ACCOMMODATION SHORTAGE

Evening Star, Issue 25699, 24 January 1946, Page 5

ACCOMMODATION SHORTAGE

SERIOUS POSITION IN SYDNEY • SYDNEY, January 23. Temporary accommodation for travellers either passing through Sydney or arriving from overseas without previous bookings is virtually nonexistent. A survey, made of necessity on foot', reveals that hostelries of all classes in the city and suburbs are completely occupied for an indefinite period. The first-class hotels have bookings which in some cases extend right through February. People 'in New Zealand who intend travelling to Sydney in the near future are advised to make efforts to secure accommodation by cablegram or air mail as soon as they can ascertain their _ approximate arrival date in Australia. The screening to which intending passengers are subjected hy the New Zealand Government at the request of the Commonwealth is not merely red tape. The Australian authorities are becoming increasingly concerned about the numbers of peoplpe wishing to return to New Zealand who are left stranded in Sydney. This would not be so serious if there were accommodation. The plight of the would-be passengers on the Katoomba.serves as an illustration of this. The people vacated their hotel rooms and flats when they went on board. Now they have literally nowhere to go, and must be maintained at the Government expense on board the ship. Were it not for the granting of Government approval to this arrangement, most of these people would now be in an impossible position, HUGE FLOATING POPULATION. Thev are only some of the more than 2.000 who urgently desire travel facilities to New Zealand. Others form part of the huge floating population of Sydney, occupying temporary lodgings. Arrivals by the Athlone Castle found they had practically no hope of getting rooms. Asked why they had not cabled sooner, manv explained that the vessel's departure date from New Zealand was made the subject of secrecy, which seemed to them unnecessary, but was' apparently a* legacy of the war. This class of ship is still operating under war-time, control. It was emphasised to the passengers that the ship was travelling to " the first Australian port " and not necessarily to Sydney. Officers stated that this procedure was carried out to safeguard the company in the event of the ship receiving orders when at sea to proceed somewhere else. Thus the earliest that cable messages could be lodged was three days before .arrival at Sydney. At the Australian end, lucky ones had friends to book for them and' regarded their chances as bright. A different story awaited them when the vessel docked. Three days' unremitting search had produced nothing but, perhaps, a little sympathy or, more often, a humorous remark from hotel receptionists. It was no consolation to be told by a girl in a hotel office, "You people are driving me crazy, too! " BOOKED MONTHS AHEAD. The only chance of improvement in .the situation lies in the resumption of the schools. Many families from other parts of Australia are now here on holiday. With them it is an annual pilgrimage and they can book months ahead if necessary. One odd by-pro-duct of the congestion is the fact that attempted bookings by phone arc doomed to failure. If you want a room you have to keep walking. lho would-be visitor from New Zealand can expect a lot of that—but it is still one way of seeing Sydney.