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The Service's Mobile Recording Unit enabled recordings of similar material to be made within New Zealand for broadcasting later. During the winter educational talks were given on at least one evening of the week ; but the object again was to interest, not merely to instruct. The range of courses offered was made wide enough to embrace listeners of all ages in every section of the community—for example, Engineering : Its Place in Civilization ; The Men Behind Political Theories ; The Film and Society ; Soil Erosion ; Physical Education ; Climate and Weather ; The History of Transport in Canterbury; The Community Centre ; English Writing To-day. Notable anniversaries and great Commonwealth occasions, such as the coming-of-age of Her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth, were marked by special talks. The quarter-hour before nine o'clock on Sunday evening was again set apart each week for a talks-link of the twelve main National and Commercial stations, ensuring a peak audience for the distinguished speakers brought at that time to the microphone. These included Lady Baden-Powell, World Chief Guide ; Lady Nathan, Chairman of the London County Council; Mr. Eric Millhouse, K.C., President of the Australian Returned Servicemen's League ; Dr. Edgar Booth, Chairman of the International Wool Secretariat; Mrs. James Begg, President of the Plunket Society ; Sir Stanton Hicks, Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology in the University of Adelaide ; Dr. C. E. Beeby, Director of Education ; the Hon. Francis B. Sayre, President of the United Nations Trusteeship Council; Dr. Boyd Neel; Field-Marshal the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein ; the late Hon. James O'Brien, then Minister of Transport; the Rev. Professor G. A. F. Knight; His Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Gilroy ; Lieutenant-Colonel F. W. Voelcker, D.5.0., M.C., Administrator of Western Samoa ; Sir Patrick Duff, K.C.8., K.C.V.0., United Kingdom High Commissioner in New Zealand ; the Hon. Brooke Claxton, Canadian Minister of National Defence ; Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver Leese, K.C.8., C.8.E., D.5.0.; LieutenantGeneral H. C. H. Robertson, C.8.E., D.5.0., General Officer Commanding 8.C.0.F., Japan ; Sir Hugh Cairns, Professor of Surgery in the University of Oxford ; Sir John Falconer, formerly Lord Provost of Edinburgh ; and Dr. R. C. Murphy, of the American Museum of Natural History. Our thanks are due to the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and the Radio Division (Department of Information) of the United Nations for supplying scripts and recorded talks towards the enrichment of New Zealand programmes. A considerable advance was made during the year in providing special sessions for farmers. Experiments conducted by Station 3YA, Christchurch, proved that midday was a popular listening time on the farm, provided talks were kept short. Weekly sessions were arranged (on different days) from IYA, 2YA, and 3YA immediately after the 12.30 p.m. weather forecast. Evening farm sessions were retained at other stations ; IYA broadcast to farm listeners twice weekly, once in the evening and once at midday. The usual regular spoken sessions—book reviews, gardening talks, &c. —were continued, with slight variations to meet differing local needs. Parliamentary Broadcasts The proceedings of the House of Representatives continued to be relayed to listeners by Station 2YA. The presentation of the Budget by the Minister of Finance, the Right Hon. W. Nash, and, later, the opening of the Budget debate by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. S. G. Holland, were broadcast by the main National stations. Plays and Feature Programmes There were 281 presentations of plays produced by the New Zealand Broadcasting Service, as compared with 242 last year, and 143 readings Of short stories. In addition, there were many broadcasts of plays recorded overseas.

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