HOUSEHOLD COAL

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 189, 9 May 1944, Page 4

HOUSEHOLD COAL

Wellington Supplies Though sonic Wellington households suffered hardship last winter through the shortage of coal and already this autumn deliveries are behindhand, an old employee of a coal company recalls that in the Great War the supply of household coal in Wellington was much worse. The office of his firm used to open only once a fortnight for the taking of orders, and a constable would be present to keep the queue in order. Shortages of coal for households were caused by the demands of ghirtring at Wellington. Few ships burned oil, and bunker coal, wanted in large quantities for troop transports, cargo vessels and warships, filled the colliers from the West Coast to the exclusion often of coal for ranges and grates. Coal dealers are now about a month behind in their orders, and the State depot about five weeks. The reason why the State depot drops further behind than the dealers is that dealers generally decline orders from new cpstomers, whereas the State depot does not. Last winter the State depot deliveries dropped even eight weeks behind the orders. There is hope of supplies being maintained better this year than last winter because, anai't from any promise of better supplies to dealers, householders, having learnt a lesson last year, have done their best to stock up for the coming winter and because the demands of camps are likely to be less. Within recent weeks shipments of coal from the new open-cut mine at Charleston, between Westport and Greymouth, which is expected to help to relieve the shortage, have come to Wellington. Hav ing been quarried from the ground, it contains large lumps and is not so easily unloaded from the ships with the equipment usually employed as the coal out of the shaft mines.

There are good supplies of coke, but firewood is as difficult to buy as is coal.