STERLING SERVICE

Evening Star, Issue 20129, 20 March 1929, Page 7

STERLING SERVICE

4YA’S ACHIEVEMENT OH THE AIR WHEN TELEGRAPH INTERRUPTED (Special to the * Star.’] CHRISTCHURCH, March 20. In connection with the service rendered by 4YA last evenin';, when the station remained on Uic air until after midnight, broadcasting news concerning the floods in Dunedin, an appreciative telegram has been forwarded to the new station director (Mr S J. Hayden) by Mr A. R. Harris, general manager of the Broadcasting Company. Except for wireless communication, Dunedin was cut off lor a time, and the broadcast iservico, as supplied by 4YA, proved of dominion value, not only in allaying the anxiety of relations and friends of people who were travelling and in enabling many others to make new arrangements, but to the public generally. [An outbreak of tire at Makikihi, some twenty miles south of Timarn, was reponsiblo for isolating Dunedin from the north in the matter of telegraphic and telephonic communication. As a result of the destruction by tiro of the hotel at Makikihi the whole of the telegraph wires were carried away at 8.20 p.m., and it. was not till 1.10 a.m. that communication was properly restored. To add to the difficulties of the local telegraph staff, the lights in the operating room failed about 9.30 p.m., and did not come on again till 1. a.m. Nevertheless, a telegraph message of over 500 words was got through to morning papers throughout the dominion. 1 RELIEF FUND OPENED We have received the following subscriptions for the relied; of those to whom distress and hardship have been caused by the floods: — Hell Tea Company. Ltd £DjO ‘ Evening Star 1 Companv 50 S. B. Macdonald ... ... 2 [Further subscriptions which may he sent to the office of the ‘ Evening Star ’ will be acknowledged in these columns, and forwarded to the proper authorities.]

A. and T. Burt’s works in Cumberland street suffered badly from the Hood, but it is hoped to have the engineers’ and structural steel shops working again within two or three days, and the foundry within one week. Parts of the works ami offices have been about 3ft under water. I bis Hood, so far as these works are concerned. was somewhat worse than that in April, 1923.