D—l

APPENDIX B

ANNUAL REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF WORKS

The Commissioner op Works to the Hon. Minister of Works. Sir, — I have the honour to submit the annual report of the Ministry of Works for the year ended 31 st March, 1949. For six months of the year I was absent overseas, and during this time Mr. F. Langbein, Engineer-in-Chief, acted as Commissioner of Works. The purpose of my visit overseas was — (1) To select in the United Kingdom technical personnel—viz., engineers, architects, and draughtsmen—for staff positions in the Ministry of Works. (2) To discuss with our immigration authorities in Great Britain the introduction of constructional labour seriously deficient in this country, as part of the Government's immigration scheme ; and as an adjunct to this to ascertain the possibility of contracting firms undertaking the construction of such of our larger development works for which the Government might from time to time decide to call overseas tenders. (3) To augment, by means of importation, supplies of materials the lack of which formed bottlenecks in our housing and constructional programme. (4) To examine and report upon modern methods of road, aerodrome, and hydroelectric construction, with special reference to tunnelling and the construction of high dams. (5) To inspect modern housing developments abroad, in particular where these are carried out by means of prefabrication or mass production. (6) To investigate irrigation, conservation, and land-development projects, in particular in relation to their economics and to their control on completion. Your separate direction to me to investigate such industries as were dependent upon the supply of cheap electric power resulted in the obtaining of a large amount of technical information in Sweden and Norway, in the United Kingdom itself, and in both Canada and the United States. Inspections were also made of pulp and paper mills in Sweden and in Canada in view of the Government's interest in instituting this form of development in New Zealand. Specific instructions were received from you — (a) To visit Lardarello, in Northern Italy, where a large block of power is being generated by steam from geo-thermal sources to service industries in Northern Italy and to supply power to the electrified railway system in that area.

17