AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23637, 22 October 1938, Page 13

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

DEFENCE PREPARATIONS DETAILED BY MINISTER CANBERRA, Oct. 21. Mr H. V. Thorby in Parliament, detailing the defence preparations that were made in Australia during the recent crisis, revealed that the Commonwealth had made extensive plans to face war, and armed forces had been prepared for mobilisation. The defenc° preparations showed that it was a serious weakness to have the headquarters of the Defence Department in Melbourne, and these would be transferred to Canberra. Five hundred cottages would have to be constructed in Canoerra to house members of the staff and their families. The Attornev-general (Mr R. G. Menzies), referring to Mr Forgan Smith’s charges about a dummy company, ’ said :he cix mstances were known last March. After considering the whole of the information the Government had no evidence of any breach of the law '->aving occurred, and it was satisfied that no fuither iction was called for at present.

A FALL OF EARTH

REMARKABLE ESCAPES

SYDNEY, Oct. 21 (Received Oct. 22. at 1 a.m.)

Twelve men were buried beneath three tons of timber and 100 tons of earth at an excavation for residential flats at Bellevue Hill, a suburb, to-day. All had remarkable escapes from death, but three were taken to hosoital with severe lacerations and suffering from shock. The men were working above and below a timber staging when the earth collapsed and overwhelmed the whole gang, carrying the staging to the base of the excavation. The men were able to keep their heads and shoulders outside the debris and finally extricate thmeslves.