DOMINION NEWS NO INTERNAL FLYING-BOAT SERVICE

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 March 1946, Page 6

DOMINION NEWS NO INTERNAL FLYING-BOAT SERVICE

Proposals for the establishment of a flying-boat service between Auckland. Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin are not being considered by the Government, according to. a reply made by the Minister in charge of Civil Aviation (Mr. Jones) to Mr. W. M. C. Denham, M.P. An unconfirmed report from Wellington last month referred to such a service and. said that inquiries were being made by the Air Department. “The use of flying-boats, as indicated in the recent press report to which you refer, is not a practicable possibility,” said Mr. Jones in his reply to Mr. Denham. “No investigations of the nature suggested are contemplated.” Mr. Denham had sent a telegram to Mr. Jones pointing out that neither Invercargill nor Bluff was mentioned in the report from Wellington. He urged that Invercargill and Bluff be made important air links.

Sunspots Visible. The great sunspot of February, 1946, has now returned to the sun’s visible disc,- according to Mr. G. V. Hudson, of Karori, and is well clear of the eastern limb. It is apparently reduced in size, but will not be well placed for actual measurement for a day or so. Several other much smaller groups of sunspots are also in evidence. —(P.A.) Carrier at Auckland.

The light British aircraft-carrier Glory arrived from Sydney on Saturday morning to embark No. 14 R.N.Z.A.F. Squadron for Japan. The ship was commissioned in February last year and was never in action. Her chief claim to fame is that the surrender of the Japanese forces in Rabaul took place on her flight deck.— (P.A.) Patriotic Work.

The Governor-General (Sir Cyril Newall) attended the final meeting of the National Patriotic Fund Board, of which he is chairman, recently. He thanked members of the board and its officers for the part they had played in the patriotic effort, and asked them to convey to thp committees in the various provinces his appreciation, of what they had accomplished. Sir Cyril Newall said a magnificent job had been done for service personnel. The work of patriotic bodies had resulted in New Zealand service personnel being better looked after on the whole in the way of comforts and amenities than any others in the world.—(P.A.)

Staff Leaves Hospital. the domestic staff crisis resulting from the lifting of declarations of essentiality has become acute in the Marlborough Hospital Board’s institutions. At the Holmdale Maternity Home the whole domestic staff left, and the home is now being staffed by Women’s Institute volunteers. At the nurses’ home at the Wairau Hospital nine of 11 domestics left, and volunteers are also meeting this demand. At Wairau Hospital itself there have been no defections but the hospital has been contending with a serious /■staff shortage for many months, and there is no sign of the position being relieved. A largely-attended meeting of 22 women’s organisations Convened by the Red Cross Society, agreed to make every effort to provide relief staffs. Machinery for this has been ' established for work oh the basis of three-hour shifts from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.