NEW ZEALAND CLUB IN TOKYO

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25086, 18 January 1947, Page 10

NEW ZEALAND CLUB IN TOKYO

CHRISTCHURCH MODEL The Union Jack Club in Christchurch has been used as a model for a similar institution which is serving the British forces in Tokyo, Japan, according to a letter received from Colonel D. T. Maxwell, 0.8. E., N.£.S.C., who is the officer commanding New Zealand troops in Tokyo. A six-storeyed building, which was once a beer-hall, the club, which has been named after its Christchurch predecessor, is exclusively for the use of non-commissioned officers and men of

the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces, and offers considerable scope to those whose wish it is to indulge in congenial surroundings and to meet their friends in a European atmosphere. Staffing is undertaken by the 8.C.0.F. Canteen Service, and help «s given by the Women’s Voluntary Service. The building, which was well known throughout the city as the “New Tokyo.” was the subject of some discussion by the occupation authorities, who were undecided as to its use. but it was finally allocated to the British Commonwealth sub-area for conversion to any other ranks’ club. It is near the centre of the city in the Ginza district. Each /floor of the building has a separate function, there being a games’ floor, quiet room, beer bar, lounge, restaurant, and library, while the upper floors are terraced, providing sun roofs. Lieutenant-General H. C. H. Robertson, the Commander-in-Chief of the 8.C.0.F., officially opened the club on December 27 last year.