A GIANT TOTARA POLE REMOVED

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 73, 17 June 1927, Page 12

A GIANT TOTARA POLE REMOVED

STREET IMPROVEMENT A giant totara pole has stood at the corner of Queen and Customs Street East for the past 25 years. Before that it must have been a king of the forest. To-day it was removed by the Post and Telegraph Department, after doing faithful service for a quarter of a century. CTRANGELY enough, the pole was sunk only 18 inches into the concrete of the footpath. It was kept upright by the wires which stretched from it to other poles in the vicinity. Since the erection of the Dilworth Building the footpath at this particular corner has been moved back some distance, thus giving a wider roadway along the street. Now that the street has been widened and the telephone wires placed underground, there is no use for the giant totara pole. Workmen this morning removed the last of the supporting wires and sawed the post through a few inches above the concrete, where it was fitted into an iron support. Carefully the pole was lowered into a waiting lorry and carted away to the place where all telegraph poles go. Gradually the Post and Telegraph Department is removing all the old telephone poles from Queen Street. A considerable amount of care is necessary to prevent accidents. When it was sawn through the pole was perfectly dry and hard, testifying to the durability of the native totara.