STATE SAWMILL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22352, 28 August 1934, Page 8

STATE SAWMILL

WORK TO CEASE AT MAMAKU RAILWAYS BOARD’S DECISION. (Per United Press Association) Auckland, August 27. The efforts which have been made to obtain reconsideration of the Railways Board’s decision to close the State sawmill at Mamaku are apparently doomed to failure. The men working in the bush and on the tramlines, about 22 in number, were dismissed 10 days ago, and according to advices received from Mamaku the mill itself will cease cutting on Wednesday night, throwing another SO or 40 men out of work. The announcement that the mill was to be closed was first made in May, and it caused great concern in the township of Mamaku, which is .practically dependent on the State sawmill and two others for its existence. It was stressed that if the mill were closed about half the working population would be thrown out of employment. Protests were forwarded by Mamaku residents to the Government, pointing out that the mill was equipped and organised to deal with the Railways Department’s Special orders, and that it had operated at a profit. Bush work ahead of requirements had been completed and would represent a dead loss to the department, as would the new tramline giving access to 6,000,000 feet of timber." The heavy initial cost of the line had been warranted only on the assumption that all the timber would be logged. The output ot the mill is mainly mountain rimu timber, for the most part being specially cut for use at the Otahuhu Railway Workshops. . It is cut in widths different from the timber milled for ordinary commercial purposes. Some of the men working at the mill have been employed there for over 25 years. Other sawmills in the vicinity are operated privately and are handling a fair volume of work. Although some ,of the dismissed bushmeu have been absorbed, it is not thought likely that there will be openings for mill hands. Since the dismissal of the bushmen the staff of the mill has been engaged in cutting up the logs still on hand. This work is now almost completed. Last month the suggestion was made that the mill should be sold to the employees of timber merchants and others interested as a co-operative concern, _but up to to-day no word bad been received whether the proposal was likely to be approved or not.