New Buildings

Around Rabaul

From Our Own Correspondent

Rabaul, Aug. 20.

JO much publicity has been given 5 the shortcomings of “Works and trks” that the amount of work ompleted during the year ended last line 30 comes as a surprise. [This (the Islands) Region of the /orks Department is administered \ Regional Works Officer George lacLennan (a before-ite) who, with is European technical and clerical aff, is responsible for carrying out 11 construction works required by iepartments of Army, Air, Civil viation, Copra Board and prac cally all works for Civil Ad dnistration in New Britain, New Tre nd and Bougainville.

In the past twelve months, at an proximate cost of £353,925 icw, £149,636, repairs and main nance, £204,289) Mr. MacLen m’s organisation has carried out ir the Departments: ARMY: Drill Hall and Administrative eommodation for PNGVR.

CIVIL AVIATION: Station store and ildings; regrading of Rabaul airstrip id clearing and levelling adjacent land; nstruction of coranous surfaced airstrip Kavieng.

COPRA BOARD: 3 permanent 2-bedroom residences at Rabaul; single officers’ quarters at Rabaul; storage for additional 3> 500 tons of copra at Kavieng; Jetty and 2 ’ ooo tons co P ra store and weighbridge at Kabakaul.

WORKS: New mess hall and kitchen for 150 persons at Rabaul; 2 permanent 2-bedroom residences at Rabaul; 1 ditto at Kavieng.

For Civil Administration I

Thr.e temporary 2-bedroom residences; Two cargo sheds each 4,000 sq.ft, floor space; „ ° ne bnlk medical store of 4,000 sq. ft. floor space; New permanent operating theatre and

maternity block at general hospital; One permanent residence and adminis trative building for Vulcanological Ob servatory, with water supply and power; Construction of two wharf approaches at Kavieng, which enable “The Firm” to make Kavieng a port of call for its ships; Complete hydrographic survey of new wharf area at Rapopo (now happily abandoned by Civil Administration); Alaintcnance and reconstruction of over “a'vel tO ° mUes "fri’m““eTthl?

Rabaul or Kavieng in little over an hour, (Even the "befores” can scarce forbear to cheer); Constant and heavy maintenance of Rabaul pontoon wharf, despite the dismal

forebodings of local amateur experts, is still functioning, at a cargo handling rate at least equal to Port Moresby after five years, during which Canberra was making up its mind regarding Rabaul’s future.

Practically the whole of the elec tric power lines in Rabaul have been reconstructed and Rabaul, despite (or maybe because of) its Japanese powered and manufactured alter

nators, is blessed with the most un interrupted power supply in either Australia or its Territories. This is due solely to the efforts of Electrical Engineer Scope and Mechanical En gineer Berkefeld and their skilled helpers who have had to search for, scrounge—and, I suspect, steal—bits and pieces to keep the show going.

The Departmental machinesshc in Rabaul carry out all repairs on machines and equipment for be themselves and Civil Administratic and its joinery shop has manufj tured furniture etc. for Manus.

As those in business realise, t difficulty, to date, of obtaining stoi such as spare parts, hardware, ceme and building materials, has be almost insuperable; yet the Depa mental stores have been able supply materials for almost all jo required. Although they do not cat for other than their own requu ments, they have been happy whe possible to assist private individua