POST OFFICE WORKS

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25870, 1 August 1949, Page 3

POST OFFICE WORKS

SUMMARY IN ANNUAL REPORT The annual report of the Post and Telegraph Department records the following building operations in the Canterbury and West Coast districts:— New buildings completed: temporary carpenters’ and body-building workshop at Christchurch; automatic telephone exchange building at Kiccarton; postmasters’ residences at Addington, Fairlie, Sydenham, and St. Albans. Additions and alterations: line depot at Christchurch; residences at Greymouth and Oamaru to provide transit flats. Surplus defence and other buildings used for departmental purposes: Post Office, Washdyke; auxiliary post office accommodation, Ashburton; batchelor accommodation, Lincoln; flats for departmental employees, Christchurch (six). Land has been acquired at Ashburton and Fendalton for automatic-tele-phone exchanges; at Greymouth for a line depot and transit housing; at Hororata. for housing: at Kaiapoi and Washdyke, for post offices; at Timaru. fo- transit housing. Properties disposed of during the year included the old post office site at Denniston.

At March 31 the following works were in progress: Cheviot, erection new carrier-telephone building; Greymouth. conversion of residence into transit flats. A contract was let early in 1949 for the erection of a new post office at Hokitika.

At March 31 telephone equipment was under installation at Lyttelton (to handle 150 subscribers). Riccarton <900). Sumner (500), and Timaru (900). During the year a rural automatic exchange was established at Ahaura. It is proposed to install exchanges at Hari Hari and Otira.