NEW ZEALAND COAL

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 7, 3 October 1929, Page 10

NEW ZEALAND COAL

USE ON RAILWAYS The quantity of New Zealand coal utilised on the railways for the year which ended on March 31 last reached the unprecedented figure of 356,724 tons, or 84125 per cent, of the total coal consumed, according to the Railways Statement presented to Parliament by the Hon. W. B. Taverner yesterday. The Minister pointed out that whereas in 1925 the total importations from oversea amounted to 313,107 tons, which represented a percentage of 76.84 of the total consumption, this figure dropped in the year under review to 66,675 tons, or a percentage of 15.75. It was very gratifying to be able to record that the Department had been able to utilise the local product in an increasing ratio, thus assisting in the maintenance of one of our great national industries. ? ’A Comparison. The report of the General Manager (Mr. H. H. Sterling) supplied the following comparison of the purchases of New Zealand and imported fuel for five years ended March 31, 1929: —

The total consumption by the Department for the past year' was 428,522 tons, involving an expenditure of £735,215, or an average of £1 14s. 3d. per ton. The sums expended in the purchase of fuel were as follow: Imported fuel, £132,136; New Zealand fuel, £576,136. The labour troubles in Australia caused the Department’s reserve stocks of hard coal to be seriously depleted; and, though the supplies of New Zealand coal continued during the year to be satisfactory, the unsuitability of the local coal for storage purposes made it essential that reserve stocks must be built up immediately, and every effort had been made to deal adequately with the situation.

N.Z. Imported Year Tons Tons 1924-25 .. . 94,351 313,107 1925-26 .. 85,393 278,076 1926-27 .. , 187,793 193,163 1927-28 . 288,640 152,025 1928-29 .. , 356,724 66,675