HEAVY OVERSEAS MAILS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19383, 19 July 1926, Page 10

HEAVY OVERSEAS MAILS.

EXCEPTIONAL SHIPMENTS, SOUTHERN PARCELS TRAIN. FIFTEEN VANS REQUIRED.

With the arrival of the Maheno tomorrow from Sydney 3482 bags of overseas letter, mail and parcel receptacles will have been landed at Auckland since last Thursday. Long hours have been worked at the chief post office to cope with the exqeptional influx. Following the arrival of the steamer Norfolk last Thursday with 95 bags of assorted English mail the Maimoa arrived from London on Saturday with 1238 parcel receptacles. Of the number 317 bags were for Auckland. The royal mail liner Aorangi which arrived from Vancouver yesterday brought 202 bags of letters and 195 parcel receptacles from England, and America for Auckland, and 1250 bags of assorted mail for Southern offices. The Maheno has 359 "bags of Australian mail and 143 bags of assorted mail from England and the Far East, mostly for Auckland. In addition eight bags of Australian mail, which will bo landed at Wellington to-morrow by the Marama, are for Auckland.

The Aorangi's Southern letters, and mail was despatched by train last evening, and the parcels from the Maimoa and Aorangi will be sent to-day. Eight railway vans will be required to carry the 921 bags from the Maimoa, while the Aorangi's quota will take seven. These will almost make a complete goods train in themselves.

The mail room staff at the chief post office has been kept busy during the weekend, and nine extra men were called on duty last evening. The top floor of the parcels office is almost full and a lai'ge number of the receptacles had to be left downstairs. In spite of the pressure of work, private letter boxes were filled last evening and other sortings usually receiving first attention were completed.