GUARDS ON POWER POLES
Opossums Overcome
Obstacles
“The Press" Special Service HAMILTON, June 20.
Opossums are getting to know about aluminium guards on electric power poles. Linesmen in Hawke’s Bay vow they have seen the animals helping each other across.
The guards, 20 inches in width, are wrapped around the pole about 12 feet from the ground. One opossum, they say, clutches the pole below the guard and his friend, standing on his shoulders, gets a firm grip on the pole above the guard and pulls himself up. The aluminium strips are intended to prevent opossums from reaching the top of poles and causing faults when they touch wires. One such touch can cost £2O in wages and much inconvenience.
Many cross-arms have been set on fire when an opossum has straddled phase wires. The guards are making their appearance in the Waikato. The Te Awamutu Electric-Power Board has installed many in the Te Anga area and the Central Waikato board has put up its first guards on the Raglan deviation.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19600621.2.81
Bibliographic details
Press, Issue 29236, 21 June 1960, Page 12
Word Count
171GUARDS ON POWER POLES Press, Issue 29236, 21 June 1960, Page 12
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Press. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.