ALL STORES BUSY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20096, 16 November 1939, Page 4

ALL STORES BUSY

WOOL APPRAISEMENTS GISBORNE ACTIVITY VALUING ROTA AWAITED DELAY TO SHEARING All wool stores in Gisborne have taken on an unusual activity at present, a.s a result of the inclusion of the town as an appraisement centre, and although no dates have been announced of when valuing will commence every effort is being made to have all in readiness should an appraisement be required at short notice.

Wool store staffs have been greatly augmented, in some cases four and five times the usual number of men being op. duty receiving wool from the incoming lorries, stacking and opening a certain number of bales and sorting out into even lots ready for the appraisers. In all stores there is a continuous rumble of hand trucks as the wool is moved about. This is only a part of the work involved. As soon as definite advice was received regarding the appointment of Gisborne as an appraisement centre, stores were prepared tor the purpose. Gisborne stores required little or no structural alterations, for most had been used for appraisements during the 1916-20 commandeer, and any new buildings had been built on modern lines, with adequate lighting. Preparations in Stores

However, in preparation for the corning valuations, floors had to be marked out so that the wool could be stacked in rows most convenient for valuing purposes, while walls were white-washed so as to give the best possible suffusion of light. During the past few days, store staffs have been given a spell in the receipt of wool irom the country, enabling them to concentrate on the arangement of the clips in the stores. The showery weather of the past few days resulted in no shearing being done, but with the return of fine weather the shearing gangs are busy once more, and as there is insufficient space in the station sheds for storage of more than a small portion of the clips, the wool must 'come into town as soon as loads are ready.

Shearing is more backward this season than in a normal period, and but for this the Gisborne stores would have been experiencing an even busier time, fully taxing the organisation of the work in town.

Capacity of Stores It is not known yet how many bales can be staged for appraisement in Gisborne at one time, but on a rough estimate it appears that Gisborne will require at least three appraisements. For display purposes, some of the stores can handle less than 1000 bales, while others will be able to cater for probably 2000 and 3000 bales. However, all have storage space for considerably larger quantities, and no shortage of storage area is anticipated, even if the first appraisement is delayed longer than expected. The system being adopted is that which has ruled in the selling centres before the war, that being that the wool is dealt with and displayed in order of arrival in the stores. Already some of the clips have been opened up and displayed ready for the valuers, -and in one of the stores visited it appeared as though only a comparatively small amount of work would be required to complete the preparations for the first appraisement. Others are not quite so fatforward, but everywhere all is in readiness for the final touches to ve given to complete the display.