TELEPHONE LINES TO WEST COAST

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26126, 31 May 1950, Page 8

TELEPHONE LINES TO WEST COAST

50 PER CENT. PERMANENTLY REPAIRED Fifty per cent, of the temporary breaks in telephone lines between Canterbury and the West Coast have now been permanently repaired. The regional engineer of the Post and Telegraph Department (Mr L. O. Tyrrell) said yesterday that permanent repairs had yet to be done in the Cass-Arthur’s Pass and Otiraf-Jackson’s area, but it would be impossible for the department to make permanent repairs in most places where bridges were down. The work would have to wait until the bridges had been restored, as for instance at Stoney Creek, nehr Mawheraiti.

Mr Tyrrell said that the department was maintaining a man permanently on patrol between Otira and Jackson’s, where most of the damage appeared to have occurred, to guard against any further possible line breaks.

DAMAGE TO OTIRA POWER LINES

Damage caused to the power lines of the Lake Coleridge system over the Otira Gorge by the week-end storm was all confined to a comparatively short distance west of Otira. A single pole supporting the two lines was washed out at Goat Creek just east of Otira and fell over on the railway embankment. A pair of poles was washed out behind the Otira village, and a single pole was washed out a short distance to the west of the village. One string of insulators was broken at Aickens.

MINES ON WEST COAST

TEMPORARY WORK FOR BLACKBALL MEN

(New Zealand Press Association)

GREYMOUTH, May 30. Temporary work has been found for all employees of the Blackball State mine which has had to cease production for an indefinite period as a result of flood damage to the Blackball combined rail and road bridge over the Grey river. The men agreed to accept a minimum wage of £6 5s a week in the meantime and fo go on maintenance work in the mine. Approximately 180 are affected by this arrangement. The Roa mine, where about 85 men are employed, is continuing production in the meantime as it has storage facilities for a week’s coal output. The position at both mines was reviewed at a conference of district State coalmine managers this afternoon. The conference discussed the general situation of the coast coal industry through the closing of the Midland line.

Fortunately, stocks of coal in the district were not heavy when the floods occurred. Already some coal is being stored in the open air. Reefton district mines resumed work this morning. In the meantime ' all coal won is being stacked either at the mines or on a vacant area at the Reefton railway yards. The Reefton district has no outlet for its coal production. Coal which is shipped to the North Island normally goes by way of Westport, and that route is cut indefinitely by the damage to the Waitahu rail and road bridge, while the same position as for the Grey district mines applies in regard to coal for the east coast. The whole position in regard to the Reefton mines will be reviewed later in the week.