MR NASH BACK IN N.Z.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 68, Issue 146, 2 April 1948, Page 6

MR NASH BACK IN N.Z.

RETURN FROM HAVANA CONFERENCE

ARDUOUS FOUR MONTHS (P.A.) ■ AUCKLAND, April 1. The Minister of Finance (the Rt. Hon. W. Nash) was the first passenger to step from the Pan-American Airways clipper Oriental at Whenuapai this afternoon. He looked rather tired, but said he had never been better and was glad to be home again after the long journey. In the half hour available before leaving for Paraparaumu by air he gave a Press interview, was photographed several times, had' a cup of tea, accepted two long distance telephone calls and shook hands with a little boy who happened to be passing. Mr Nash said it had been an arduous conference at Havana. It had lasted four months and three days, and had been “tough on everbody.” “I appreciate the amazing work done by members of the staff who were with me,” the Minister continued. “They worked hard, including Saturdays and Sundays, with scheduled meetings six days a week three times a day. They were out of Havana on only three occasions. There were 800 meetings at the conference extending over 300 hours, with 2500 different documents to read. The number of foolscap stencilled sheets totalled more than 10,000,000.” Mr Nash, who was accompanied only by Mr G. J. » Schmitt, of the Treasury, and Mr P. A. Barnes, his private secretary, was barely half an hour on the ground at Whenuapai, and did not leave the air movements building. He spoke for a few minutes by telephone with Mrs Nash in Wellington, and was fully occupied while his luggage, including a bulky case of documents, was transferred from the Skymaster ’to a Dominie of the Royal New Zealand Air Force that was waiting to take him south. The Skymaster had not been taken away to her parking area for the night by the time Mr Nash and his party were aboard the Dominie and airborne for Paraparaumu.