The Chief Post and Telegraph Office at Napier is a commodious wood and plaster building, standing at the corner of Hastings Street and Shakespeare Road. It is at two storeys, the ground floor containing the general post office, money order, and savings bank departments, and a lobby with 200 private letter boxes; on the first floor are located page 335 the telegraph and telephone offices. There are three public entrances to the building, and a wide stairway connects the two floors. Mails are received and despatched daily by land and sea, and about 3,250 telegraph messages are handled daily. Nearly ninety persons are employed in the combined offices. To cope with the extension of business, plans have been recently (1906) prepared by the Public Works Department for a new brick building for the Telegraph Department, at the rear of the old Provincial Government Buildings.

Mr. James Howard Sheath succeeded Mr. Cummings as Chief Postmaster at Napier in 1903. He entered the public service under the Canterbury Provincial Government, at Christchurch, in the year 1865, and in the same year opened the post office at Kaiapoi. He was afterwards successively in charge of the Blenheim and Nelson offices for a time, and was then transferred to Balclutha. He was subsequently stationed at Featherston, and in 1868 was appointed postmaster at Tauranga. In 1892 he was promoted to be chief postmaster at Westport, and was afterwards for some time at Hokitika, before receiving his present appointment. Mr. Sheath is a member of the Vestry of the Napier Cathedral, and is president of the Bluff Hill Bowling Club.

Mr. J. H. Sheath.

Mr. Benjamin Hunt Keys, who was appointed officer-in-charge of the Telegraph Department at Napier in September, 1900, was born in the year 1856, at the Hutt, Wellington, where his mother was for twenty years post-mistress. He first became a telegraph messenger and letter carrier in his native town, and then went to Wellington, and a little later to Napier, as a cadet. He was subsequently attached for a number of years to the Dunedin, Blenheim, and Wellington offices, and was then appointed assistant officer-in-charge in Christchurch, whence five years later he was promoted to his present position.

The Office Of H.M. Customs, Napier, has occupied various positions in the town, and is now (1906) located in the building formerly occupied by the Survey Department. Most of the business of this department, however, is transacted at Port Ahuriri. The Customs returns are steadily increasing the returns for 1905 amounting to about £85,000, a considerable increase compared with the returns for 1892, which were £58,000.

Mr. W. Sibbald, the Collector of Customs at Napier, is referred to on page 177 of the Auckland volume of the Cyclopedia of New Zealand.

The Customs Office at Port Ahuriri stood for many years on the site now occupied by the local post office, but was removed to its present location facing the “Iron Pot,” in 1895, in which year it was rebuilt. It contains the collector's room, the landing waiter's room, the long room, the locker's room, and a store room.

Mr. Arthur Valentine Penn, Landing Waiter at Port Ahuriri, was born in Worcestershire, England, in February, 1867, was educated at the Stourbridge Grammar School, and at an early age emigrated to New Zealand with his parents, who settled in the Stratford district, Taranaki. In January, 1884, he entered the Customs department of the Government service, and was stationed first at Auckland, and after serving in Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, was appointed in September, 1901, to his present position. Mr. Penn takes a keen interest in musical matters, and is a member of the Frivolity Minstrels, the Orchestral and Harmonic Societies, and the Napier Bowling Club.

Bunting, photo.
Mr. A. V. Penn.

The Lands and Survey Department, Napier. The offices of this department are situated on the second floor of the Government Buildings, in Shakespeare Road, the whole of the western wing being occupied by the survey branch.

Mr. Henry Trent, Chief Surveyor and Commissioner of Crown Lands for Hawke's Bay, was appointed to his present position in July, 1906, in succession to Mr. E. C. Gold-Smith. He was born in 1848, educated at a private academy in London, and completed his studies at Nelson College, New Zealand. Mr. Trent entered the Civil Service in August, 1863, as a survey cadet, under the Provincial Government of Nelson. On the opening of the Buller goldfields he was transferred to Westport as draughtsman to the District Engineer, and afterwards became Assistant and Mining Surveyor. In 1873 he was promoted to the position of District Surveyor for the Grey Valley district, with head-quarters at Ahaura. This position he held until the abolition of the provinces, when he was transferred to the General Survey Department as Chief Draughtsman at Nelson. In June, 1904, he was appointed Chief Surveyor and Commissioner of Crown Lands for Marlborough, whence he was transferred to Napier.

The Office Of The District Land Registrar, and Registrar of Deeds and Titles, is domiciled in the Government Buildings, in Shakespeare Road.

Mr. Thomas Hall, District Land Registrar and Registrar of Deeds for Hawke's Bay, is the eldest son of an Auckland merchant, and was born in the year 1858. He was educated by private teachers, and at the Church of England Grammar School, and afterwards studied law under Mr. Samuel Jackson, of Auckland. After page 336 being admitted to the Bar, he practised his profession for a time, and in 1884 entered the Government service as Examiner of Titles at Auckland. Subsequently he served for some years as a relieving District Land Registrar, and in January, 1896, received his present appointment.

Mr. Frederick Bull was appointed Receiver of Land Revenue for Hawke's Bay in the year 1893. He was born in Yalding, Kent, in 1841, and is a son of the late Mr. Thomas Love Bull, who was a partner of the firm of Druce and Bull, merchants, and the founder of the National school at Christchurch, Chelsea, and fellow-worker of the late Sir Wentworth Dilke, in the establishment of the Literary and Scientific Institute of West London. Mr. Bull was educated at Ramsgate, and afterwards entered the office of one of the large copper firms in London. In 1863 he came to New Zealand by the ship “Zealandia” (Captain Foster), and landed in Canterbury. He signed articles to Mr. Charles Ffrench Pemberton, district surveyor for the Provincial Government of Canterbury, and on completion of his articles was surveying in the Kowai district. He was subsequently appointed engineer to the Kowai Road Board, and constructed roads in that district, built most of the bridges, and rebuilt many of them after the destructive flood and tidal wave of 1868. Tempted by the prospects of the flax industry, Mr. Bull resigned his position, and embarked in flax-dressing, employing about fifty hands. The enterprise proved disastrous, and Mr. Bull realised his assets, and in 1872 removed to Wellington, where he joined the Public Works Department of the general Government. Some three years later he was transferred to the Survey Department, under Mr. J. W. A. Marchant, now Surveyor General. On the abolition of the provinces and the formation of the present Lands and Survey Department, Mr. Bull was appointed chief accountant, which position he held until 1893, when he was transferred to Napier as Receiver of Land Revenue. Mr. Bull is a Master Mason, though unattached for many years past, his spare time being mainly devoted to music and to his bowling club, of which he is an enthusiastic member. For over twenty years he was a member of the managing committee of the Wellington Orchestral Society, and also wrote a number of operettas and burlesques, which were performed by the Wellington Christy Minstrels. As a “celloist” he has been successful, and enjoys the unique reputation of being the only left-handed player known. He was a member of the Wellington Philosophical Society for many years, and was an active member of the management committee of the Napier Horticultural Society, and a well-known grower of prize chrysanthemums. Mr. Bull also has ability as a poet; and his “Jubilee Poem” was, and still is, very widely appreciated, and his Jubilee version of “God Save the Queen” was enthusiastically sung at the Napier Cathedral special services by about 1500 voices. His patriotic writings during the South African war were much appreciated. As one of the earliest members of the StaBoating Club of Wellington, Mr. Bull was the designer and originator of the club's crest and motto. “Semper Refulgens.” In 1890 he patented an improved flax-dresser, and spent much time and money in endeavouring to improve the quality of the manufactured article. He was examined in that connection before the Royal Commission, in the published report of which Sir James Hector mentioned Mr. Bull's invention as one of the only two real improvements produced during the preceding twenty-five years. In 1876 he married the youngest daughter of the late Mr. A. B. Sheath, chief accountant of the Post and Telegraph Department, who, with his brother, Mr. Alfred Sheath, initiated the telegraph system of the colony at Christchurch.

Mr. F. Bull.

The Department Of Agriculture in Napier has jurisdiction over the East Coast District, which extends from Pahiatua to Cape Runaway. There are also branch offices at Gisborne, Waipiro Bay, Wairoa, Hastings, Waipukurau, Woodville, and Pahiatua. The duties of the Department include the inspection of all classes of stock, the inspection of slaughterhouses and dairies, and to enforce the law regarding noxious weeds, rabbits, and the registration of brands, etc.

Mr. Walter Miller, Chief Inspector of Stock for the Hawke's Bay District, was born at Mount Stewart, Otago, in the year 1859. He was educated at the Otago Boys' High School, and at Mr. A. Barratt's Collegiate School in Dunedin, and was afterwards for a few years on his father's sheep station. He was then employed in the office of Messrs W. and T. Turnbull, Dunedin, for two years, and afterwards followed farm life till 1883, when he joined the Government service in the Department of Agriculture. Mr. Miller received his present appointment in 1898.

The Government Roads Department . The office of the Government Roads Department in Napier is situated on the first floor of the South British Insurance Buildings, in Browning Street, and comprises the District Road Engineer's office, and the clerical and drafting room. The office staff includes the chief engineer, the chief and assistant draughtsman, the head clerk, and the imprestee; the department employs an average of 250 men, three inspectors, four overseers, and six foremen. The district, which is an exceedingly large and rugged one, extends from the mouth of the Waiawa river in the Bay of Plenty, to the mouth of the Waimata river in the south, the western boundary line running through Motu, Mangapoa, Lake Waikare-Moana, and Ruanga, to the Manawatu Gorge. The work of the Department includes the construction of roads and bridges, and the execution of all Government construction works within the limits of the district.

Mr. Donald Neil McMillan, District Government Road Engineer for the province of Hawke's Bay, is a native of Auckland, and was born in March, 1863. After completing his education, he served his time to engineering, under his uncle, and was subsequently employed by other engineering firms, including the Manawatu Railway Company. He then entered the Roads Department of the Government service as a road-overseer, in which capacity he was stationed successively in South Taranaki, Wellington West, and Hawke's Bay. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of inspector, and was stationed page 337 in Otago to superintend special work. A year later, 1902, he received his present appointment. In 1892, Mr. McMillan was anchor-man in the famous New Zealand Tug o' War Team at Wellington. He takes a keen interest in the local Highland Society, was for some time one of its chieftains, and is a member of the committee.

Bunting, photo.
Mr. D. N. McMillan.

The Public Trust Office, which had formerly been represented in Napier by an agent working on commission, was placed in charge of a permanent Government officer in 1905, and is situated on the first floor of Tabuteau's buildings, in Tennyson Street. The invested funds of the Public Trust Department amount to nearly £2,000,000; and the value of estates controlled by the office amounts to over £4,000,000.

Mr. John Bain Jack, who was appointed District Agent of the Public Trustee, and Deputy Official Assignee in Bankruptcy, in September, 1905, was born in Dunedin in November, 1878, and is a son of Mr. Alexander Jack, who is referred to in the Otago volume of the Cyclopedia of New Zealand as a member of the West Harbour Borough Council. He was educated at the Dunedin public schools; in 1894 he passed the junior civil service examination, and was then appointed to a junior clerkship in the Public Trust Office in Dunedin. In May, 1899, he was transferred to the head office in Wellington; in January, 1904, was appointed chief clerk in the Auckland office, and was subsequently promoted to his present position in Napier. Mr. Jack has passed the solicitors' law examinations. He is an enthusiastic cricketer.

The Office Of The Department Of Labour in Napier is situated in temporary premises on the first floor of the Athenaeum Building, in Browning Street. The officer-in-charge is Mr. W. J. Blake, who is also Inspector of Factories for Napier.

Mr. William John Blake, Inspector of Factories and Awards at Napier, is a native of London, England, and went to Australia in the year 1842. He was educated at private schools, and afterwards entered mercantile life in Launceston, Tasmania. In 1862 he came to New Zealand, and after engaging in commercial pursuits for some years in Dunedin and on the West Coast, he entered the postal department of the Government service in Wanganui, but subsequently relinquished his appointment to take up book-keeping for a legal firm. Later, he became an insurance and general commission agent, until accepting an appointment as Government Inspector of Factories in Wanganui, in December, 1897. He was transferred to Napier in 1905. Mr. Blake, while in Tasmania, took a keen interest in athletics and volunteering.

The Office Of The Registrar Of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, which was formerly situated in the “Herald” buildings, was removed in the year 1902 to its present domicile in Tennyson Street. Mr. George Thomas Cross is officer-in-charge.

The Office Of The Registrar Of Electors, in Browning Street, is domiciled in the business premises of Mr. John Parker.

The Chief Police Station in Napier is situated in Byron Street, and is a wooden building containing offices, a large library, and sleeping quarters. Napier is the head-quarters of an extensive district, known as the Napier and East Coast Police District, including an area of about 250 miles long and 150 miles broad.

Inspector Ewen Phillip Macdonell Was Born In Scotland In The Year 1848, and Was Educated In Parish Schools. He Joined The Police Force In Scotland In 1867, and In 1875 Resigned In Order To Come To New Zealand. He Joined The Police Force Immediately On Landing, In 1900 Was Appointed Inspector In Charge Of The West Coast and Nelson Police Districts, and In March, 1902, Received His Present Appointment.

The Napier District Gaol occupies one of the best residential sites in the borough, facing the Marine Parade and Coote Road. The hill on which it stands, though very steep, is planted with trees, and the gaoler's house commands a splendid view of the town and bay. The prison enclosure is about five acres in extent, and is surrounded by substantial stone walls. There is a good library, to which the prisoners have access. Everything about the gaol is scrupulously clean, and the sanitary provisions for the health of the inmates are of the latest design. Prisoners are kept occupied at various out-door and in-door occupations, all under adequate discipline and classification. Every requisite for the use of the gaol is, as far as possible, made in the prison work-rooms.

The Napier Railway Station is an old wooden building standing on piles, with an asphalt platform, and contains the station-master's office, chief clerk's room, a parcel room, booking room and public office, luggage room, and a ladies' waiting room. There is also a goods shed and office, engine sheds and workshops. Ten trains leave daily for the south, including the Express. Passengers carried during the year 1905 numbered about 80,000.