SECURING THE NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20791, 6 February 1931, Page 15

SECURING THE NEWS.

MANY METHODS USED.

WIRELESS AND COURIERS.

AEROPLANES UTILISED.

With the breakdown of all the usual means of communication and the silence which enveloped the / stricken area in Hawke's Bay, extraordinary methods had to be adopted to obtain tidings of the fate of the people, and to ascertain what was wanted in the way of succour. It was to this task that the New Zealand Herald, well schooled in dealing with national emergencies, bent its energies. Aeroplanes, the railway and motorcars were used to transport reporters and photographers to Napier and Hastings, which were known to be the worst affected centres, and couriers, the land telegraphs and wireless were invoked to bring to Auckland the written aud photographic record of the disaster.

First away were a reporter and a photographer in Mr. Douglas Mills' Puss Moth aeroplane, and they had experiences that formed for them an adventure which, against -a less tragic background, would have produced some awe. Their duty was to define tho limits of the devastated area and to investigate the position of Gisborne, from which centre nothing had been heard, and which was at first believed to have been stricken.

It was found impossible to fly to Gisborne direct, for heavy clouds compelled a change of course at Pukckohe and then at Te Aroha, and for a little while they were flying blind. Once again on the direct line, a fog bank over tho Motu Hills was encountered which was so thick that Mr. Mills found it impossible to go through, over or under. A forced landing became necessary and Mr. Mills brought his machine down on the beach near Opotiki. A Bumpy Trip.

Next morning the airman had to wait until an abnormally high tide receded before he could get the aeroplane out of soft sand and take off again. The party left about mid-day and made good time to Hastings. Photographs secured, Mr. Mills headed for Auckland where the plates were developed and tho pictures were published in yesterday's Herald. A great effort was made by a photo-grapher-reporter commissioned by tho Hebald. He reached Rotorua on Tuesday evening after a very hard drive and hired the Rotorua Airways Company's aeroplane, piloted by Mr. D. D. Money, in which he left for Hastings at daybreak on Wednesday morning.

An old motor-car was secured for the journey to Napier. His work done at both centres, he was again aloft and had a very bumpy trip to Rotorua, where he transferred to his car and so on to Auckland, which he reached at 7.30 p.m. that day. In addition to these men, the Herald had other members of its staff on H.M.S. Dunedin and others on their way to Napier by train and motor. It was one thing to send the men to the scene; it was another to get the news out. The telegraph lines were either inert or hopelessly blocked with prior traffic. The Govern-ipnt wireless station operators said the v. liole world was on the air and that while they would try to help with messages little could bo expected. Help of the Navy. One message was received by this means on Tuesday night, but tho likely results on Wednesday were so uncertain that this source could not be depended upon. So recourse was had to the Navy, which had already proved itself a ready help in tho time of trouble.

Through the courtesy of Commander Nelson Clover of H.M.S. Philomel, the consent of Commodore Blake to the uso of the naval wireless was obtained. The signalmen on H.M.S. Veronica at Napier and the Philomel worked until after 4 a.m. yesterday handling unaccustomed pres3 messages, and they performed tho same duty nobly and well throughout yesterday. A member of the Herald staff on holiday at Rotorua was courier yesterday. Ho flew to Hastings, collected stories and photographs from the staff men there and at Napier, and had them sent on to Auckland from Rotorua by motor-car. Mr. Douglas Mills' aeroplane was also used by the Post Office to take accumu- I lated telegrams to Hastines.

MASONIC HOTEL RUINS.

SEVEN BODIES DISCOVERED.

SEARCH PARTIES' TRYING DAY,

Special Rrr°rter.— By Wireless.—H.M.S, Veronica.

NAPIER, Thursday

An illustration of the suddenness with which disaster overtook many peoplo during tho moments of terror which followed tho fn'St shake on Tuesday was afforded by the recovery by a naval party this afternoon of a number of bodies from the Masonic Hotel.

Jt was feared the loss of life in this building had been heavy, and men from the warships wore soon at work in the ruins with tractors and stoel cables, picks, shovels and crowbars. About 50 tons of falleu bricks and masonry were removed from tho spot where once had stood the entrance to the town's leading hotel.

Underneath were discovered seven bodies pathetically huddled and somo of them mangled beyond recognition. Obviously the people had rushed to escape from the building, but between life and death a few fateful seconds intervened. All search parties had another trying day, especially as many bodies recovered had been lying under heaps of debris for over 48 hours. Many buildings in the principal business block are still smouldering, and as one passes one senses distinctly the smell of burning flesh. It is doubtful if bodies buried under these buildings will ever bo recovered.

ANXIETY FOR NEWS.

REATIVES IN ENGLAND (Received February 6, 1.3S a.m.) LONDON, Feb. 5. Relatives in England of people in the stricken districts of New Zealand are still without the names of the earthquake victims. They have fruitlessly appealed to the Dominion Government's i-ondon office, where the casualty list is anxiously awaited.