FLIGHT TO CAIRO

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23968, 19 May 1941, Page 6

FLIGHT TO CAIRO

VISITING THE TROOPS

MR. FRASER IN EGYPT

NEAR EAST ADVENTURE

IRAKIS FIRE AT MACHINE

(N.Z.E.F. Official News Service) CAIRO, May 17 The Prime Minister of New Zealand, the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser, landed in the [Egyptian capital this afternoon in a i Royal Air Force machine. Admiration for the magnificent stand by tho New Zealand Expeditionary , Force in Greece was expressed to Mr. [Fraser bv tho Commander-in-Chief in jt-he Middle East, General Sir Archibald : Wavoll, who called on Mr. Fraser ! shortly after his arrival. This admira- ! tion is shared by all iri the Middle East. | Everybody whom Mr. Fraser has met has voiced praise and appreciation for the deeds of valour performed by the New Zealanders, .Maori and pakeha. Mr. Fraser called on Sir Ahmed Has- ' sanein Pasha, chamberlain to King Farouk, at the Abdin Palace. Met by Ambassador [ Mr. Fraser landed in Cairo on a cool sunny afternoon which followed one of i the city's worst heat waves, in which : the thermometer touched 120 degrees ■in tin* shade. Tie was met by the British (Ambassador, Sir Miles Lampson, Air ; Vice-Marshal A. W. Tedder, second in .command to Air Marshal Sir Arthur Longniore. Brigadier N. S. 1' alia. Colonel \Y. (L Stevens, officer in charge id administration,. N.Z.E.I*.. Colonel Conway, adjutant-general, N.Z.E.F.. and Colonel I''. Waite, New Zealand National Patriotic Fund Commissioner. Spending several days in the world's 1 hottest regions did not appear to have sapped his vitality, and Mr. Eraser was lit and well. After shaking hands with Sir .Miles Lampson, and before meeting ' other members of the reception committee;. Mr. Fraser shook hands with the crew of his aeroplane. He is staying I at the British Embassy, on the banks of ; the Nile, as the guest of the AmI bassador. j A full programme has been mapped j out and Mr. Fraser is having a busy | time. In order to see as much as posjsible of the New Zealand troops, he will visit nearly every camp, hospital, convalescent depot and club at which New Zealanders are likely to be found. Departure from Auckland Leaving Auckland on May 3 in a Tasman flying-boat, Mr. Fraser was farewelled by a small group which included the Mayor of Auckland, Sir Ernest Davis, Mr. A. S. Richards, M.P., Mrs. Fraser and Mrs. Berendsen and Mrs. Jefl'ery, wives~of members of his staff. On arriving at Rose Bay, Sydney, he was met by the acting-Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. Fadden; the deputy leader of the Commonwealth Labour Party. Mr. Forde, representing the leader, Mr. Curtin; Sir H. Manion. rej present ing the New South Wales Government; and by Messrs. Taylor and Malcolm, New Zealand Government trade representatives in Australia. Mr. Fraser attended a meeting of the Australian War Cabinet in Sydney and ! took part in important discussions. He I also had an interchange of views on I munitions supply, shipping and overseas and inter-Dominion trade with Sir Earle Page and Senator Mcßride. At an official luncheon he met Mr. j Spender, Senator Foil, Sir Frederick Stewart, Dr. Evatt and Mr. Beasley—members of the War Cabinet —and Mr. Forgan Smith, Premier of Queensland. Visit to Singapore ! On May 6 Mr. Forgan Smith flew to I Brisbane with Mr. Fraser in a Qantas Empire Airways flying-boat. At Darwin ■Mr. Fraser was met by the Administrator, Mr. I/. Abbott, with whom he inspected the defences. "I was deeply impressed by the strengthening of Darwin's defences since my last visit in December, 1939," Mr. Fraser told a war correspondent. I At Surabaya Mr. Fraser met Dr. van j KlefFens and Mr. Welter, touring Netherlands Ministers, and had a long j discussion with them. After flying to i Batavia, lie was the guest of the I Governor-General of the Netherlands i East Indies, Jonklieer Dr. A. W. L. ITjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer. Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert BrookejPopham, British Commander-in-Chief in | the Far East, was Mr. Fraser's host at ! Singapore, where the Prime Minister I mostly was occupied with an inspection ! of the naval base, flying fields and land defences that make Singapore Britain's | main Pacific bulwark. Mr. Eraser dis- | cussed defence with Sir Robert and with Admiral Lavton. Flight Across India In Bangkok, ancient Thai capital, j Mr. Fraser stayed a night with the British Minister, Sir .Tosiah Crosby. In j Calcutta he was a guest at Government [House. Mr. F. R. Picot. New Zealand | representative on the Eastern Group | Supply Council, met Mr. Fraser at j Calcutta and accompanied liini to | Gwnlior. Problems of supply and other I matters concerning the war effort in the I Far Eastern and South Pacific zones I were discussed while Mr. Fraser was at | Karachi, where he was entertained by i the Governor of Sind, Sir Hugh Dow. ! Mr. F raser was advised from London | that in view of the Irak situation it j would be advisable to proceed to Cairo by the Bombay and Aden sea route, and | arrangements bad been made accordingly, but, owing to his anxiety to see the New Zealand soldiers in the Middle i East and to ascertain for himself at the earliest possible moment the definite casualty figures in the Greek campaign, he decided to adhere to the previous itinerary arranged. Aircraft Shelled Through tho co-operation of the Viceroy of India, Lord Linlithgow, Sir Miles Lampson and the Middle East Command, Mr. Eraser travelled by living-boat to Basra, the Irak port on the Persian Gulf. Shortly after leaving Basra tho Royal Air Force aeroplane by which ho was travelling was ineffectively shelled by anti-aircraft liro from a small section of the insurgent forces of Rasliid Ali. Mr. Eraser is accompanied by members of his own staff, Messrs. Berendsen and Jefl'ery.