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per acre, while 26,739 acres were done by contract surveyors, at an average cost of 2695. per acre. Practically the whole of these areas were in heavy bush, and mostly on the west coast, where rough country and a wet climate obtain. Town Selection Surveys. —This comprises the Winearls Settlement for workers' homes in Nelson, and the mining township of Hukawai, near Reefton, &c. Native Land Court Surveys. —Contract surveyors did 7,578 acres, at a cost of 19'58d. per ■acre, but no area was surveyed by the staff surveyors. Road Surveys. —A length of 2815 miles was laid off, at a cost of £18*35 per mile. Other Work. —By far the largest item —viz., £505 7s. 2d. —represents inspections, mostly of contract surveys on the west coast, and although this may seem a very large amount, the very unsatisfactory nature of the reports fully justified the expenditure. Proposed Operations for 1918—H. —Next year the staff will be engaged on settlement surveys aggregating nearly 100,000 acres, and several large blocks of land should be opened for selection during the year —viz., the Howard Block, 20,000 acres; Waimea and Gowan Blocks, 10,000 acres each; Lamb Valley Block, 6,000 acres, &c. It is not anticipated that there will be much of any other class of survey. Office-work. —The staff throughout the year has remained at the minimum strength, and it has only been possible to cope with absolutely necessary work in both the clerical and drafting branch. Examination of Plans. —During the year 131 plans were examined and approved, in connection with which were 405 traverse sheets. Of these plans 79 were sectional surveys, 30 were road plans, and the remainder miscellaneous. L,and Transfer Branch. —In this branch 75 plans were approved, 176 applications and transfers were dealt with, and 221 certificates of title were made out in duplicate. Native L,and Court Surveys. —There is not much of this class of work in this district. General Draughting Work. —During the year two draughtsmen, who were also surveyors, took the field, making the draughting staff so shorthanded that it has only been possible to keep up with difficulty the actually necessary current work. Miscellaneous. —There was, of course, the usual volume of miscellaneous duties which cannot be tabulated, such as attendance on the public, correspondence, searches, &c. Changes of Staff. —During the year Mr. P. R. Wilkinson, assistant surveyor, was transferred to Auckland, and Mr. S. Parkinson has taken his place here, and took the field in March. In conclusion, I desire to thank all the officers, both field and office staff, for their active assistance and co-operation during the year. F. A. Thompson, Chief Surveyor.

MARLBOROUGH. Triangulation. —With the exception of a little breaking-down work in connection with the Picton-Blerheim Railway survey, no work of this nature was carried out during the year. Rural. —An area of 8,825 acres, in 23 sections, was completed under this head, practically the whole of which is situated in rough bush country, the cost of same being 2"215. per acre, which, considering the nature of the country surveyed, must be taken as very satisfactory. Town and Village Sections. —Very little work was done under these headings during the year. Roads and Railways. —The principal work done during the year was the completion of the survey of the Picton-Blenheim Railway. This survey being in a very old-settled district, originally laid out by faulty magnetic traverses with comparatively few surveys of recent date in the vicinity, made it necessary to extend the verification work greatly beyond the limits first contemplated, and the work consequently has been more intricate and expensive than was originally anticipated. Mr. A. Hodgkinson, who carried out the survey, was, on completion of the field-work, temporarily transferred to the Auckland District, the plans of the railway survey being completed by the office staff. In conjunction with the above, some 8 miles of the Picton-Blenheim Road was surveyed by Mr. Hodgkinson. Except for an old magnetic traverse, made in the year 1864, this road, with numerous deviations, had never been properly surveyed. These two surveys will be of great value to surveyors, and can be used as a standard for future survey operations in the vicinity of the road and railway-line. Other work was mostly in the Sounds, and carried out by Mr. F. Stephenson Smith at schedule rates. Native Land Court Surveys. —An area of 3,592 acres, covering 24 subdivisions, was surveyed during the year by private surveyors working on schedule rates. Other Work. —The expenditure under this head is mainly in connection with revision surveys of old magnetic work in the Waitohi Valley. Inspections. —Three field-inspections of surveyors' work were made during the year, the results of which on the whole indicate generally satisfactory work. Standard. —The previous standard for testing surveyors' tapes being in a very unsatisfactory position, permission was obtained from the Railway Department to lay down a 5-chain standard adjoining the Blenheim Railway-station. This has now been done, and I expect to have the final marking completed in the next few weeks. Proposed Operations, 1913-1 J/. —The settlement work for the coming year will be mainly in the Opouri Valley. A large portion of the milling-timber having been cut out, there will probably be an area of from 4,000 acres to 5,000 acres requiring subdivision. In the Sounds there is an area of about 1,300 acres that has been applied for; also a number of spotting surveys in various parts of the district.