PARCELS FOR OVERSEAS

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 59, 3 December 1941, Page 10

PARCELS FOR OVERSEAS

Adequate Packing Needed

The need for the adequate packing of parcels posted for overseas has been stressed by the I’ostmaster-General. Mr. Webb. He said that some parcels for members of the Armed Forces in the Middle East, Great Britain, and Canada, though in coming to Wellington they had travelled only a few hundred miles, had burst open, and the contents were scattered loose in the bags. “In packing a parcel.” the Minister said, "senders—particularly business firms posting on behalf of private individuals —should realize the amount of handling that the parcel will have to undergo before it reaches the addressee. Parcels are dispatched in bags which have to be loaded on lorries, on trains, and in ships’ slings, not to mention stacking in ships’ holds. ‘‘On arrival overseas they often have to be unloaded from steamer to lighter, from lighter to wharf, from wharf to shed, shed to railway siding, railway siding to lorry, and so on ; and if people would only remember that the parcel bags are stacked, in piles 20 to 30 feet high, they would realize that the pressure on the parcels in the lower bags must be simply enormous. "It is found from experience.” added the Minister, "that the type of parcel which stands up best to (he dillieult transit conditions is that which is enclosed in a tin container with the lid completely soldered down, and the whole then wrapped in paper and finally sewn strongly in stout calico or canvas. Mothers, wives and friends who so pack their parcels can be assured that the parcels have a very good chance of reaching the addressees overseas in good condition.”