D.—l

XVII

An automatic light was erected on Ninepins Rock early in the year, and first exhibited on the 30th August, and has proved very useful to navigation. Two new cottages for keepers were erected at Cape Campbell, two at Cape Maria van Diemen, and one at Pouto, Kaipara, the old structures having become uninhabitable. It is intended to proceed with the erection of automatic lights on Gable End Foreland and Mercury Island as soon as the Department's lighthouse expert is available. Arrangements are being made for the installation of an oil-engine hoist for hauling goods from the landing to the lighthouse on Stephen Island in place of the present wooden whims, which are out of repair and unsuitable. HARBOUR-WORKS. All the buoys and beacons in the harbours under the control of the Department have been regularly overhauled, cleaned, and painted, and, where necessary, new moorings have been put down. TOURIST AND HEALTH RESORTS. No new works of magnitude were undertaken, but considerable improvements and additions were effected. At Rotorua wooden water-mains are being replaced by cast-iron ones, and a stand-by plant and extensions to the electrical system are in hand. Other works carried out were the erection of and improvement to residences at Rotorua, provision of " Crescent " gas lighting at the Hermitage, improvement and erection of huts at Tongariro National Park, construction of.a further section of the Grave-Talbot track from Wakatipu to Milford, the purchase of Sutherland's accommodation-house at Milford Sound, and the installation of telephonic communication on the Te Anau - Milford Track, whereby travellers are able to communicate direct from Milford to Glade House, Te Anau. The work of substituting iron for wood water-mains at Rotorua will be continued, as well as improvements at the various resorts. The necessity of the new massage building at Rotorua is recognized, and will be proceeded with when finances permit. ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE. The sum provided on the estimates for the year ending 31st March, 1922, for road and bridge construction and maintenance was less than for the previous year, but the expenditure has been greater —indeed, the heaviest on record for this class of work. With a view to increasing the general productivity of the Dominion, the expenditure has been confined principally to those roads that are at present the only means of communication to and throughout settled districts where railway facilities do not exist, and in the development of new districts. These activities have been mainly in the direction of formation of new roads, construction of bridges and culverts, metalling existing roads, and general maintenance. The works of greatest magnitude have been carried out by my Department, but local bodies have been entrusted with the execution of such undertakings as came within the scope of their capabilities. It is estimated there are at the present time approximately 50,000 miles of formed roads and bridle-tracks in the Dominion, of which 27,000 miles are metalled. It is further estimated that an additional 20,000 miles require to bo formed before the roading of the Dominion can be considered complete, even to an elementary standard. The desirability, and indeed the necessity, of roads of a sufficiently high standard to carry all classes of traffic become more apparent each year, and it is now generally recognized that this standard can only be attained by proper organization and modern equipment. The severe tests applied to road-surfaces by swiftly-moving and often heavy motor traffic have induced some local bodies to adopt a more modern and perma-

iii—D. 1.