F—l

The value of the stocks, including stores on-cost, held in the Auckland, Christchurch,. Dunedin, and Wellington storekeeping districts at the end of the year, as compared with that of the stocks held on the 31st March, 1946, was as follows : 31st March, 31st March, District. 1946. 1947. £ £ Auckland .. .. .. .. .. 525,890 422,014 Christchurch .. .. .. .. .. 196,152 186,860 Dunedin .. .. .. .. .. 142,786 109,165 Wellington .. .. .. .. .. 2,027,502 1,868,179 £2,892,330 £2,586,218 BUILDINGS AND LAND During the year the following new departmental buildings were completed : a post-office building at Kaikohe ; a temporary post-office building at South Dunedin * store-garage buildings at Darfield, Gore, Kaikohe, Papakura, and Wairoa ; automatic-telephone-exchange buildings at Anderson's Bay (temporary), Island Bay, and Johnsonville (temporary) ; a temporary telephone-exchange building at Levin ; repeater-station buildings at Ohakune and Seddon ; a cable-hut at Oreti Beach ; and residences at Balclutha, Cheviot, Coromandel, Eketahuna, Hataitai, Martinborough, Matamata, New Plymouth, Ohaeawai, and Outram. Additions were made to the post-office buildings at Arrowtown, Roxburgh, and Urenui, and to three staff cottages at Awarua Radio ; alterations were made- to the post-office buildings at Denniston, Granity, Kilbirnie, Nelson, Plimmerton, Putaruru, Tauranga, and Wellington South ; a large residence at Greymouth was converted into two flats, the old post-office quarters at Kaikohe into a residence, and the office portion of the old post-office building at Otorohanga into a flat. As a precaution against earthquake damage, the post-office clock-tower at Gore was demolished. Surplus Army-type buildings were utilized for additional post-office accommodation at Nelson (chief post-office),-Rotorua, and Wellington South; post-offices at Raumati Beach, Springfield, Takanini, and Waikanae Beach; post-offices and quarters at Reporoa and Tokoroa ; store-garage buildings at Hamilton ; additional garage and workshops buildings at Blenheim ; additional garage accommodation at Christchurch ; a temporary residence at Putaruru; transit flats for departmental employees at Hamilton (twelve flats), Nelson (four flats), and New Plymouth (eight flats) ; living accommodation for unmarried officers at Makara Radio, Matiere, Pukeatua, Uruti, and Wellsford ; and a social hall at Blenheim. Land was acquired at Addington (for residence), Ashburton (with residence) r Auckland and Auckland East (for residences), Buckland's Beach (for post-office), Christchurch (extension line-store site), Christchurch (for bulk-store), Clinton, Coromandel, and Cromwell (for post-offices), Denniston (building and site for post-office), Dannevirke (for store-garage), Dominion Road South and Eltham (for post-offices), Fairlie (for residence), Gisborne (for suburban post-office), Green Island (for automatic exchange), Half-moon Bay (for post-office), Karori and Kohukohu (for residences), Mangapehi (for post-office), Masterton (extension of line-depot), Meadowbank (for postoffice), Napier and New Plymouth (extension of line-depots), Newton (for residence), Okato and Opawa (for post-offices), Otahuhu (for residence), Palmerston North (for store-garage and workshop), Papatoetoe and Paraparaumu Beach (for post-offices), Patumahoe and Port Chalmers (extension of post-office sites), Pukekohe (for post-office), Reefton (for store-garage), Riccarton (for automatic exchange), Seddon (extension of repeater-station site), St. Heliers (for residence), Taihape (for post-office), Tauranga (extension of workshops site), Takaka (for store-garage), Waitati (for post-office), Te Papapa (for post-office and residence), Timaru (buildings and site for store-garage),

6