AUSTRALIA

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 May 1943, Page 3

AUSTRALIA

WHARF CANTEENS

MELBOURNE, May 15. The War Cabinet has allocated £125,000 to the capital cost of such i canteens and shelter sheds as are re- . warded by the Stevedoring Industry Commission as essential _ for the | proper conduct of stevedoring opera- 1 Announcing this, the Prime Min-| ister (Mr. Curtin) said that at pre-j sent too much time was lost because the workers on the wharves _ often had to travel a considerable distance for their meals, for which no close facilities were available. ZIONIST CONFERENCE "SYDNEY, May 15. Nazi persecution has b ee n directly responsible for the deaths of 2,000,000 Jews in Europe. This was stated by Dr. J. Machover, chairman of the political department of the Zionist Federation, at the opening ol me eleventh Zionist conference. He added that an additional 2,000,000 Jews were destitute in Nazi-controlled Europe. ~ The conference, which was presid- , ed over by Mr. A. Masel, was at- [ tended by representatives from all the Australian States and New Zealand. ARMY "DOCTORS "SYDNEY, May 16. A number of Australian Army doctors over the age of 40 are to be returned to civil practice. This is announced by the Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Military Forces (General Sir Thomas Blarney). The doctors will be released to relieve the severe strain on those remaining in civil practice. All Army doctors over 40 can apply for release. Priority will go to men with long service, particularly in operational areas. Those released will be replaced by young graduates. „ , x . The official comment of the British Medical Association is that it is in the public interest. The strain on civilian doctors, the great majority of whom are more than 50 years of age, has been terrific for a considerable time and could not be borne indefinitely.

OUTBACK IGNORANCE.

(N.Z.P.A. Special Australian Correspondent)

(Rec. 10.20 a.m.) SYDNEY, May 17. Australia has its hill-billy citizens who live a life remote from the outside world. Two brothers from the upper reaches of Hawkesbury River did not know Australia was at war until they were called up for army service recently. Officers, who spent weeks endeavouring to catch up with them, found they had never read a newspaper, heard a radio, or been to school. They could not read or write. Another recruit from the same locality had’ never seen a woman except his mother. One call-up officer declared: “There are many similar cases in the great hill-billy areas of New South Wales.”

WAVE DANGER (Recd. 12.20 p.m.) SYDNEY, May 17. A great wave, caused by a local submarine upheaval, swept across Cronulla Beach Esplanade on Sunday morning, engulfing a number of people. Some saved themselves from being carried out to sea by the receding wave by grasping the railings across which they were being washed. Others were rescued by life-savers. A girl walking on the esplanade had her skirt torn by the wave, which was more than eight feet deep when it reached the rbadwajk