UNION OBJECTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 139, 13 June 1936, Page 9

UNION OBJECTS

NAVAL. EASE PLAN USE OP CAPE TOWN MINISTER'S STATEMENT United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph— Copyright. (Received June 13, 9.20 a.m.) CAPE TOWN, June 12. Tiie Acting Minister of Defence stated that South Africa did not intend to allow Cape Town to be used as a British naval base.

According to a cable received from London on Thursday the "Daily Telegraph's" navsl correspondent reported that the question of Cape Town as a possible base for a British battle fleet was already receiving official consideration. Since August a considerable portion of the traffic which normally passed through the Suez Canal had been diverted to the Cape route, enabling naval and shipping authorities to gain valuable experience, especially regarding the bunkering and port facilities needed if the whole of tha Eastern traffic had in certain contingencies to be diverted via the Cape.

It was reported from Cape Town on March 14 that the decision had been made to intensively fortify Robben Island, which was part of the scheme to make Table Bay a second Singapore. The heavy guns at Lion's Head could not be fired, as a full charge would blow the closely-inhabited seappint to pieces. The Table Bay works were being developed at a cost of £ 10,000,000 so as to enable vessels of the heaviest tonnage to dock. It was believed that it was the intention of the Government to proceed with a "big equipment scheme, whereby -Table Bay would supersede Simon's Town as a naval port. Kobben Island was formerly a leper settlement and had since been unoccupied except by lighthousekeepers.