DEFAULTERS’ CAMPS

Grey River Argus, 17 March 1942, Page 4

DEFAULTERS’ CAMPS

230 MEN INTERNED

Details of Conditions

[Per Press Association. I

WELLINGTON, March 16. By permission of the Minister of National Service, the Hon. R. Semple a representative of the New Zealand Press Association has visited the defaulters’ detention camps for the purpose of preparing articles on the life and conditions in the' camps. This is the first of two articles on the subject:— In the defaulters’ detention, camps established at Strathmore and Hautu for conscientious objectors to military service, 230 men are -at present accommodated. They live under conditions that are neither Spartan nor soft, neither military nor of the civil prison kind. Food is plain and substantial, the rationing costs being almost exactly the same as those of military camps. And as in military camps, the majority of the inmates who for the most part are young and come from cities, rapidly put on weight and improve physically—the result of healthy appetites induced by outdoor labour and an ordered, mode of living.

The majority work willingly on land development, and are. amenable to the discipline that is not imposed .n the manner of a sergeant-major. 'There is some evidence, however, of the influential power of the more politioally-minded section, a small minority. It is understood that machinery is being prepared under which the agitatoi- type will be removed from these camps and dealt with elsewhere.

It will readily be understood that in camps such youthful inmates. th« official designation, are very sensitive to propaganda based upon “principle,” no matter how falacious it may seem to the mdtter-'of-fact patriot.

The Strathmore base camp, through which all staff and inmates will go as other camps are established to meet the anticipated need, occupies a compound of 11 acres enclosed by a 10ff barbed wire nonclimbable fence, Qn an area of Strathmore already fully developed by the Lands Department. It is three miles from the Broadhurst turn-off and about 35 miles from Rotorua on tinTaupo Road. There is 'no shelter and winter conditions will not be attractive, for up the wide valley front Taupo to Rainbow Mountain, southerly blasts have an unimpeded sweep. Under bush-camp conditions, the institution was opened tabout three months ago. Public Works Department huts, partly timber, partly canvas, provided accommodation for the inmates—two to a hut—and mess, and cook houses were, and still are. merely of the hut extension type.

The cold wiater ablution benches are precisely those of a military eamp, but a boiler for hot showers has not yet been installed, the inmates having to stoke up coppers for hot baths. /

Candles provide light in the inmates’ huts; elsewhere hurricane kerosene lanterns and gas lamps are used. Under erection at the moment are a messing and common room block, a hospital and a Diesel engine generating the electricity for lighting. This piece of plant came out of the motor vessel Maui Pomare.

The messing and common room building which is 150 ft long and 30ft wide, will accommodate 300 men, the anticipated maximum strength of the camp. It is linked through servery and kitchen with a smaller start wing. The kitchen and its appurtenances are on the military model, the stove being adaptable to either oil or coke fuel.

The hospital is 100 ft Iby 30ft. It has accommodation ‘ for ten patients —two in isolation —and for a nursing staff of two. It will be a properlylined building, and even in its halfcompleted state, has an unexpected look of permanency. The present hospital consist of a group of six lined huts with a camp cottage for the matron and nurse. This type will continue to be used in Hautu and other camps that may be established, the base hospital being available for cases from them. Another building in the course of erection is the administration block which will contain store rooms as well as offices and rooms in which inmates will meet their visitors. It has been decided that the inmates will have individual huts and a party of them including tradesmen is engaged in their construction. These little habitations which will not be locked at night owing to fire risks, are being lined with ia building paper which makes them draught proof. Costing £l4 10s each the huts, it is estimated will be cheaper accommodation than dormitories and from the point of view of discipline they are preferred by the ‘ department to dormitories. They also give some privacy to the lives of inmates committed to the camp for the duration of the war and make it possible for those of the student tvpe who are in the majority to pursue their studies in the evenings. Strathmore is an estate of 9000 acres which the Land Department has been developing. The defaulters of the camp now provide all the labour for the job. Already they have erected four miles of fencing, cleared scrub on 130 acres, gathered an extensive hav harvest, made some ensilage, carried out some new roading and cut ragwort. At the moment a party is constructing a’ sheep dip to serve the whole block when it is divided into small farms. Another is making gates and troughs and milking sheds in sections. Some swamp draining will be started almost immediately. . , Near the camp 11 acres of potatoes and vegetables have been cultivated. Water has been reticulated. The camn has its own well-'pastui*-ed farm of 200 acres and a small herd of cows for camp use is being milked. This area also carries sheep for camp meat supply. Various fatigue duties figure m the men’s activities as well as boot repairing and laundry work. At Hautu, seven miles from Tokaa'nti, the developmental work will he mainly scryb-clearing, draining, the extraction of posts from the bush. There the camn which provides for 50 inmates occupies a pleasant sheltered site up a valley running into the bush-clad hills. '' Down the valley lies the Hautu prison farm and on this area Inmates of the detention camp have done a cons’derable amount of hav harvest- 1 ing but not in association with the prisoners. The controller of the camps is Mr L. J. Greenberg, of the National Service Department, the supervisors at Strathmore and Hautu- respectively being Messrs J. A. Duffy and V. Ballard. .