NEW COOK STRAIT CABLE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 15 March 1926, Page 9

NEW COOK STRAIT CABLE.

INTER-ISLAND TELEPHONY. A VERY COSTLY WORK. The new telephone cable which is to lie laid across Cook Strait to connect tire two islands will he put down by the Government steamer Tutanekai. The weight of cable is over 400 tons, and , its cost has run considerably into five figures. When the cost of laying, instruments, appliances, buildings, laying shore ends and land cables have been added, inroads will have been made into six figures. If it were just a matter of laying the sea cable, says the New Zealand Times, it would be ready in a few days, for if weather conditions are good only a couple of days will suffice to lay the wires from coast to coast. The shore ends will take longer, as they are more stoutly built to meet the wear and tear and abrasion by' tide and rocks. In addition there are five miles of land cable to be erected between Lyall Bay and -the Wellington head office, and about, six miles on the other side up to Seddon, for the marine cable enters the sea at Lyall Bay on the Wellington side and ends at Blind River for Seddon in the South Island. This portion is about 40 miles long, and with the land cable will exceed 50 miles. Seddon will be the switching centre for the South Island, and a small building has yet to be erected there to house the repeating and amplifying apparatus which is necessary to make up the loss of strength experienced in a submarine cable and to amplify the speech and carry it on at its initial strength. SSMESBMBBMSBDEiB