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Buildings.- —Apart from the usual maintenance-work, the work of the Department was not large, and consisted of improvements to the hot-water cisterns at the main baths. The fiuming at the power-station, Okere Falls, was reinforced and braced up where required with iron tie-rods. The bridge at Whakarcwarewa near the Spout Bath, which was becoming dangerous to traffic, has been renovated, and the width reduced to 6 ft. to prevent vehicles from crossing, as the ground between that point and the State forest nursery is very unsafe for traffic. Two 12 ft. double gates have been made and hung at the entrance to the benzine-depot, and other improvements effected. The foundation and floor of the lavatory in connection with the tea-kiosk in the Government gardens have been renovated, as those were in a very bad condition, threatening the collapse of the building. Provision has been made for the free access of air to give ventilation under the structure, and a fireescape erected at the nurses' home. The usual painting and plumbing maintenance-work has been carried out during the year. Gardens and Reserves. —A waste piece of ground lying between the Duchess and Main Baths has been cleared of scrub in order to make a continuous flower border between the two buildings. Four of the grass tennis-courts in front of the northern end of the main bath buildings have been dug ujj, regraded, and sown in grass. They are now used as croquet-lawns, the growing popularity of that game having called for an extension of ground for players. This work of laying down the new winter tennis-courts has been commenced. The concrete bed has been put down and partially coated with asphalt. The old rustic bridge which crossed the Puarenga Stream, below the Papakura Geyser, was removed. A substantial new bridge 40 ft. long by 5 ft. wide with guard-rails has been erected. Water-supply. —During the year seventy-four new consumers have been added to the system. In order to prevent cattle wandering in the neighbourhood of the reservoir a substantial fence has been erected. During the year the supply to Koutu, 23 chains in length, was enlarged, the \ in. pipe previously laid being taken up and replaced with 1 in. pipe. Drainage. —During the year sixteen new connections have been made to the sewer, and the pumps have been overhauled. The debris which falls from the manholes gets carried into the pipes, and causes very serious difficulty. In addition to this, a silica formation has taken place inside the 2>ipes, which is greatly reducing the internal area. It is only a question of time until the whole system, but particularly the parts in those areas strongly impregnated with sulphur, will require to be lifted and renewed. Auxiliary Hot-water Supply to Baths. —The wooden pipes in this pipe-line running from the spring at Whakarcwarewa to Rotorua are not proving very satisfactory. The heat melts the asphalt coating on the pipes, and also softens the wood, so that the staples fastening the binding-wire come out easily, and thus loosen the staves. At portions where the pipe-line passes under the road they have had to be replaced with iron pipes, and as soon as funds permit the whole length of the pipeline will have to be laid in metal. The siphons at the spring gave us considerable trouble through intermittent working, due principally to the varying level of the spring. These have been removed, and the level of the pipes lowered to permit of the whole supply from the spring flowing to Rotorua by gravitation, a much more satisfactory method. Electrical Supply. —During the year the plant has been maintained in good working-order. The work of reconstruction throughout the town is steadily proceeding, and it is now possible to remove the high-tension lines from several of the streets. A maximum-demand indicator has been procured and installed. This is used to ascertain the load on some transformers which there was reason to suspect were overloaded. As a consequence of the knowledge obtained, additional transformers have had to be installed at certain points, and heavier distribution-lines erected. The lower-tension reticulation-work has been balanced to meet the altered character of the winter load. A sectionalizing switch has been erected at Te Ngae on the main transmission-line. This will enable faults on the main line to be more quickly located, and so reduce the period of interruption in cases where the fault is not easily located. The total number of units generated at Okere was 730,608, and the number of consumers at the 31st March was 905. A cclimalization. The Rotorua district is becoming increasingly popular with every class of sportsman, whether his objective is fish/ fur, feathered game, or red deer. The advent of the motor-car is contributing largely to this end, by reason of the facility with which most of the areas where the game is plentiful can speedily bis reached. The trout-fishing during April and May of 1922 was of the usual high standard of the past two seasons. The trout worm or parasite which affected the rainbow so badly from five to fifteen years ago has become almost non-existent. The general condition of the trout at the opening of the fishing season last November was much better than in any jjrevibus season for years past, and as the feed became more plentiful the recording of catches of a dozen to thirty fish in a day became a common occurrence. The most gratifying results are the recording of trout of a much heavier weight being taken this year. The largest trout known to have been taken on a rod last year was just over 14 lb. weight, and caught near the Aratiatia Rapids in the Waikato River ; but this year Taupo Lake and the Waikato and Waitahanui Rivers have yielded many hundreds of trout from 81b. upwards; 101b. and 121b. fish are quite common weights, while quite a number of 15 Ib., 161b., and 171b., and splendid fish weighing 19|lb. have been caught. Not only have the Taupo trout improved, but the catches from almost the whole of the well-stocked rivers and lakes in the Rotorua Acclimatization District go to show the excellent condition of the rainbow trout generally, while anglers are delighted with the sport provided by the fighting-qualities of their fish when hooked.

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