SAWMILLING FIRM IN ‘SERIOUS SITUATION’

Press, Volume C, Issue 29468, 21 March 1961, Page 16

SAWMILLING FIRM IN ‘SERIOUS SITUATION’

The greater use of cardboard cartons for packing had put a large sawmilling firm in a “serious situation,” Mr J. A. Bretherton told the No. 9 Transport Licensing Authority (Mr J. S. Haywood) yesterday.

Mr Bretherton outlined the case for Selwyn Sawmills, Ltd., which is seeking permission to carry long timber and minor forest products from Hororata to Christchurch. The company is also seeking permission to run another vehicle on the same terms at its existing authority. The application was adjourned to next week. It is opposed by the Railways Department (Mr L. C. Brown).

Mr Bretherton said the company now carried casewood and slabs between Hororata and Christchurch. The casewood had provided a “lucrative” income, but the

greater use of cardboard cartons had caused this to “drop tremendously.” “The sawmill is. in fact, a small village,” Mr Bretherton said. “Its employees and their dependants number about 100.

“The sons and daughters of these workers provide a labour force for local farms and the nearby town of Coalgate. , “If the mill closed down it would to some extent affect workers employed by the Selwyn Plantation Board. “If the mill is to sell its products it will have to lower its costs somehow, and one way to do that is to lessen the cost of transport,” Mr Bretherton said. He said he would call evidence to show the products could be transported at less cost by road than by rail. Application Granted An application by Edwin Henry Boyce, of 38 Mersey street, Christchurch to operate a second refrigerated truck was granted. Boyce (Mr H. W. Hunter) was given permission to carry frozen foods in the South Island except for parts of the West Coast.

The application was opposed by Refrigerated Freight Lines (Hawke’s Bay) and General Foods (Wholesale). Ltd., Auckland (Mr J. A. Bretherton), and the Railways Department (Mr L. C. Brown).

A new continuous goods service licence with authority to operate one vehicle was granted to Maiko Kaputone Pahi, of 238 Main North road, Christchurch (Mr A. Hearn I. The licence allows Pahi to transport his own soil, treated soil, and spoil. Pahi was also granted the transfer of a continuous goods service licence from Emily Rigby, of Christchurch (Mr H. W. Hunter).

Both applications were opposed by the Christchurch Shingle and Metal Supplv Association, and the Christchurch and Suburban Carriers’ Association (Mr I. A. Pringle). The second application was opposed by the Railways Department (Mr L. C. Brown).