F.—l.

WORKSHOPS. The departmental workshops which are established at various places throughout the Dominion continue to render efficient service. Owing to the extension of activities at the workshops and to the large increase in their normal functions, arrangements were made during the year to purchase additional up-to-date equipment for installation at most of the shops. This equipment is coming to hand and is being installed as soon as it is available. Although maintenance-work is, and will continue to be, the principal function of the Department's workshops, activities on the manufacturing side in the nature of motor-vehicle body-building have been extended at Auckland and Wellington. These two workshops now undertake the building of bodies for all the motor-vehicles (other than cars) required by this Department and a number of other Government Departments. During the year 78 bodies for motorvehicles were built at Wellington and 43 at Auckland. Outside the four centres the work undertaken at the Department's workshops is still principally confined to repairs and general attention to motor-vehicles. The services of all departmental workshops are utilized by other Government Departments. A motor-repair workshop was established at New Plymouth during the year to provide improved service in the matter of repairs, &c., to Government motor-vehicles in the Taranaki district. As was to be expected, the volume of work undertaken showed an increase on that of previous years and necessitated the employment of additional staff. The total value of the work performed in the various workshops during the year was £205,602, of which £15,712 represents the value of services rendered for other Government Departments. BUILDINGS AND LAND. During the year the following works were completed : New post-office buildings at Belfast, Dunedin (chief post-office), Kamo, Kerikeri Central, Kumeu, Mangaweka, Maungaturoto, Mayfield, Omakau, Pahiatua, Queenstown, Thames (chief post-office), Waikari and Waimana ; Postmasters' residences at Maungaturoto, Ohai, Omakau, Oturehua, Putaruru, Queenstown, and Waikari; a residence for the Superintendent, Awarua-Radio ; a staff residence at Oturehua ; an automatic-telephone-exchange building at Napier ; combined line, store, and garage buildings at Eketahuna, Levin, Queenstown, and Te Awamutu ; line and garage'buildings at Pokeno and Wakefield ; a line, store, garage, and workshop building at New Plymouth ; line, store, garage, battery, and power buildings at Rotorua ; garages at Bulls, Hamilton, Morrinsville (2), Patea, Reefton, and Winton ; cable-repeater-stations at Blind River (Seddon) and Lyall Bay (Wellington) ; a power and battery building at Greymouth ; and a small rural automatic exchange building at Porirua. Major additions were made to the Hamilton automatic-telephone-exchange building and the post-office buildings at Dunedin North, Epsom, Kilbirnie, Kingsland, Mount Eden, and Waimate. Improved accommodation was provided at the following places : Dominion Road (alterations), Duvauchelle (addition to quarters), Frankton Junction (addition and alterations to post-office), Glenorchy (addition to quarters), Hawera (alterations to Postmaster's residence), Horopito (addition to quarters), Moray Place (alterations to post-office), Ohai (addition to post-office), Okaiawa (addition to quarters), Plimmerton (alterations to post-office), Rahotu (addition to quarters), Runanga (addition to quarters), Seddon (addition to mechanician's quarters), Waikaia (addition to quarters), Waipiro Bay (alterations to post-office), Waiwera (addition to quarters), Walton (addition to quarters), Whangamomona (addition to quarters), Wellington-Radio (addition to transmitting building). Buildings no longer required at the following places were disposed of: Crookston (post-office), Kamo (old post-office), Makarewa (post-office), Mayfield (old post-office), Thames South (post-office), Tokanui (post-office), Waikaia (oid post-office), Waimana (old post-office). The following buildings were demolished to make room for new buildings : Christchurch (old store, &c., on site required for new chief post-office", No. 1 block), Eketahuna (iine, battery, and store buildings), Linwood (post-office), Mangaweka (post-office), Milton (post-office), Omakau (post-office), Queenstown (post-office). Sites no longer required at the following places were disposed of : Auckland (portion for street purposes), Crookston, East Tamaki (portion for street purposes), Mayfield (portion), Miramar (portion for street purposes), Moawhango, New Plymouth (portion for street purposes), Rahotu (portion), Taupiri (portion for street purposes), Waikaia, Wellington (Abel Smith Street). Sites were acquired at Blind River (Seddon), (for cable-repeater-station) ; Feilding (for Postmaster's residence) ; Katikati (for post-office) ; Marton (for Postmaster's residence) ; Nelson (for line, store, and garage building) ; Otahuhu (for automatic telephone-exchange) ; Pukekohe (for line, store, and garage building) ; Stockton Mine (for post-office) ; Taupiri (extension of post-office site) ; Waimate (for Postmaster's residence) ; Wairoa (for Postmaster's residence) ; Wellesley Street (Auckland), (for post-office) ; Whangarei (extension of post-office site). A building was purchased at Mangapehi for bachelor quarters and one at Panguru for use as a post-office. A building was acquired with the additional land at Whangarei. The following buildings were in course of erection at the end of the year : Amberley (line-depot, store, and garage), Avondale (post-office), Christchurch (chief post-office, No. 1 block), Clyde (line-depot and store), Devonport (post-office and garage), Gisborne (line-depot, store, garage, and workshop), Huntly (line-depot and store), Invercargill (chief post-office), Kaipara Flats (Postmaster's residence), Linwood (post-office and quarters), Little River (post - office and quarters), Milton (post - office and quarters ; also line-depot, store, and garage), Sumner (post-office and quarters), Tauranga (post-office Waiau (Postmaster's residence), Wellington (line-depot and office building).

15