The vital importance of aerial defence to New Zealand was stressed by the Hou. R. Semple when replying to an Invercargill deputation asking for Government assistance for oil boring. “We don’t make wars out here; that is done in the nerve centre of the world,” he said.. “Rut we may be drawn into them. In aerial tiefence lies our greatest boi>e of safety. If war did break out w e might well be left without oil. Consequently if a supply of oil can be found in New Zealand it will make the Dominion more self-reliant. I have often talked in the House of extracting oil from coal and shale deposits. Oil wells, if they were found, might well provide sufficient fuel for our Air Force.”
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Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 150, 20 March 1936, Page 18
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125Untitled Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 150, 20 March 1936, Page 18
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