AIR MAIL TO COAST

Hokitika Guardian, 24 September 1932, Page 3

AIR MAIL TO COAST

NO ENTHUSIASTIC. SUPPORT, J? APPARENT. .. ' PRESENT SERVICE « CHRISTCHURCH, September 23.; ' on -Tuesday’s flight .from. Waiho, on the W-est Coast, to. Clirist-' church, in the space of a J few haur's' a .suggestion has been made that:.an air-! mail service might be /established between .the city and possibly Greymouth or Hokitika, Opinion in business circles was not .very much in favour of the project, however,-and it was stated that with the-present first-class train service to the Coast there .would not be sufficient support to make an-air-mad a feasible proposition. Mr VV. Bottrell, president of the' Cantertary Chamber of Commerce, j said tiiat present arrangements were very satisfactory. He did not think there was sufficient correspondence between the two provinces to make such service a payable proposition. Mr T. N. Gibbs, chairman of the-, Postal Committee of the Chamber of ( Commerce, said'that business m6n and correspondents) generally had a fairly good service, to-day and he. did not see how an air-mail was going tb im- , -prove matters. JWith the presefit nightly service by goods - train to ‘Greymouth and ' Hokitika, an air-mail-was * übtilikely to give affy great advantage to i commercial houses. Hi-s opinion was that they now had a first-class':. Service -that could; not be beaten by any; air-mail. ■!

"Mr F. U. Shanks, Chief Postmaster at Christchurch, said that-he'-bad, nev-g' er heard of any suggertions ; an air-mail might be esthblishedv/i/Not much would be gained : 0 point '-of view, apd as- thefe were first-class telegraph and toll services to the West Coast any urgent messeges could be dealt with, that way. The general view, he added, seemed to : be that correspondence was woli entered for, as letters left here late in the afternoon' daily were delivrefl ;in Hokitika next morning. Four davs a week, in .additions, mail was taken’from Christchurch in the . express to GreymOuth;!f A., ' , r’* ; mmmmmmmmmmmmmm . ..