WAR TRANSPORT

New Zealand Herald, Volume 80, Issue 24675, 30 August 1943, Page 2

WAR TRANSPORT

BRITISH OFFICIAL VISIT TO THE DOMINION A representative of the British Ministry of War Transport, Mr. W. D. Donaldson,, has arrived in New Zealand for conversations with the Ministry's New Zealand representative, Sir Alexander Roberts, of Wellington. Mr. Donaldson has been principal representative of the Ministry in West Africa and will shortly take up fresh duties elsewhere. Mr. Donaldson said yesterday that he -had been in Sydney on leave, and had taken the opportunity to come to New Zealand, because it was only rarely that chances occurred for direct contact between representatives of the Ministry. There was no special subject for conversation with Sir Alexander Roberts, but it had been found that an exhange of experiences between representatives of the Ministry was of value. SUPPLIES OF BEEF LOCAL MARKET RELIEF ACTION BY GOVERNMENT There has been no noticeable diminution of the demand for beef since the master butchers of Auckland drew public attention to the acute shortage of fat cattle in the country, but the position has been eased, as far as the local retail market is concerned, by the release of 1500 quarters of chilled beef for civilian consumption. Several factors have contributed to the prevailing paucity of beef supplies, these being the long, dry season, the shortage of farm labour, overseas requirements and the demands of some service organisations for beef and pork to the exclusion of mutton. High prices are ruling for all butcher's meat, but fat cattle will not come forward in any quantity until the spring grass is available. Normal killings of beef at the city abattoirs are approximately 400 head a week, so that the quantity made available by the Government is almost one week's supply and it will materially ease the situation for the time being. SHARE IN SUCCESS CREDIT TO GROUND STAFF FLYING FROM GUADALCANAR (Official Correspondent) GUADALCANAR A generous share of the credit for enemy aircraft destroyed, enemy shipping shadowed, and reported upon by New Zealand fighter and bomber units operating from Guadalcanar, belongs to | the ground staff, men of a dozen technical trades, who keep the Dominion's Warhawks and Hiidsons ready for the air. Pilots and air crews' generally are the first to concede their complete dependence upon the unsung and usually grimy individuals who groom their aircraft for war. Individual airmen are trained to a complete knowledge of separate components, and a whole team of specialists is required to keep a Warhawk or a Hudson airworthy. It is a striking tribute to the ground staff that mechanical failures are a rarity, that Hudson crews begin 600mile patrols with confidence, and that Warhawks that have been badly shot up are flown home to be repaired and to fight again. The work of the ground staff is unending. A Warhawk brought in to a pancake landing in an emergency can sometimes be back in the air within two days. And when an aircraft is returned for flying it is as good as j new. No shoddy work goes into the i Dominion's fighters or bombers; Tired men. in greasy overalls and j with hands and faces liberally smeared { with dust, gather in groups near, the : runway on "the Guadalcanar airfield. | waiting for their "kites" to come home, j When black specks appear against a ; cloud those with the keenest sight are I quick to count. When the Hudson stops rolling, a flight-sergeant is usually on hand to J meet the captain, to note any comments he may have on the aircraft's behaviour. On the fighter field the home-coming is more spectacular. Pilots who have had a victory dive low over the field, and as each Warhawk finishes its landing run the mechanic and rigger of the particular aircraft run toward it, climb on the wing and ride back to the crew room in triumph. Each knows that there belongs to him a share of that praise that the public, dazzled by glamour, reserves for the pilot alond.

LOCAL AND GENERA!

New Director's Post Applications are being called by the Public Service Department, Wellington, for the position of Director of Rehabilitation in Wellington. It is emphasised that those applying for the position must be returned servicemen and _musthave wide administrative experience. The director's salary will be £IOOO a year. Peaches 8s 6d Each An Auckland seaman recently returned from England saw peaches priced 8s 6d each in London shops. In one window a few of the peaches were displayed in a bed of cotton wool They were of only average size and quality. | Grapes were 30s a bunch. Few civilians j saw butter and even margarine was in I short supply, he said. ' Waterfront Vandalism i Branches have been torn from young ! pohutukawa trees lining the Devon port ; waterfront, slot telephones have been i put out of action and every pane of ! glass on the Stanley Bay jetty has been | broken in a new outbreak of vandalism j in the past few days. The wire guard--surrounding the trees were thrown into the harbour, but these have been recovered and replaced. Cheaper Milk Summer rates for the price of milk will come into force next Wednesday, according to a recent decision of the Auckland Metropolitan Milk Council. The prices which ruled for the summer months of last year will simply be renewed until they are otherwise varied or revoked, which means that there will be a reduction in the rates of 4(1 a gallon, or Id a quart. Prices for cream and ice cream will be similarly renewed. Control After War Concluding its report on the United Nations food conference held in America during May and June, the New Zealand delegation says the Dominion cannot ignore the fact that if it- favour.control after hostilities cease it is foi the most part accepting measures whicl in the immediate short run tended t-o restrain the prices of produce from rising. That was not argued to be contrary to New Zealand's real interest. "but if we are a party to restraining our prices from rising just after th< war. we can reasonably ask that as par! of the present undertaking we shall hi protected against disastrous price col lapses." Army Medical Service Details of medical units provided foi members of the New Zealand forces over the past year are .contained in the annual report on the New Zealand Military Forces by the General Officer Commanding. Lieutenant-General E. Puttick, C.8., D.S.O. A plastic surgical unit and an army optician service have been inaugurated, he says, and are now performing useful work. Two convalescent depots are functioning in New Zealand. In addition, the following units have been despatched to the Pacific area complete with equipment: A general hospital, base camp reception hospital, malaria control unit, field hygiene section, two field ambulances, two field surgical units, and a blood transfusion unit. Reception hospitals with necessary equipment and personnel have been provided in areas wherQ New • Zealand main tains sarcasm - -looses*