AUCKLAND BLACKOUT

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 139, 8 March 1941, Page 7

AUCKLAND BLACKOUT

Scheme To Make City Invisible From Sea

TO OPERATE SHORTLY (By Telegraph—Press Association.)

AUCKLAND, March 7.

The promised scheme of reduced lighting for the Auckland metropolitan area, drawn up with the object of making the city invisible at night from the sea, will lie brought into operation in two stages within the next ten days under the authority of the recentlygazetted lighting restrictions emergency regulations. The scheme has been drawn up by the technical committee of the E.P.S. organization in Auckland, and has been approved by the Dominion lighting controller, Mr. F. T. M. Kissel. Two purposes are aimed at, namely, to obscure completely all lights visible from the sea, and, secondly, to eliminate the sky-glow caused by various kinds of lighting, some directly visible from the sea and some not. The scheme will be brought into operation in two stages. The first of these relates to outdoor lighting such as illuminated signs, floodlights and lights under shop • verandas. These must be extinguished after Monday morning next. In the second stage, beginning a week later, interior lighting of ail kinds must be so treated as not to be visible from out-of-doors. Such lighting includes that of industrial, commercial and domestic buildings, shop windows, and doorways and entrances, with particular reference to skylights.

Street lighting is the responsibility of a special technical committee. This committee intends to begin next week the reduction of lighting experimentally by eliminating some lamps, lowering the candlepower of others, and shrouding others. Streets overlooking the sea will be the first 'dealt with. Motor-ear headlamps are at present outside the scope of the scheme', and will remain sp until the Government issues directions regarding them. This is expected to be done when the investigating committee of experts has presented its report.