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F.—l

XXXII

DUNBDIN DISTKICT. Construction. The undermentioned lines were erected during the financial year : — Miles of Poles. Miles of Wire. Mosgiel to Woodside ... ... ... ••• 3 H Waitati to Waikouaiti (trunk wire) ... ... ... ••• 12 Fxankton to Lower Shotover ... ... ... 2 2 Te Tua to Tuatapere ... ... ••• ••• H H Balclutha to Clinton (trunk wire) ... ... ... ... 14 Woodside to Maungatua ... ... ... ••• 3 3 Ophir to Poolburn... ... ... ••• ••• 6 6 Long Gully (lead off Queenstown line) ... • • • 0} 0} For the Eailway Department— Miles of Poles. Miles of Wire. Kensington to Caversham ... ... 1 \ in 23i Makarewa to Winton ... 11} 22£) t Totals 30 76} The total mileage of lines and wire in the district exclusive of the lines now maintained by the Eailway Department amounts to 1,794J of poles and 4,256 of wire. Maintenance. On the 11th July last this district was visited with the heaviest fall of snow ever recorded in New Zealand. As this was preceded by rain, followed by an absolute calm, the snow adhered to the wires. In some cases they were coated to a thickness of no less than 7 in. diameter. The lines in nearly the whole of the district were more or less wrecked, and scarcely a circuit remained in working-order. 396 poles were broken down, principally iron poles. The wires parted in over a thousand places, and hundreds of arms and insulators were broken. Some 1,200 miles of wire had to be unbound and re-strained, and thirty miles of copper wire replaced with heavier iron wire. The whole of the lines have now been carefully overhauled, and, with few exceptions, are in first-class order. Offices. Eleven new offices have been opened in the district, and one closed (Hyde). Hyde Eailway has been converted from a telephone to a Morse station. There are 261 offices open for public business, of which 69 are Morse and 192 telephone. Railway Department's Lines. The following lines, running alongside the railway, have been transferred to the Eailway Department's care: — Miles of Poles. Miles of Wires. Invercargill to Eiverton and Winton ... ... 34} 72| Wingatui to Ida Valley ... ... ... ••■ 41 195j Totals 75} 268 Telephone Exchanges. An exchange has been opened at Clinton, making a total of 22 exchanges in the district. The number of subscribers connected therewith is 2,479, an increase of 230 for the year. Of these, 1,579 are connected with the Dunedin Exchange (in addition to 336 extension instruments) — 1,520 are paying connections, 21 free, and 38 bureaux. There are 65 miles of poles and 1,440f miles of wire connected with the Dunedin Exchange. The total number of extension-telephones used in the district amounts to 408, making a grand total of 2,887 instruments in use in this part of the colony, connected by miles of poles and miles of wire. All the exchanges are in good working-order. Gable. The cable across Foveaux Strait has been periodically tested, with satisfactory results.

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