N.Z. ASSISTANCE TO FIJI

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26648, 6 February 1952, Page 8

N.Z. ASSISTANCE TO FIJI

GOVERNMENT GRANT OF £lO,OOO LOCAL BODY GIFTS TO BE VALIDATED (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, Feb. 5. The Cabinet has decided to give £lO.OOO to Fiji for relief of distress caused by the hurricane last week. The Government is also arranging to divert much-needed materials to Fiji, i and will later enact legislation to | validate contributions from local bodies for the relief of distress in Fiji. Announcing this to-day, the Acting Prime Minister (Mr K. J. Holyoake) said that help had been provided in various ways, and the Government was receiving requests for specific forms of assistance from time to time as the needs of the situation became known. On Thursday last a party of five linesmen, the only specific request for personal service, left Auckland by air for Suva. According to a telegram received from the Acting Governor, the men started work immediately upon their arrival. “The personnel of the Air Force station in Fiji are naturally affording assistance to the authorities in Fiji in dealing with the damage, and an engineer and other officers of the Public Works Department, who are visiting Fiji in connexion with the Air Force establishment, will also give what help they can,” he added. “One of the urgent requirements of Fiji is roofing iron. It has been ascertained that in the Armadale, which is now in Suva en route to New Zealand, there are 30 tons of corrugated iron consigned to New Zealand. The Government has been in touch with the consignees, and it is hoped that arrangements can be made for this quantity of roofing iron to be unshipped in Suva and delivered to the Fiji authorities. The Government is in touch with the Commonwealth authorities about the provision of larger supplies of iron which the Fiji authorities will require to repair the widespread damage caused by the hurricane.

“The grant made by the Government will be available to meet the cost of any materials supplied by New Zealand to Fiji,’’ he said, “but the cost of personal services, as in the case of the linesmen, will be met by the New Zealand Government.”

Mr Holyoake said that public offers of assistance in many forms had been conveyed to the Fijian authorities. All these offers were warmly supported by the Government, and the Cabinet felt that the most effective further endorsement of public readiness to render help was to authorise the grant of £ 10.000.

He added that a report had been made to the Minister of Defence (Mr T. L. Macdonald) on the damage done to the Air Force station at Lauthala Bay. The full amount of the damage had not been assessed, but it was obvious that the Government would be involved in substantial expenditure in restoring the station to full efficiency. Damage to housing had been particularly severe, and the reports so far received suggested that at least 80 per cent, of the housing would have to be replaced.

ROTARIANS’ OFFER ACCEPTED

APPEAL TO BE LAUNCHED (New Zealand Press Association) „ HAWERA, Feb. 5. In reply to his cablegram offering assistance on behalf of the 39th District of Rotary, the District Governor, Mr F. W. Horner, of Hawera, received the following reply from the president of the Suva Rotary Club: “Your generous offer of help is gratefully appreciated. A section of the population needs replacements of air kinds of old clothing. Assistance of cash or kind which Rotarians desire to give or arrange would be very acceptable to help to rehabilitate villagers in affected areas, where generally houses and their contents have disappeared, while 900 stalwarts are helping in Malaya." , Horner is sending out an appeal to all clubs in his district to organise immediately a campaign for gifts, clothes, household goods, and cash.

AID TO HURRICANE VICTIMS

CORSO APPEALS FOR GIFTS An appeal for money and parcels to help the people affected by the recent hurricane in Fiji has been made by the chairman of the North Canterbury Committee of CORSO (Mr R. W. Sharp). “There is little doubt that the people of New Zealand have been profoundly shocked to hear of the devastating hurricane that has laid waste the town of Suva and the surrounding countryside in Fiji,” said Mr Sharp in his appeal. “Physical suffering in others inevitably stirs the deepest sympathies in us all, and there are probably many citizens of Christchurch who would gladly give aid if- they could find some effective "fray of doing “We are glad to say that CORSO is able to offer a service that should do something to help our unhappy brethren. both white and brown skinned whose homes have been destroyed and food supplies demolished.” Arrangements had been made through Government agencies to disa * Sifts of blankets and light clothing as soon as possible, with tinned food and milk powder. Mr Sharp said. “Donations and parcels at the CORSO depot at Y.M.C.A. and will be gratefully acknowledged.”