EMPIRE DEFENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 55, 2 September 1937, Page 11

EMPIRE DEFENCE

SOUTH AFRICA'S PART

KEY SHIPPING ROUTE

Huge sums of money are being spent at Cape Town not only to make the port one of the finest in the world, but to implement South Africa's part in the Imperial defence programme, said Mr O. R. Nel, M.P., of South Africa, who arrived at Auckland by the Awatca on Tuesday (states the "New. Zealand Herald"). The object of this plan is to keep an open route for mercantile and naval vessels, in case the Suez Canal is blocked, while complementary schemes are being put into operation

ashore.

Robben Island, which faces Cape Town, is being heavily fortified, said Mr.- Nel. The lessons learned in the !war between Italy and Abyssinia made it evident to the British Empire that some sea'route alternative to.the Suez Canal would have to be available. Already the Willemsen Line, a Norwegian company with a fleet of fast ships, had diverted its vessels from the canal to the Cape route, and a great deal of Australia's produce now went that way, as did an appreciable quantity of merchandise from and to the Dutch East Indies.

The naval base at Simonstown was similarly heavily fortified, and the air authorities were training 100 pilots and 300 mechanics to bring the air arm up to strength. All Government aircraft in South Africa for the conveyance of passengers were so constructed that should an emergency arise, the machines could quickly be converted into war craft. All these are tri-motored, and so efficient is the service, which is conducted by the State, that these aeroplanes can be converted into bombers within a few hours.

The third side of this development is the construction of a national highway along the coast from Capetown to Zululand, a distance of something like 1400 miles, Mr. Nel said. This highway would not only serve as a means of developing territory, but it would serve as a valuable artery for the defence of the south-east coast. A complete defensive system is the objective, and South Africa is spending freely to play its part in Imperial defence.