A.A. Handbook

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31773, 2 September 1968, Page 12

A.A. Handbook

Sir,—Having received my copy of the Canterbury Automobile Association handbook for the South Island, I am perturbed that a book of. this size should be printed in the North Island. Apart from Christchurch, we have several printing houses in the South Island quite able to cope with this publication, which has been done in the past. Local members of the A.A. should insist that their support be reinvested in the area subscribed from, which is Canterbury in particular and the South Island as a whole, and stop this northern drift.— Yours, etc., PERTURBED PRINTER. August 29, 1968.

[The general-manager of the Automobile Association (Canterbury) (Mr E. S. Palliser) replies: “When the compilation of this handbook was handled by the South Island Motor Union (merged in 1965

into the New Zealand Automobile Association) it was printed for many years in Christchurch and subsequently in Dunedin. Before publication of the handbook was taken over by the Automobile Association (Canterbury) from the Motor Union, preliminary inquiries through the union had established clearly that the printing of the book could be accomplished in greatly improved format, and with very considerable savings in cost, by the use of a web offset plant in Auckland. Before -a contract was let to the Auckland firm, however, consultations were held with several major local printing firms but none could produce the book in the format required or at a price which compared favourably With that available in Auckland. To the best of my knowledge the same position applies.”]