Exam. Results Swell Toll And Telegraph Traffic

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29725, 19 January 1962, Page 11

Exam. Results Swell Toll And Telegraph Traffic

Yesterday’s announcement of school certificate examination passes swelled telephone and telegraph traffic to one of the highest peaks of the year. Thousands of extra messages of congratulation, advice of passes, and perhaps consolation were exchanged through the Post Office. Last evening, 53 operators were engaged at the Christchurch Chief Post Office exchange to handle toll and other calls. For more than three hours after six o'clock, when the night charges were in operation, toll calls were handled at the rate of more than 600 an hour. Only at Christmas does the number of calls exceed this: then it can be up to 800 an hour. Acting on the experience of previous years the Post Office arranged for extra staff to man switchboards early yesterday morning and again in the evening. The first increase in calls began about 6 a.m.. soon after the dayshift operators began to arrive.

During the morning the flood of congratulations and information subsided and during the afternoon traffic was nearer to normal, only to swell again in the evening. The telephoning of telegrams was up to the busiest Christmas level. By 10 o’clock last night the telegraph room had taken nearly 2500 messages in addition to telegrams accepted at the office counter. Only the traffic after publication of university examination results rivals such brisk business. As morning newspapers were the first to carry the results this year the flow of messages was more conveniently spread through the day.