COAL SHORTAGE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26227, 10 August 1946, Page 6

COAL SHORTAGE

ORDERS STILL IN ARREARS MERCHANTS’ DIFFICULTIES “ Had it not been for the spell of fine weather, Dunedin residents would have suffered severe hardship owing to the shortage of coal supplies this winter,” said Mr D. R. Wilson, president of the Dunedin Coal Merchants' Union, to a Daily Times reporter yesterday. Mr Wilson added that in spite of the favourable conditions that had been experienced, merchants were four or five weeks behind with the delivery of their orders.

Merchants have had a hard struggle to keep pace with their orders, and the general principle adopted has been to give householders sufficient coal ,to meet their immediate requirements, and this is usually about two bags of coal at a time. “Now that the winter months are drawing to an end and there is a prospect of some warmer days, the coal situation should ease, although .it will take at least another month for merchants to catch up on their orders,” said Mr Wilson. There had been no change in the situation in the area at Kaitangata where the fire occurred some time ago, very little additional output of coal being available as yet. Some coal is coming from the Southland mines, but it is not in sufficient quantities to alleviate the shortage to any great extent. Brown coal is reaching the Dunedin market in steady quantities from South Otago, but it is delivered on arrival. The members of the public responded very well to the appeal from merchants to accept supplies of brown coal in order to eke out their supplies of bright coal. “ With no official rationing system in vogue and orders delivered in rotation ” Mr Wilson continued. “ householders with ranges are at a disadvantage compared with people who have facilities for cooking by gas and electricity. On the other hand, merchants are not cognisant of domestic arrangements and can only deliver strictly in rotation.” If provision was made for the supply of extra coal to persons with ranges, the position would soon become chaotic, because of the desire of most people to build up as large a reserve stock of coal as possible.