H.—2o.

A party of twenty prisoners, under the supervision of two officers, has been working continuously at Rangitoto Island since November, 1925. The improvements effected up to and including the 31st December, 1931, are as follows Summit Road via Beacon (20 ft. wide) : 4 miles 62 chains formation completed, 3 miles Summit Road blinded (14 ft. wide) ; 2J miles Summit Road reblinded and blinded to full width. Islington Bay Road : 3 miles formation completed to waterfront at the Bay ; 1 mile 10 chains footpaths formed (4 ft. wide). Sports-ground area levelled — approximately 750 yards scoria rock shifted in the work; stone wall built to retain water for swimming-pool —approximately 200 yards rock used at this work. Road to link up Islington Bay Road and Summit Road : 1 j miles formation completed ; 11 chains of 10 ft. roadway leading to sports-ground formed ; 3 miles of roadway remetalled ready for topdressing ; 50 chains of top-dressing completed on Islington Bay Road (16 ft. wide) ; 1 \ miles of topdressing completed on Bay Road ; 10 chains of top-dressing on Bay Road ; 10 chains of fascining on Summit Road via Beacon ; 6 chains fascining on Summit Road via Bay Road ; top-dressing delayed owing to lack of conveyance ; 46 chains of top-dressing on Bay Road ; 5 chains of top-dressing on Summit Road via Bay Road ; 40 chains top-dressing completed on Bay Road ; top-dressing on Bay Road completed, approximately 20 chains ; roadway to be re-dressed at Islington Bay end, owing to rough nature of country, job delayed through repeated trouble with lorry. Islington Bay Road completed. Summit Road via Bay Road, top-dressing completed, 1 mile 9 chains ; Summit Road via Beacon, 1 mile top-dressing completed ; 40 chains top-dressing completed on Summit Road via Beacon ; 42 chains top-dressing completed on Summit Road via Beacon 16 ft. wide. Road completed. Sports-ground area top-dressed. Area remains to be levelled and re-dressed. Sports-ground area, levelled ready for re-dressing. Bridge built over lagoon on Beacon Road and roadway altered ; topdressing on area delayed through set-backs in bridge-building operations ; 12 chains of Summit Road via Bay Road blocked with stone and top-dressed 13 ft. wide. Half of sports-ground re-dressed. 6 chains of Summit Road via Beacon stone-blocked and top-dressed ; 3 chains of Summit Road via Bay Road regraded and stone-blocked ; sports-grrund re-dressed. Grades of Summit Road via Bay Road altered and re-dressed ; lj miles of Summit footpath widened and re-dressed ; completed topdressing of footpath to Summit 40 chains 4 ft. wide. Altering grade on road from Beacon to Summit. Road from Beacon to Summit regraded and top-dressed. Regrading and re-dressing Islington Bay Road ; Islington Bay Road regraded and re-dressed. 18| chains of 4 ft. footpath formed and topdressed. 2Jr chains of 4 ft. footpath formed and top-dressed. Work commenced on new sports area at Islington Bay. Work progressing on new sports-ground ; approximately half of area roughly formed with blue-metal rock. Work continuing on formation of sports-ground ; approximately 1,300 yards of blue-metal rock blasted and shifted on works to date. Sports-ground area at Bay roughly formed and stone wall built round sides.. Top-dressing commenced on sports-ground completed. 18 chains of 4 ft. footpath formed between Bay Wharf and Harbour Quarry ; 65 chains of 4 ft. footpath formed to quarries ; 25 chains of whole (1 mile) top-dressed. Re-dressing sports-ground at Islington Bay with clay and sand. Girders and timber for tennis-court erected. Continuing with top-dressing of sportsground with clay and sand. New area formed and top-dressed on waterfront at Rangitoto for bathing facilities ; approximately 200 yards of scoria and rock used in the work. Warder Instructor Kinghorn remains in charge of the tailoring workshop, the output from which has been well maintained. Here again, in addition to our own requirements, those of other Departments have readily been met, and the returns have been well up to the standard of previous years. . . With regard to the orders placed by other Departments for footwear and clothing, it might be mentioned that exceptionally keen competition from outside sources has necessitated a revision of our price lists in the endeavour to retain this 'business, but in spite of the lower rates, every effort- is being made to ensure that the output of the shops gives the maximum possible remuneration to our Department. . . Repairs to mail and parcel bags are carried on in conjunction with the tailoring, and the whole of the demands of the Post and Telegraph Department have been expeditiously handled. With the exception of blankets, the whole of the prison laundering and the repairs to socks continues to be executed by female prisoners, and the small cost to the Department is a pleasing reflection upon the administration of this division. A small quantity of soft laundering has also been performed as required for the Police, Public Trust, Internal Affairs, and Defence Departments during the year. The washing and fumigation of prison blankets and hammocks, repairs to moleskins, shirts, &c., is executed by male labour, and the cost during the year has been maintained at the previous low level. Owing to the abandonment of the Defence Territorial scheme, there were no annual camps this year, and°the work of laundering the large quantity of blankets handled in previous years was lost to this Department. As pointed out from time to time by the Quarry-manager in his monthly reports, the period under review has presented far more difficulties than have been experienced in any other year during which this major prison industry has been under his control. Owing to the general trade depression it has been a matter of extreme difficulty to keep the sales anywhere near the customary maximum, with the result that metal of a considerable value is at present stacked in the quarry pending disposal. Another decisive factor in the falling-off of our sales has been the restricted operations of the Railways and Public Works Departments, both of which have in past years provided a ready outlet for a substantial portion of our output.

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