DOMINION NEWS

Grey River Argus, 11 April 1945, Page 3

DOMINION NEWS

NEGLECT OF TOW-N PLANNING. PA WELLINGTON, April 10. Mr J. W. Mawson, Town Planning Officer of the Organisation tor National Development, gave evidence before the Parliamentary Committee on local government, to-day. He said. “Through failure to apply principles of town planning in the development and use of land in our towns and cities, conditions in the main centi s are definitely worse thaii they were when I arrived in New Zealand 16 vears ago Day by day we are layino- a foundation for further blighted districts and slums, and creating powerful vested interests in land by permitting absurdly high k UI l cll m S lereJIs population densities-yested intei ests which can be broken down only at an excessive cost to the community Fantastic as it may appear, we ,aie permitting higher building, densities in Auckland and Wellington m ie J a ‘ tion to the traffic capacity . ot J- ae street systems than obtain in Manhattan Island and New York, the most denselv built up urban areas in the world.” Referring to a lack ol competent technical personnel to assist local authorities with the preparation and administration ql planning schemes, Mr Mawson said that thue were onlv eleven men in New Zealand who had actually had any academic training in town planning, and seven of them were in the Ptiblic Service. It has been suggested that a school of town planning be established but if that were not practicable, the next best thing would be to open the Public Service to a numbei of selected cadets, who could be trained, and who could be made available to assist local authorities with the preparation of their schemes as Dart o their training. He understood that the Rehabilitation Department was making a limited number of bursaries available to returned servicemen who wished to take up town planning as a profession, and who were prepared to go to England to receive then academic training.

SCHEELITE MINER KILLED. PA. INVERCARGILL, April 10. 'While engaged in mining scheelite, near Glenorchy, this afternoon, William Stafford Northcote single aged 40 of Glenorchy, was killed by a fall of earth. He and his brother, were working an open face well . up m the hills when, without warning, overhanging earth collapsed on him. His brother escaped injury, and dug him out, but he was dead. MEDICAL AND DENTAL BURSARIES. WELLINGTON, April 11. . Details of the Government’s medical and dental bursaries that have been awarded this year given to-day by the Minister of Health, Ml Nordmeyer. He said that bursai ies were awarded only to students .who had been approved by the National Service Department for medical or dental studies during this year. As in the past, the bursaries are of the annual value of £7O where the student is livin gat home, . and illU where the student is obliged to live away from his usual place of dence. The Government decide** to award further medical and dental bursaries this year and Cabinet approved of the offer to selected students of up to 67 medical and 30 dental bursaries. The applications refell broadly into three groups: (1) Students who had completed two or more years of University course, (2) students who had completed the first year of the course, and passed either the whole or portion, of. the medical intermediate examination, (3) students who were about to commence the first year of the course. In the first group three medical and three dental bursaries were, offered In the second group 25 bursaries were. offered to medical students, and nine to dental students. In the third group 39 medical and 15 dental bursaries were offered.