New Telephone Exchange

Work is now progressing rapidly on the new telephone exchange extension, housed adjacent to the old exchange in Childers Road.

Wiring the series of new racks, which will ultimately provide a further 3900 telephone lines for Gisborne, is a massive undertaking. It is estimated to take the gang of 25 men and women at present employed on the job at least 10 months, in which time they will have handled many thousands of cables.

The new 40ft toll board alone contains more than 4000 feet of multiple cables.

In the extension exchange, more than 100,000 feet of cables, some of them containing up to 200 wires each, have to be run and connected before the new phones can be issued next year.

The extension exchange will bring the total capacity of lines up to 8000, which will eliminate all party lines and dial 9 numbers in the city.