£>.—l.

Taumarunui District. Ngatamahine Block. —The developmental work carried out during the season comprised 24 m. 70 ch. of fencing, 600 acres laid down in permanent pasture, 127 acres ploughed, 60 acres of scrub cleared, and 67 ch. of shelter-belts planted. Drainage work was continued, and a distance of 9m. 6 ch. was completed. Pururu Block.—Developmental work on this block has now reached an advanced stage, the main items for the year being 126 acres of cropping and 218 acres cleared and sown down in new grass. The access road was extended a distance of 15 ch., while permanent fencing was erected over 7 m. 40 ch., and main drains excavated over 68 ch. Piu Block. —Work on this scheme has been continued during the year, and the results for the period comprised 6m. 17 ch. of permanent fencing ; 260 acres cleared, of which 182 acres has been sown in grass ; and 150 acres of land under cultivation. 2m. 40 ch. of main drains, 2m. 35 ch. of road formation, and Im. 35 ch. of road metalling has also been completed. Some'2o,ooo battens were split on this block for use in fencing. General. —In the Waitomo County Lees Block, Owen Block, Waitanguru Block, O'Keefe's Block, Puketutu Block, and Patoto, and in the Otorohanga County Larsen's Block, Cruickshank's Block, and Hill's Block were handed over to the Lands and Survey Department, Lands Development Branch, for future administration and management. Napier District. Ahuriri Lagoon Reclamation and Small Farms Scheme.—The reclamation of the Ahuriri Lagoon, comprising an area of some 7,500 acres, was continued during the year on behalf of the Small Farms Board. As reported in previous years, this lagoon was formerly a shallow arm of the sea which was raised considerably and partly drained by the severe and disastrous earthquake in 1931. As a result of the opportunity taken to bring this land under cultivation some 6,000 acres will be brought into productivity practically alongside the progressive Borough of Napier, and it is evident that in this respect the block possesses a very great potential value. The work was commenced in 1934 and, as far as engineering and construction operations are concerned, is now nearing completion. The main items yet to receive attention are the topping of the contour stop-bank and the metalling of necessary access roads, and these will be disposed of during the coming year. The actual completion of the scheme will be considerably delayed by reason of the disastrous flood which occurred in the district on the 23rd April, 1938. In places where they had not been brought up to full height the stop-banks were breached by water from the contour channels, and the overflow from the Esk River also helped to flood the block to a width of from 4 ft. to 5 ft. Damage to drains and roads was comparatively slight, and the worst effect of the flood is the delay which will be caused by the inundation of the land. On the other hand, the elimination of the surplus salt from the soil will be assisted considerably by the large volume of fresh water which lay on the area for some few days, and in this respect the flood cannot be considered to have been of an entirely damaging nature so far as this scheme is concerned. IMPROVEMENTS TO SCHOOL-SITES. Considerable progress was made during the last financial year in carrying out improvements to school-sites. The preparation of schemes and the supervision of the works are in the hands of officers of this Department. The cost of labour is provided by the Labour Department out of the Unemployment Promotion Fund, and the cost of materials is met by the Education Department. During the period September, .1937, to March, 1938, some five hundred men were engaged in this work. Early this year Education Boards and secondary and technical School Boards were asked to submit particulars of further proposals considered desirable for the improvement of school playing areas. These were referred to this Department for the preparation of estimates, and are being put in hand as rapidly as the necessary arrangements can be made. Approximately six hundred men were engaged in work that will result in a permanent improvement to many school-sites previously regarded as unsuitable for recreation purposes. The expenditure on this work, including labour and material, has been as follows : — £ Year ended 31st March, 1937 .. .. .. .. .. 18,463 Year ended 31st March, 1938 .. .. .. .. .. 82,268 Quarter ended 30th June, 1938 .. .. .. .. .. 38,675 HARBOUR-WORKS. Awanui Harbour. —Siltation of the upper tidal reaches of the Awanui River was seriously interfering with navigation, and to enable shallow-draught vessels to regularly work the tides dredgingwork was carried out with a Sauermann slack-line cableway excavator. Altogether some 13,500 cubic yards of silt was removed, and this improvement enables vessels to maintain regular sailings without difficulty.

5—D. 1.

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