KEEN TO GET BACK

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 70, 21 February 1931, Page 9

KEEN TO GET BACK

ATTrrUDE IN NAPIER. REOPENING OF SHOPS. “BUSINESS AS USUAL.” Practically all the business firms arc going to re-establish, themselves. Everyone is keen to start and is exCe nn!° na lo y al Napier.” This statement, made by Mr 0 0 Morse chairman of the Napier Citizens Control Committee and the Hawke s Bay Hospital Board, in a special interview with a ‘‘Standard” representative early yesterday morning, summarises the attitude of all those who have the interest of stricken Napier at heart. We are endeavouring to make arrangements for the establishment of a retail centre of fifty or more shops m one block,” Mr Morse added. “The site has not yet been decided upon, but it will be away from the ruined area and' in the vicinity between the Fire Brigade station and the parking area. Forty or fifty business people ’ have made application to the committee for permits to erect temporary premises. “Removal of the debris is to be conducted on a comprehensive scale as already announced. No one is being allowed to begin -business again in the inner area except the hotels, which have to make temporary arrangements to carry on their licenses. With the assistance of the local architects a town-planning committee has been formed. Builders and architects are co-operating in a united effort and notification has been issued to others outside the district not to interfere. However, valuable assistance has been given, a typical action being that of a Mprton builder who dispatched to Napier a fully equipped lorry with five carpenters and placed them at the disposal of the relief organisation free of charge for a fortnight-.. “It is estimated that 75 per cent, of the water service on the Hill has been reinstated and one-third of the sewerage repaired. Napier South’s sewerage system is reported to be in a bad way, and probably will have to be redesigned on account of the changes in level. There is a map available in the council chambers showing the progress of water and sewerage reticulation.” . Mr Morse hastens to correct an erroneous report to the effect that he criticised the administrative arrangements of the Government. On the contrary, he states that everything possible had been done, and the town is deeply indebted to the authorities, Mr Morse being greatly appreciative of the work carried out by the officers of the Public Service. Possessed of a vigorous personality, Mr Morse, as director of organisation arrangements, leads a very active life. He has attained the highest point of efficiency. Mr R. Girling Butcher, Government inspector of explosives, is proving a very capable secretary to the controlling committee. Botn rise very early and retire late. SPECTRAL RUINS. Napier is a spectral town with the gaunt ruins of its business area full of the association of tragedy. There is a deeply sentimental touch about the whole place. It is war-scarred Ypres over again, and it is stated that no heavily shelled town could look worse than what was formerly Napeir’s business area. Actually the devastation, which was later swept'by fire, is reported to have been caused in fortynine seconds. The most amazing feature is that none expected to find the hospital destroyed and were shocked beyond measure by the appalling discovery when the first casualties were sent up. Although a poignant tragedy was enacted in the shattered Nurses’ Home at Napier, it is considered providential that the shake did not come at night so far as this building was' concerned, or there would have been a most disastrous toll of life, for there would have been sixty nurses asleep instead of merely the unfortunate night staff. Gangs of emplovees from the Public Works Department are engaged in clearing the debris, but it is arduous work breaking up solid masses of masonry weighing tons. Lorries, tractors and a travelling crane have been commissioned, while an oxy-acetylene flame is being nsed to cut through huge masses of steel and reinfoi cements which cannot bcj dislodged. Sledge-hammers and ropes are used constantly. The interiors of the hospital wards themselves present practically the same aspect as when they were first evacuated. Robjohn’s ward has been completely demolished. Beds remain where they were crushed under brickwork and garments are scattered here and there or hanging from among crushed brick"°rk' A GENERAL REVIEW. Numbers of the missing are stated to be still unaccounted for. Napier s streets have been practically cleared ot debris, but the ruined business sites remain as they were left, except where dangerous walls have been demolished. There are large rents in the footpaths where concrete masses have burst through the surface. There is also a notable instance of this m Hastings, where masonry weighing tons has toppled from the parapet of the Tribune building and penetrated the footpath to a depth of four feet. - , The burial ground for the ruins of Napier’s business centre is located on the Taradale Road, where a large lagoon is being filled in with the smashed brickwork and masonry. Lorry-load after lorry-load of debris is being dumped there, and the filling is advancing rapidly. Closely adjacent is the dumping ground for burned It is estimated that through the elevation of the sea floor caused by the earthquake, three thousand acres ot land have been made available along the inner harbour, and Vest shore areas. This will effectively dispense with the need for further reclamation schemes. Changes in level vary An elevation of seven feet is reported in the vicinity of the Bluff Hill, four feet at Sale Street, and three feet at Taradale. George’s Drive is just a series of great longitudinal fissures forming miniature ravines. These are being filled up and pressed with a steamer roller. Bricks have helped to fill holes in other roads. Petty pilfering is reported to have been rife on occasions in Napier, and in consequence strict discipline is being maintained. It is reported that thieves have even extended their scope in cases to the purloining of surgical instruments, while numbers of cars have been appropriated without lawful authority. An interesting sidelight of the situation is that a large feathered world has been established at Parke Island. All fowls have been appropriated and are now doing good service at a community poultry farm. The issue of free food is being stopped from to-day. Arrangements have been finalised for shopkeepers to supply essential requirements in the ordinary manner. Owing to kitchen ranges still being out of action,. the kitelren will be maintained and family meals will be cooked for a charge of 9d, in order to assist in defraying the cost involved.