SERVICE ENDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22678, 16 March 1937, Page 14

SERVICE ENDS

TELEGRAPH ENGINEER MR. L. L. MACEY RETIRING TELEPHONE CHANGE RECALLED After 40 years' service in the Post and Telegraph Department, of which he spent about 13 years in Auckland, where he was closely associated with tho introduction of automatic telephones, and has been district telegraph engineer since 19.''2, Mr. L. L. Macey will retire on superannuation at the end of this month. His successor is Air. P. H. Mason, of Wellington, who is already in Auckland preparing to take over the duties of the office.

Mr. Macey entered the department in 1897 as a telegraph messenger at Blenheim, and after three years went to Taranaki as a telegraph operator. In the same capacity he spent a year at Stratford and eight years at New Plymouth, then being transferred to the Wellington engineering branch for three years. Ho first came to Auckland as a technical clerk in 1912 for a year, and served as a junior engineer in the Wellington, Bay of Plenty, Botorua and Thames districts until 1918. Preparations for the conversion of tho manual telephone systems to an automatic system found Mr. Macey back in Auckland, and in charge of the work until 1925, when the changeover was effected. Tho work involved converting the single manual exchange in the old Shortland Street post office into seven automatic exchanges at the Wcllesley Street, Mmnt Eden, Onehunga, and Takapuna post offices, and at Ponsonbv, Devonport and Remuera. A reorganisation of the cable distribution and thy complete installation of automatic equipment were required. Mr. Macey was transferred to Dunedin as district engineer for Otago in 1925, and directed operations for a change-over to tho automatic telephone system there two years later. Meanwhile an extension of the manual system was necessitated by gxpatly increased business as a result of the exhibition. Mr. Macey remained in Dunedin seven years, and was then transferred to Auckland, where he has since been stationed.

For some years before his appointment Mr. Mason was attached to the head office of the department in Wellington as field engineer. He served in the Auckland district some years ago as a telegraph engineer, and in 1918 he had charge of tho eastern district, when Mr. Macey was engaged with the city business. Mr. Mason has also been stationed at Gisborne and Otago.