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STORES The vaiue of stores and equipment ordered during the year was as follows, the figures for the previous year being shown for comparative purposes : 1944-45. 1945-46. For Post and Telegraph Department — £ £ From suppliers in New Zealand .. .. 270,953 483,744 Ordered for supply from overseas .. .. 294,987 936,294 For other Departments — From suppliers in New Zealand .. .. 95,992 164,883 Ordered for supply from overseas . .. 89,221 42,583 The foregoing amounts are comprised of actual or estimated costs, plus freight, Customs duty, and sales tax, where applicable. The value of the stocks, including stores on-cost, held in the Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Wellington storekeeping districts at the end of the year, as compared with that of the stocks held on the 31st March, 1945, was as follows: 31st March, 31st March, District 1945. 1946. £ £ Auckland .. .. .. .. .. 561,847 525,890 Christchurch .. .." .. .. 217,444 196,152 Dunedin .. .. .. .. .. 147,863 142,786 Wellington .. .. .. .. 1,855,837 2,027,502 £2,782,991 £2,892,330 BUILDINGS AND LAND During the year the following departmental buildings were completed: residences at Avondale, Henderson, Levin, and Stratford ; a large and a small garage at Newmarket and Murchison respectively; an emergency radio-station building at New Plymouth ; and temporary housing for carrier-telephone equipment at Te Kuiti. Additions were made to the post-office buildings at Clive, Kaitangata, Lumsden, Te Araroa, and Whangarei; and alterations were made to the post-office buildings at Fitzroy, Kaponga, Karamea, Hamilton, and Piopio. Army buildings were purchased and converted to provide temporary premises for the Telegraph Engineer and his staff at Whangarei, to provide temporary post-office accommodation at Milford, Mission Bay, Naenae, Paremata, Ramarama, Spring Creek, Taita, Waikuku Beach, Waitati, and temporary money-order and savings-bank premises at Otahuhu. Residences were purchased during the year at Lower Hutt, Dunedin, Nelson, and Leeston. Land was acquired at Auckland West (for residence), Balclutha (extension of lineyard), Belmont (Auckland) (for post-office), Carterton (for residence), Cheviot (for store-garage), Christchurch (extension of chief-post-office site), Christchurch (for garage and workshops), Darfield (for post-office), Dunedin (with residence), Dunsandel (for post-office and residence), Glen Eden (for residence), Henderson (for residence and extension of post-office site), Heriot (for post-office), Hikutaia (for residence), Leeston (with residence), Lower Hutt (with residence), Masterton (for residence), Matamata (for store-garage), Matamata (for residence), Milford (for post-office), Morrinsville (extension of line-depot), Nelson (with residence), New Lynn (for residence), North-east Valley (for automatic exchange), Northland (for post-office), Paraparaumu (for residence), Putaruru (for store-garage), Sheffield (for post-office), South Christchurch (for automatic exchange), Taumarunui (for pole-stacking), Thames (for residence), Waikouaiti (for residence), Wanganui East (for post-office), Wellington East (for automatic-exchange), Whangarei (extension of store-garage site), Whitianga (extension of post-office site).

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