REGULAR AIR MAIL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22832, 17 March 1936, Page 4

REGULAR AIR MAIL

DAILY SERVICE INAUGURATED SATISFACTORY LOCAL DESPATCH The daily air mail service, a modern facility that has been eagerly awaited by the public since the inception of the regular air. passenger service, was commenced yesterday, when large quantities of mail matter were handled at - the principal airports for despatch by plane to various parts of the country. Mails from Auckland were transported to Palmerston North by the Limited express and were then conveyed by plane to Blenheim, which is the central distributing point for the North and South Islands, and mail .which was despatched from the Taieri airport arrived in Palmerston North in time for the afternoon delivery the same day. Local residents showed themselves to be thoroughly in favour of the new scheme of mail transport by providing a total of 3589 letters, weighing ,661 b,. for carriage by the Union air liner JLorimako from the Taieri- airport, and although this was only one-third of the total load that could have been carried, it was looked upon by the postal officials as a. favourable indication of the future success of the service.

The local- despatch, which was made up in four bags for Christchurch, Blenheim, Wellington and Palmerston North, consisted of, 3467 letters from Dunedin, and 122 from as far south as Clinton, the latter isdue having been brought to Mosgiel by slow train. On every other day but Sunday and Monday the mail will be brought from points extending to Invercargill. Yesterday’s mail contained no papers or parcels, but it is anticipated that whenever speed of delivery is desired these will be included in future despatches. The system adopted in established air mail services abroad whereby special letter boxes are, provided has been put into use in the Dominion, find a blue letter box has been installed specially for air mail in the Dunedin Post Office vestibule, to the left of the main postal slots. Persons sending air mail are requested to remember this special provision, as in view of the fact that the ordinary northern mail closes only_ half an hour later much time and efficiency must necessarily be lost if the mails are mixed. Moreover, correspondence should be specially marked to save confusion, air mail labels for this purpose being obtainable free of charge at the stamp counters. Although the mail may be posted in the ordinary slots at suburban post offices, the necessary allowance must be made for the fact that the despatch closes in the city at 10.15 every morning. At districts between Invercargill and Mosgiel it will be permissible to post air mail on the guard’s van of the Limited express at no extra cost than 2d minimum on every ounce. This mail will be sorted on delivery at Mosgiel and will be conveyed to the Taieri airport. The special air mail flights undertaken since December, 1931, were a forerunner of the inauguration yesterday of the regular daily service, including Sunday, which will mean a saving of 22 hours in transit to Christchurch, 27 hours to Blenheim, 36 hours to Nelson, 40 hours to, Wellington, and 48 Lours to Auckland. Mails leaving Dunedin to-day will reach Auckland to-night, and all- post office box communications will be available on the same day as they were mailed. ' Stamps first issued last December are available for air mail and will cover postage to any part of the world. The first local mail wds delivered at the Taieri airport yesterday morning by the chief postmaster (Mr N. R. MTsaacj and ’the superintendent of mails (Mr W. J. Whinray), who officially handed it over to the pilot of the Union Airways liner Korimako, which left at 11.30. NORTHERN ACTIVITIES. At Palmerston North 10 bags of mail aggregating 751 b, and including 201 b of mail that had arrived by'the Limited express from Auckland, were despatched by the air liner for the south, the load consisting of two bags each for Blenheim, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin, and one. each for Timaru and Oamaru. Prior to,the departure of the plane there was a small official gathering at which Mr J. Hodgens, M.P., the Mayor of Palmerston North (Mr A. E. Mansford) and the chairman of Union Airways (Mr N. S. Falla) spoke. Immediately after the arriVal in the afternoon of the plane from the south the mail from Dunedin was sorted and distributed by the afternoon delivery. The postal officials at Blenheim were called upon to handle 1500 letters for various .'destinations, a large amount of the correspondence being for forward delivery on behalf of philatelists in different parts of the Dominion. Blenheim, by reason of its situation, has been made the central distributing point for New Zealand, and yesterday morning’s distribution was as follows;—From Blenheim, one bag each for Wellington, Nelson, Dunedin and Christchurch; from Palmerston North, one bag each for Wellington, Nelson and Blenheim; from Wellington, two bags each for Christchurch” and Dunedin, and one each for Timaru and Oamaru.