AIR RAID SHELTERS

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 119, 13 February 1941, Page 6

AIR RAID SHELTERS

Government Lead Awaited

In Wellington TUNNELLING SUGGESTION At Tuesday's meeting of the Masterton County Council Mr. G. Moore said that shelters should be constructed in the hills in Wellington immediately. "II would lie possible to construct impregnable shelters in these hills, and it should be done now,” lie said. Mr. K. E. Luke, city engineer, said yesterday that this matter had been discussed at length by the works committee of the Air Raid Precautions Scheme organization, but nothing iiad been doue. After these discussions it was a matter for the Government to act, as the provision of shelters on any scale broke uew ground. Possibly such shelters would have to be constructed according to some standardized plan, and it was no use one local body doing anything and then being told it had done the wrong tiling. The local committee was ou the alert, but it bad to wait for some official instruction, before proceeding with works which might run into a considerable stun of money. Mr. Luke also said that these ques-

tions had been' before his own works committee, and instructions bad been issued for inquiries to be made about buildings, the basements or lower portions of which might be utilized for shelter against injury from shrapnel or anything short of a direct hit. WUiile it might be a comparatively simple, if costly, matter to burrow into the bills in W 7 illis Street, Lambton Quay, Sydney Street, Austin Street, and in every Wellington suburb where hills and daies offer a configuration suitable to shelter —building by tunnelling, other cities and towns on the flat might

have to adopt other methods. The question of dealing with incendiary bombs is receiving attention. Mr. C. Meachen brought a short film back from Australia recently illustrating the action of an incendiary bomb, and how best it should be dealt with. This has already been exhibited in Wellington. Another film is being secured.