D—l

Parajparaumu,—Following on the exclusion of commercial traffic from Rongotai, much urgent work had to be done at Paraparaumu. The main runway has been stabilized and sealed. New buildings erected include passenger-handling terminal, administration block, control-tower, housing for fuelling equipment, railway-freight building, and two staff cottages. The hard standing area and surround of the passenger block have been sealed and a water-supply, sewerage system, and storm-water drains have been installed. Hokitika. —Good progress has been made with the construction of the new aerodrome at Seaview, in spite of natural difficulties. The centre strip of the main north-east to south-west runway has been completed. Nelson. —Concrete and log protection has been placed as required to prevent wave ■erosion. A 1,000-gallon fuel-tank has been installed for National Airways Corporation and three 500-gallon tanks have been installed for Nelson Aero Club. InvercargiU. —A fuel-tank has been installed and 710 ft. of storm-water drain have been constructed for the proposed new hangar. Pacific Islands.—Pending finality being reached regarding the site for the international aerodrome in Fiji, the reorganization of Nandi Airport is almost complete. Runway sealing was finished early in the year, together with the conversion of existing buildings to provide accommodation for transient passengers and for technical purposes. Twenty-eight flats for married staff have been built out of existing barrack blocks. LAND IMPROVEMENTS Kaipara Harbour Reclamation. —Activity on the Kukutango and Oyster Point Blocks consisted in the main of repairs to stop-banks damaged by the high tides and storms of June, 1947. One cottage has been built at Kukutango Block and 2 single -quarters at Oyster Point. On the Grlorit Block extensive repairs to drains have been •effected and a single man's accommodation has been built. Sand-dune Reclamation. —At Woodhill, work carried out during the year has been: line-clearing, 703|- miles ; line-cutting, 292£ miles; marram replanting, 152 acres; lupin-seed collecting, 1,320 lb. ; foredune fixation, 94 chains ; firebreak clearing, 749 square chains of land clearing and 3,125 square chains of machine disking; rabbits trapped, 6,390 In the nursery, work done includes : seed sown, 90 lb.; radiata seed extracted, 12 lb. ; trees lined out, 358,731. Tree-planting has been done as follows : blanking, 36,138 ; virgin, 245,664 ; and trees sold, 2,500. At Rimmers Nursery a water-supply has been installed, comprising dam, pipe-line, reservoir, pump, and pump-house. Six acres have been cultivated and internal tracks have been formed, culverted, and metalled. One cottage and 4 single huts have been built. At Muriwai Quarry the work has generally consisted of maintenance, together with a small amount of virgin planting. A considerable amount of internal roading has also been carried out. At Maioro, work has been done as follows : marram grass —new planting, 331 acres, and blanking, 96 acres; yellow lupin sown, 200 acres (597 lb.); foredune fences, 68 -chains; line-cutting—for tree-planting, 150 acres, and maintenance, 1,605 miles; seedlings raised and lined out, 252,345 ; new tree planting, 148 acres ; firebreak clearing, 8f miles ; planting firebreaks with ice-plant, 3 miles ; new roading, 3 miles ; trees sold, 30,350. A3O ft. steel tower has been erected for fire-watching, and fire-fighting depots have been placed at suitable points and equipped. Land-clearing. —Land clearing and drainage, using the Department's mechanical plant, still continues to assist farmers in bringing in non-productive land. In the Ohakune area three tractors have been employed, mainly when not needed on other work. The area stumped was 990 acres, of which 238 acres have been rooted.

43