£1,000,000 IN FILMS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 689, 14 June 1929, Page 10

£1,000,000 IN FILMS

BOND AT WELLINGTON GUARDING AGAINST FIRE (Special to THE SUN) WELLINGTON, Thursday. the last few days cinemato- ? raph nlms valued at £50,000, Including some of the latest “talkies," have been destroyed by fire in one of Sydney s bond stores. It has been found necessary to draw on the New Zealand bona for Australian supplies, and yesterday a quantity of film was sent iNoith by the express to connect -with row Sydlley boat at Auckland tomorNew Zealand fortunately has been free from serious fires of tills type due largely to the excellent precautions taken and the strict supervision by Government inspectors. The vault in Sydney Street, Wellington, where films are kept in bond until their release by the censor, is built of conciete and sealed with a fireproof door kept closed by an automatic mechanism. The films are placed In circular metal containers, which are packed on steel racks with ample room for a good air current, the pungent explosive gas which comes away being led to the open air by two four-foot flues which rise 20ft. above the vault. A fire in the outside building could not reach the films, nor could a fire in the storage vault affect the building. The usual value of the films iu bond runs into six figures, and at present owing to heavy stocks of both silent and “talking” films, is over £1,000.000 The vault will hold 3,000.000 ft. of film!