TELEGRAPH LINES

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25259, 20 July 1945, Page 8

TELEGRAPH LINES

£150,000 FOR EEPAIBS CANTERBURY STORM DAMAQpf (P.A.) , WELLINGTON, Thur»d»| '' • The acting-Postmaster-General, Jones, stated today that while it woyld 1 be some time yet before the full extent of the storm damage to telegraph, telephone and toll services in the Canter.' - : bury area could be fully assessed it was now possible to say that the dis. ruption of services was probably'the most extensive in the history of th 6 " Post Office, and would involve an; experiditure of at least £150,000 for repairs. Reports so far received regarding major toll and telegraph routes indicated that a total of 56 miles of p o ] e line had been levelled to the ground while approximately another 50 miles had many spans of wires broken, although the poles were still standing Although there was extensive damage to. the north of Canterbury that area had escaped more lightly than the southern and western portions of the province. The Minister said an indication of the damage done was given by the fact that in one length of line carrying a n average of 30 .wires approximately 1000 poles had to he re-erected and about 100 tons of wire would have to fa salvaged from the wrecked lines. A survey showed that some 0000 telephones were put out of action, the approximate numbers for the exchanges mostly concerned being:—CbristchurcL 6500. Timarq, 700; Rangiora. 350; Walma te, 321; Temuka, 211; and Oxford, 180. Good progress had already been made with the restoration of services and by Monday it was expected that the Canterbury staff would be supplemented by 100 men drawn from other parts of the Dominion. In addition, the assistance of servicemen was arranged. Emergency radio services had enabled telegraphic traffic, including press ' ►messages, to be disposed of without serious delay. Approximately 10.000 telegrams and 50,000 words of press were handled in this way, the staff working 1 long hours to dispose of the traffic. The I .Minister expressed appreciation of the ; i excellent work done by all sections of 'j the Post and Telegraph staff.

OBITUARY MR HUDSON MOODY The occurred suddenly at Darfaville of Mr Hudson Moody, a wellnown Auckland contractor, ''o wa» engaged on a drainage scheme ,or the Dargaville Borough Council. Born in Auckland aijd educated at the Auckland Grammar School, he was tbe son of Mr J. A. Moody and the late Mr* Moody, of Hernc fiay. Mr Moody was a warrant officer in the New Zealand Engineers in the war of 1914-18, and joined the works company of the veteran engineers which was formed in Auckland before the outbreak of this war. This company afterward became the 34th Army Troops, in which Mr Moody reached the rank of captain. His principal duties were in the Auckland area, where a number of defence works were constructed under his supervision. He wfts an active member of the Masonic Lodge. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

MR T. W. CRANCH The death has occurred of Mr Thomas Wakeham Cranch at his home at Mount Eden at the age of 84, Mr Cranch was the son of Captain William Cranch, who arrived at Auckland in the fifties and commanded a number of coastal vessels. The late Mr Cranch was educated at Wellesley College. After 25 years with the firm of E. Porter and Company, ironmongers and merchants, he became a partner in the firm of Cruikshank, Miller and Company. He resided at Devonport for over 30 years, being a' member of the Borough Council. He is survived by his wife, three sons and three daughters'.

MR E. J. HIGGINS The death has occurred of Mr Ernest Joseph Higgins. of Onehunga. in his 77th year. Mr Higgins, whose parents arrived in New Zealand by the ship Oriental Queen in "1849, ' was born in Onehunga and spent his'life there. Some years ago he was prominent in local activities, being a member of the Borough Council for eight years. Mr Higgins had filled all the offices of the Hibernian Order and at the time of his death was the oldest member of the order in the Auckland district. , For many years he was a soloist member of the Choral Society. His wife died a year ago and he is survived by one son and three daughters.

MR W. G. STRANGE (0.C.) TAURANGA. Thursday

The death has occurred of Mr William George Strange, aged 64. Born in Christchurch. he was associated with the .firm of Barnett and Co., chemists, Christchurch, and later became manager. He then moved to Hawera, where he was engaged in business on nis own account for many years. He was a member of the Hawera Borough Council and deputy-Mayor for a period. Eight years ago he retired from business and came to Tauranga, interesting himself in the citrus industry at Otumoetai, and at one time was president of the Bay of Plenty Citrus Growers' Association, at the time of hi? death being a vice-president. He is survived by his wife and two children.

MRS S. D. ALLEN (0.C.) M4.TAMATA. Thursday The death has occurred of Mrs Sarah Dorothy Allen, aged 53, of Okoroire. Mrs Allen was the representative of the Women's War Service Auxiliary on the Matamata Rehabilitation Committee and served for years on the Matamata High School Committee, in addition to the Women's Division of the Farmers' Union, the Red Cross Society and other bodies. She privately "adopted" about a dozen members of the Maori Battalion, to whom she wrote regularly and sent parcels. She was a generous supporter of all forms of amateur sport, for the encouragement of which she regularly supplied trophies. Mrs Allen is survived by her husband and one son, Mr Robert Allen, the holder of several athletic championships.

MINISTER IN MOSCOW •MR BOSWELL'B WORK (P.A.) DUNEDIN, Thursday _ The Prime Minister; Mr Fraser, said today that he would like to supplement the very effective answer given by the Minister of Finance, Mr Nash, yesterday in the House of Representatives to a question concerning the work of Mr C. W. Boswell, Minister for New Zealand in Moscow.

Wijen Mr Fraser was in San Francisco attending the United Nations Conference he met Sir Clark Kerr. British Ambassador in Moscow, and Mr Wiidergrive, Canadian Minister to Russia, and renewed his friendly acquaintance extending over the war years with Mr -Averill Harriman, Ambassador for the United States to Russia. Each separately informed him of his high opinion of Mr Boswell personally and of great respect in which lie was held. They all said New Zealand had an excellent representative in its Minister and that they appreciated very much his willing co-operation, sometimes in difficult situations. V

PARLIAMENT PRECINCTS (5.. R.) WELLINGTON. Thursday The estimated cost of the ground levelling and improvement work carried out in front of Pariament Buildings was sta+pcl to be £3500 when the Minister of Works. Mr Setnple. replies to a question in the House of Representatives.

Breakfast cooked while you »et the table—serve Buchanans .new process pre-cooked '"Holly" Oatmeal, just two minutes to cook. It's delicious and full of nutrition. —Advt.