TOUR OF BRITISH PORTS

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27010, 9 April 1953, Page 3

TOUR OF BRITISH PORTS

Southampton Terminal Praised SIR WILLIAM APPLETON’S ITINERARY (From the London Correspondent of "The Press”) LONDON, March 19. Harbour development plans and modern loading equipment will be studied by Sir William Appleton, a former Mayor of Wellington, during an extended tour of Britain this year. Sir William Appleton, who is a member of the Wellington Harbour Board, arrived in London with Lady Appleton by the Ruahine last week. He intends to make tours of the ports of London, Glasgow, and Liverpool during his stay. Sir William Appleton began inspecting nort facilities as soon as he landed in Britain. The Ruahine berthed at the Atlantic terminal in Southampton and he spent several hours inspecting the £1,000,000 terminal.

“It is without doubt the most modern passenger terminal in the world,” said Sir William Appleton today. “Passengers disembark on to the second deck of the terminal through covered expanding gangways, and then enter into comfortable reception rooms where they can rest or get meals. Escalators take the passengers down to the customs inspection and the inspections are handled with amazing speed. The car docks and train platforms are in the terminal on the lower deck.”

Although the terminal was expensive, something similar to the Southampton building was needed in Wellington, said Sir William Appleton. It was the best advertisement any country could have for a visitor to step ashore into a terminal like the Southampton building. Sir William Appleton said he was impressed with the building progress made since his last visit to England in 1947. “My first impression is that the country has made a wonderful recovery jn its building programme,” he said. “Where, a few years ago, there were gaping acres of the scars of bombings, now there are .modern office buildings, warehouses, houses, and flats. Southampton was a mass of badly-bombed sites a few years ago, but there are few places now where there are not new buildings.” Next month. Sir William and Lady Appleton intend to leave for Europe on a short tour. They will fly 4o Spain and then travel through the south of France, Switzerland, France, and Holland and return to London for the Coronation. After the Coronation, Sir William Appleton will visit Wales, where he will attend a special service of the Order of St. John as one of New Zealand’s representatives. He will later make a motor trip through the Midlands and Scotland.