valid votes recorded was required. Tinwald Loan Rejected The proposal of the Tinwald Town Board to borrow £3OOO for street improvements, including kerbing, channelling, and footpath construction, was rejected at a poll of ratepayers yesterday. Timber for Great Britain Believed to be the first consignment of timber from .the Ashburton County for Great Britain. 50.000 feet of pinus insignis was railed from Ashburton on Tuesday for shipment for Britain on the Derry Clare. If not the first shipment from the county, it is the first consignment of pinus insignis. The timber was from Mr A. J. Breakwell’s mill at the old glassworks. Within the next two weeks Mr Breakwell will consign about 250,000,000 feet of similar timber to Sydney. All the timber has been ordered by overseas firms.

Lauriston Telephone Service Plans for the provision of a telephone service for 42 waiting applicants in the Lauriston and surrounding districts had now been completed, wrote the Postmaster-General (Mr F. Hackett) to the Lauriston branch of Federated Farmers in reply to a petition from 24 residents of the Lauriston district for a telephone service. He added that for economic and technical reasons it was not practical to arrange connections with the Ashburton exchange for all the applicants, and a number of the settlers would, therefore, require to accept service through the Methven and Rakaia exchanges. Of the 24 settlers who signed the petition, 17 will be connected with the Ashburton exchange, four with the Methven exchange, and three with the Rakaia exchange. The work, which would be undertaken in conjunction with an extensive regrouping of existing subscribers’ lines, would necessitate the construction of many miles of new pole lines and wire, as well as the laying of some four miles of underground cable, said Mr Hackett. It was hoped to begin the job at an early date, but because of the magnitude of the work, coupled with the difficulties being experienced by the Post Office in obtaining supplies of poles, telephones and other material, it was likely to be some time befote the service could be provided for all the -applicants. The letter added: “Later, when automatic exchange plant becomes available, consideration will be given to the establishment of a rural automatic exchange at Lauriston. Should this proposal be implemented, telephope subscribers residing in the Lauriston district will be transferred to the new exchange, through which they will receive a continuous service on shorter and less expensive lines. It is likely to be some years, however, before a rural automatic unit will be available for allocation to Lauriston.”