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D—la

One of the largest buildings which the Government had in hand before the war —that is, the Parliament Buildings —has been at a standstill, the Government having felt that, with the many calls upon the public purse for things which could not be postponed, it was advisable to delay further expenditure 011 these buildings as long as the wooden part could be made to last. This is not an indication that the Government is satisfied to leave the most important building in the State in an unfinished condition, but simply arises from the impossibility of providing money for every purpose simultaneously. It is rather difficult to indicate in a tabulated statement the extent of building-work, because individual buildings for the same purpose, but in different localities, may vary in cost anywhere between £100 and £100,000. At the request of the Minister of Education, the Public Works Department undertook the work of designing and erecting secondary-school buildings. This work had previously been carried out by private practitioners employed by the various School Boards and other authorities controlling secondary education. This has involved very considerable increase in the work of the Department. Later, at the instigation of the Department of Health, arrangements were made for the Department to act for Hospital Boards who desired to avail themselves of Public Works organization and the specialized knowledge of the Government Architect and his staff. The system is an optional one, and has been considerably availed of, with satisfactory results. The succeeding details set out the position fairly well. It will be seen that there has been a new post-office or telephone exchange erected every three weeks. The following is a list of the various buildings erected during the period 1920-28 :— Department of Agriculture. Sixteen buildings, of a total cost of £23,675, were erected, and plans, &c., wereprepared for one building, erection of which was deferred. Courthouses. Thirteen Courthouses, of a total cost of £31,750, were completed, and plans, &c.> were prepared for two buildings which were not erected. One of these (Blenheim) was estimated to cost £16,500. The largest job was the new Arbitration Court, Wellington, completed this year at a cost of approximately £12,000. Plans are practically completed for a new Courthouse at Hamilton, to cost about £20,000. Defence Department. Twelve new buildings have been erected, at a cost of £41,600. Other extensive works have been carried out by the Department at Ngaruawahia Mobilization Camp, and the new Air Force Base at Hobsonville, Auckland, is being rapidly pushed on with. Departmental Buildings. Nine new buildings, of a total cost of £40,700, have been completed. This item includes the model village at Arapuni Hydro-electric Works, and quarters for substation staff operators in several localities. At Taumarunui a new building to house the various departments was provided at a cost of approximately £10,000. Education Department. Secondary Schools. Sixty buildings, costing approximately £296,000, have been erected in the period 1924 -28. These figures include a number of additions to existing schools, ranging in cost from £2,000 to £20,000. " Among new high schools may be mentioned : Whangarei High School, £42,000 ; Southland Boys' High School, £36,000 ; Hastings Technical High Scho6l, £30,000 ; Hutt High School, £20,000 ; Wellington Technical Workshops, £15,000; Marlborough High School, £16,000 ; Timaru High School, £14,000. Additions, in the nature of an assembly hall and extensions of the class-room accommodation, to the Seddon Memorial Technical College, Auckland, absorbed approximately £20,000.