BARRAGE BALLOON WIRE TO BE USED ON WEST COAST

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 November 1947, Page 6

BARRAGE BALLOON WIRE TO BE USED ON WEST COAST

Seven-strand steel wire, of high tensile strength, originally manufactured to foul enemy aeroplanes which might attempt to drop bombs on the ports of Great Britain, or New Zealand, and at the same time to moor the barrage balloons to which the wire was attached, is soon to be put to a more mundane use on the West Coast.

Confronted with the impossibility of obtaining supplies of wire from the usual sources, owing to the critical shortage, the Grey ' Electric Power Board has obtained 90 barrage balloon moorings from the War Assets Realisation Board and is 'now engaged on removing the wire for use on the short extension to the reticulation system at Rotomanu-Poe-rua.

Although the wire is of,exceptionally high quality, there is a “catch” in the deal as fax- as the board is concerned. The wire is coiled in metal containers about half the size of an eight gallon drum, attached to special equipment which facilitated its release when it was attached to a balloon. To salvage the wire, the board’s workmen have to gas-cut a whole in the bottom of the container, which is not an easy task and, of course, adds to the actual cost of the wire.

Wire, however, is not the only material for the new line which has caused concern to the board’s ' engineer (Mr S. Trotter). All ironwork is extremely difficult to obtain and widespread inquiries had to be made to obtain even the brace bars and bolts.

The material fox- the new line, which will serve settlers in the Poerua district, has now been assembled, however, and it is expected that the actual construction of the line will be commenced shortly.