H.— 2

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APPENDIX IV. REPORT OF RESIDENT OFFICER ON WORKS AT ROTORUA. The Resident Officer (Mr. William Hill) reports as follows : — I have the honour to submit the annual report on the works administered from my office for the year ending 31st March, 1913. Revenue. The following is a statement of the revenue collected for the year 1912-13, with the corresponding figures for the previous year 1911—12 for purposes of comparison : — 1911-12. ' 1912-13. £ s. d. £ s. d. Electric light ... ... ... ... 2,480 11 7 2,827 1 6 Water ... ... ... ... ... 1,373 14 9 1,455 8 1 Rents ... ... ... ... ~. 226 7 6 175 10 8 Harbour revenue ... ' ... ... ... 73 4 8 48 0 0 Fees for reserves ... ... ... ... 11110 25 40 Fish sold ... .:. ... ... 92 0 1 53 4 5 Miscellaneous ... ... ... ... 360 11 5 263 10 0 £4,618 1 0 £4,847 18 8 From the above it will be seen that there is a net increase of nearly £230, and it will also be noticed that the revenue from the two great domestic services—light and water-supply—show a very gratifying increase. The decrease in harbour revenue is, of course, due to the very substantial reduction which has been made in launch fees as from Ist January, 1913. Tlie sale of fish this year did not commence until a much later date than on the previous year, so that the revenue from this source for the current year is necessarily less. Watise-supply. During the j'ear thirty-eight additional consumers have been connected to the mains. Prac-tically-all these consumers were in the suburban area, and most of them involved the laying of considerable lengths of piping. Two new fire-plugs have been fitted to the main in Tutanekai Street, and the flume at Hemo Gorge has been repaired and renewed in some parts. The wooden mains have given us considerable trouble through leaks. The 16 in. cast-iron mains to replace a section of the wooden mains in Fenton Street have now arrived, their delivery being much retarded by the dock strike in London. The work of laying them will be undertaken at the earliest possible opportunity. Dbainage . During the year thirty-three premises have been connected to the sewerage system. The septic tank and the filter-beds have received the usual attention. Considerable improvements are being effected at the pumping-station in the matter of increasing the pumping-capacity by the addition of an extra pump and the substitution of electric driving-power for the oil-engines previously, in use. The work is nearing completion, as the new pump and the two electric motors have been put in position. One of the motors is at present working, and the whole plant will be in full working-order early in April. Buildings . The usual maintenance-work has been carried out during the year in connection with the various departmental buildings. In the main bath building about 140 ft. of hot-water piping in the basement of the building has been, cased in with timber in order to throw the heat through the corridor-floor gratings, and so automatically heat the corridors. A new tank for mineral water has been installed in the roof of the building in order to enable water to be delivered with gravity pressure for Aix massage-work. The tank is nearly double , the size of the previous one (which had become useless through corrosion), and a more equable pressure will now be obtained. For the past three or four years we have had considerable trouble in the Aix and Russian rooms through the plastered walls and ceilings giving way in large patches through the action of the moist humid atmosphere from the bath waters. The repairs necessitated plasterers being brought specially to Rotorua for the work, which was consequently both troublesome and expensive. A departure from this method was therefore decided upon, and the ceilings of both rooms and some of the walls were on this occasion stripped and lined with kauri 4 in. by 1 in. P.T.G., and well painted with three coats of white paint. The general effect and appearance is good, the total cost was well under that of the previous method, and future repairs will be more cheaply and easily effected. A workshop, 40 ft. by 10 ft., for the mechanic and his assistant has been constructed in tlie basement of the verandah of the main building, which enables the men to work under much better conditions as regards light and ventilation.