POWER BOARD'S PROGRESS.

Shannon News, 25 October 1922, Page 2

POWER BOARD'S PROGRESS.

PRELIMINARY PLANS READY

BIG CONTRACTS FOR MATERIAL

FIRST PEG DRIVEN NEXT WEEK

The remark recently made by the Mayor' of Levin that the public have not yet awakened to the full magnitude and meaning ol the Horowheuua Power Board’s operations is probably quite justified in point of fact. Perhaps there is some excuse for the aver- • age person’s ignorance, since it re- j quires some knowledge to visualise

mentally the consummation of an undertaking that will involve the expenditure of a quarter of a million of money. The whole design has first

to be conceived in the mind of the Engineer who is first and last responsible for its ultimate execution. It has then to be transferred to paper down to the last and smallest detail, and finally there comes the stage of practical work, as the result, of which an expansive countryside covering a

whole county with its four interior boroughs will be linked up in a network of transmission lines through which power and light will be brought eventually to the remotest farmhouse and the smallest consumer. It might well be wondered at what point the Engineer would take up a scheme so vast, and it is certain

that the public interested have not so so far had the opportunity of learning what is being done.

THE SCHEME ON PAPER A representative of the News who made some inquiries along these lines this week is enabled, through the courtesy of Mr Overton, the Power Board’s Engineer, to give some account of the preliminary operations. For practical purposes these may be said to commence with the preparation ol' detailed plans of the whole district upon which to base the Board’s application lor a license to erect its lines. The set consists ot eighteen plans and cover the county of Horowhenua, ridings of the counties of Manawatu and the Hutt, and the boroughs of Foxton, Shannon, Levin and Otaki. On these large-scale maps the. following data is shown: (a) Location of all the Post and Telegraph Department’s telephone and telegraph lines, (b) position of the Railway Department’s telegraph lines, (c.' route of the Public Works Departments’s power transmission and telephone lines, and finally (d) the proposed situation of the Horowhenua Power Board’s high and low tension lines. These particulars are required to enable the Departments interested to see that their interests are'not affected by the Power Board’s proposals. As a general rule the Telegraph Department takes one side of the road and the Power Board the other, but there is nothing to prevent the Board laying out its route across country if that course is more advantageous. Natnrally it is a difficult matter to plot out the route in such a manner as to serve the greatest number of consumers and at the same* time avoid conflicting with the established interests of the older Departments. These plans, however, are nearing completion, and are expected to be ready to file on Monday next. Following upon this work it will Le necessary to prepare sets of plans going more into detail. These will show the position of every factory, mill, farm-house, dwelling and business premises in the district and will givei some idea, therefore, of the density of population and likelihood of obtaining payable groups of consumers in the respective areas. WHERE ACTUAL WORK WILL COMMENCE.

A considerable amount of preparatory work has been already done, and it is expected that the first peg setting out the route of the main transmission lines will be driven next week. The actual erection of the poles will not be possible until these are purchased in and landed from Australia. A commencement will be made at Shannon, probably with -wo gangs, one pushing out towards Foxton and the other working southward towards Levin and Otaki. The route of the main line will follow generally the main north and south road from Shannon to Paekakariki, with a loop from Shannon to Foxton, returning to the main line again at Levin, this loop being roughly circular in shape and giving an advantage in that Foxton will be supplied from two directions. An interruption of the loopline would therefore result in practically no inconvenience to places situated upon it. About 72 miles of main trunk line will be needed to serve the Board’s district, with another 70 miles of main lateral lines. In addition there will be a greater mileiage of low tension service wires carrying the current from the trunk lines to the consumers. THE POLE PROBLEM.

Meanwhile no time is being lost In the preliminaries for operations in field work. The first concern is the stiftply of material. Specifications and

quantities have been prepared for the initial consignments of ironbark poles and cross-arm timber. So far there have been many responses both in the Dominion and Commonwealth in re-

gard to these. Tenders close in New Zealand on October 24, and in Australia on October 31. The Engineer attaches great importance to the pole supply—indeed, regards it as the most difficult part of his work. It is an undisputed fact that many varieties of timber have come to the Dominion

under the designation of Australian ! hardwood, and, as photographs in the possession of the Board testify, a few years’ exposure has revealed them to be mere sapwood with a core of two inches of heart. So vital is the question, that the Board has decided to send “Mr Overton to Sydney, where he

and a Board member, Mr A. Seifert, will open the tenders and proceed to inspect the timber offered and take

expert advice upon it. It is desired to ensure that only well-grown hardwood, of approved age and quality, be .supplied, and whether the tenders accepted are for poles already cut or from standing forest, the method adopted is expected to give the best results. The conditions call for altera-

native quotations for shipment through Wellington or Foxton. If suitable shipping arrangements can be made for the use of Foxton, a great saving will oei effected in handling costs and in time, and the Power

Board’s business alone will mean an important addition to the trade of the . port. Orders for quantities of bolts and (hardware have been dispatched direct to firms in England. Speciflactions and quantities are now ready 1 to invite tenders for high and low ten-

sion insulators, also the line hardware for same. Mr Overton proposes closing these contracts early in January. The tenders for poles and fittings already issued call for an expenditure of about £15,000.

THE CENTRAL DEPOT IN LEVIN. The Board’s main depot will be on the site acquired from Mrs R. PTouse opposite the Levin railway station. The necessary surveys in connection with the transfer of the land, the street dedication to the Levin. Borough Council, and the straightening of, the road on the railway frontage will be put in hand immediately. When this

is settled the erection of a store, workshop and two cottages will be proceeded with, and the property put in readiness for use as the central source of supply 'for material throughout die district.

THE FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS. The Board may very fairly be congratulated upon the success of its financial operations. It has secured a loan of £BO,OOO at 5£ per cent on terms that are considered by independent financial authorities to be quite the best yet obtained by any local body in the Dominion in recent years, and the conclusion of these negotiations also puts the Board in a more favourable position for proceeding with its works than some of the other Boards. dependent on the Mangahao supply. GENERAL POLICY. . Mr Oyverton, from the date of his appointment, has insisted, on the absolute necessity of economy and keeping down overhead charges, and he has been strongly supported by the Board. It is obvious that the lower

the capital , cost of reticulation and administration, the lower will be the retail cost of power and light to the consumers, and they can be assured that their interests are being closely watched and conserved in this respect.

One of the most famous historic buildings in France, the Palace of Versailles, is seriously threatened with partial collapse by reason of a mushroom, according to a report just issued by the authorities who have been investigating the condition of the woodwork. A fungus, which the scientists call phellium cryptarum, develops inside the wooden beams which have been rendered fireproof on the surface, and then, subjected to damp, transforms them into pulp. The damage done is already considerable, a large number of beams and rafters having thus been destroyed. Wonderful carved wood panellings also are badly affected. The scientists are now trying to determine what can be done to remedy the damage, or at least prevent its spreading. Overcome 'by grief alter she had bobbed her hair, Miss Rutih Evans, a New York typist, committed suicide. She had a glorious head of thick hair, reaching below her waist. Envying the comfort during the heat of friends who wore their hair short, she decided to have her own bobbed. She regretted'the act the moment it was committed, and became severely depressed. She locked' herself in her room and turned on the gas. She was found lying fully dressed across her bed with the severed tresses in her hands.

“We have in New Zealand 12 or 13 cows with records of over 7001 bof butterfat, and all but one were bred in Taranaki, or of Taranaki stock,” said Mr E. Griffiths, secretary of the New Plymouth Jersey Breeders’ Club, at the annual sale of pedigree bulls at Waiwakaihoi recently.