EMPIRE AIR MAIL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23577, 13 August 1938, Page 28

EMPIRE AIR MAIL

ACTIVITY IN SORTING ROOM FOREIGN SECTION'S PROBLEMS The fact that air mail services have become a boon to the letterwriting public and are being appreciated as such involves more concentrated work on the part of the mails departments of the various chief post offices. Dunedin was the point of despatch of the third Empire Air Mail, and a Daily Times reporter was able yesterday to see something of the work that has to be done. It was fortunate that the City Line tramp City of Bagdad is on her way to Sydney, because otherwise the South Island public would not have been able to use the despatch to countries embraced in the all-up Empire route from last. Monday until next Thursday. The chief postmaster (Mr R M. Mclsaac) took the reporter to the foreign section of the mails department, when the superintendent of mails (Mr W J L. Wliinray) explained the processes of this final sorting. A specially augmented staff was busily engaged in sorting letters and newspapers bound for the most diverse part of the earth. Trucks packed with letters . newspapers, and packets for surface transport were being wheeled into the branch where' there was: an array of the special blue bags familiar to air travellers bearing labels, among others, for Singapore, Hongkong. Penang, Calcutta, Delhi, Karachi, Alexandria Kisumu. Salisbury, Johannesburg, Durban, Athens, Palestine, Marseilles, London E.C., London Town, English provinces, Dublin, and Canada. The in fact, and the many compartments arranged for sorting comprised an interesting geography lesson. Among the bags for surface trans: port by the same vessel were some for Canton, Shanghai, Port Taufig, Bulawayo Station, Ljubljana (there is a teaser for those who fancy their geographical knowledge). Mombasa, Naples, Madura (in India), Kobe, Hongkong, and a score of other distant places A Typical Problem When ready for despatch, the air letters were tied up in bundles for Sheffield, Bristol. Glasgow. Cardiff, the nine London districts, as well as all the other important places on the routes covered, the weights were recorded in metric weight for official purposes, and then placed in their respective bags The letters and other articles for surface i transport were similarly dealt with, but in the case a mail matter for this section, the distributing points on the route differed widely from the air transport oortion. As an, interesting example of the problems which frequently confront the foreign branch experts, yesterday two letters were handed in.addressed to remote name places without any country of destination. Reference to the international list of post offices supplied to the principal centres revealed that there were four postal towns of the same name situated respectively in Queehsland, Durham (England), Saskatchewan, and Tennessee. The officer was not satisfied and consulted the list of street names in London. Sure enough there was the very avenue named, located in a London district which does not possess a post office of that name. Those two letters have accordingly been despatched to that London district in full confidence that they have been forwarded to their intended destination. The work of these 'officials certainly has its little puzzles, and the trouble taken to solve them and the degree of success achieved are amazing to those who are prone to look on and criticise.