AT KOWAI CAMP

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2159, 27 May 1914, Page 7

AT KOWAI CAMP

RECORD OF POSTAL ACTIVITIES,

A considerable amount of postal business was dono at tho Canterbury Territorial divisional camp fecontly hold at Kowai. . . ■ According to the "Katipo, ono thousand letters \vero received and forwarded per day. "On Sunday over 2000 letters were posted. Each inward mail (two per. day) comprised never .less than two bags. and. a hamper; .and during tho timo the wet weather was in full swing, five hampers a day wcro received, comprising principally parcels of gum-boots. (It "was a fino thing for the bootmakers.) Tho camp was half a mile square, and two letter-carrier deliveries were made each day. Also a delivery of telegrams every hour. Big as the postal business was, . the telegraph side had a heavior timo, for they only had four men, including Lieutenant Gundy, who acted as.superintendent of telegraph and telephones.. These four nieu handled 45,000 words of Press during tlio fortnight,. 200 forwarded telegrams tho first period, and 300 tho second period, whilo the bureau I seemed to bo going continuously; in fact, it must have proved a veritablegoldmine—tho writer on ono occasion saw ten men waiting their turn to uso tho telephone. , Tho telegraph men were continuously on duty from 8.30 in tho rooming till 9.30 p.m. and,after, whilo the postal men had to work just as lons (they were ahlo to snatch half an hour for meals).". ■