NEW ZEALAND FACTS

Cue (NZERS), Issue 9, 15 October 1944, Page 8

NEW ZEALAND FACTS

Six permanent air passenger services are operated by three ,NZ companies. - - -• ■ * * > * t ■ • There are- 39 forms of diseases notifiable by law. One of them is bilharzia, or that dread Egyptian water disease. * * * Minimum admission charge on which amusement tax is payable is l/6d. . A sum of L 95,000 is collected annually. . . * ' */■ ; * Building society a investments average over Lil for each investing share and about L2/11/- for a capital share. - - * * * Film-hire tax produced nearly LIOO,OOO in. 1942. Ten per cent is payable on British films- and 25 per cent on -foreign quotas. ** * * Of children leaving school, 65% go on ? to full-time post-primary schooling. The average stay in State ; secondary schools is 2% years. ♦ * * - Total taxation in 1942 was L68,000,090, or L 42 a head. Social security and war demanded L33,000,000, or ' L 22 from each taxpayer. ' ■ .* * * Air. mails have operated since 1920. The first permanent service was inaugurated in January,. 1934, between Hokitika and South Westland. ** * . Rimu is the most-used ( NZ timber. Four times as much of it is used as the next favourite, pinus insignis. White pine ranks third, kauri seventh. ; * * • * • Two years ago pensions and social security cost NZ L 15,160,000, or L9/6/- per head of mean population. Ten years earlier the payments were L 3,089,000 and L2 respectively. . * * ♦ New Zealanders usually write and receive around 300,000,000 letters a, year, mail nearly as many newspapers, circulars and packets, send about 11,000,000 parcels, and register 6,000,000 articles.

There are 3350 miles of railway open for trafficl7s6 in the South. Island, 1634 in the North. . *• * * In a decade the number of building societies has increased only by five., There are 93 in existence. * * * First wireless-telegraph station to work ships at sea opened in Wellington on July 26, 1911. There are' now 34 such stations. *, * * Six hundred and forty-five locomotives are used to haul NZ’s 241 first and 1034 second-class cars, 29 sleepers, and 31,732 wagons. -•'■ * * * Railway engines with'tenders in working trim vary in weight from 66 to 143 tons. Tank locomotives weigh from 29.5 to 72 tons. v: ** # * ■ A county, statistically treated as part of the South Island, Stewart Island has a mountain, formerly a volcano, of 3200 ft. It is Mount Anglem. * ♦ ♦ Greetings recorded by the boysoverseas in 1942 numbered 2800 and 180 talks’ and commentaries from men in ,NZ forces were broadcast. *** , ’ Parcels for men in the forces have reached astronomical figures. In one year 600,000 were despatched to MEF, 200,000 to Britain and 20,000 to Australia. * * NZ law restricts membership of a partnership to 20 at most, a private company to not fewer than two or more than 25, and a public company to seven or more. .** ' * War conditions affect applications to register inventions. The 1941 total (1856) was the lowest on NZ record. -Each year in the last war the figure was about 2000.'jd * * * Determining factors in the promotion of Public Service officers are efficiency and suitability. Recourse to seniority is made only when it is impossible to separate officers on the grounds'stated. /