SWIFT PROGRESS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24450, 8 November 1940, Page 3

SWIFT PROGRESS

AUSTRALIA'S WAR EFFORT INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION How Australia has been changed in a few months from a peaceful industrial country into a modern arsenal wasrelated to members. of the Dunedin Rotary Club at their weekly luncrieon yesterday by Mr C. E. Critchley, Australian Trade Commissioner in New Zealand. Mr Critchley described his country's war effort with what he called "the characteristic modesty of an Australian," and placed some facts and figures before his audience, particularly concerning the production of war materials, that are by no means generally known. When war broke out Australia decided to raise one division for service overseas, Mr Critchley said, but as the war progressed it became evident that one division was not enough, and now Australia was forming an army corps of four divisions, almost equal to the strength of her force ir. the last war. In addition to those who had already gone away, there were 80,000 men in camp waiting to be sent overseas, and in the meantime -recruiting had been stopped. The Commonwealth had to look after its own defence ' too, and the aim was to have .some 250,000 men under arms in Australia all the time for that purpose. These* men ; would receive three months' training in camp. Since the scheme was inaugurated in January of this year, some 70,000 men had completed their training and another 60.000 were now in camp. Training of Airmen "In the air we have already sent squadrons to England, the Middle East, and to British Malaya," Mr Critchley said, "while the Royal Australian Air Force itself, ciiarged with the defence of the Commonwealth, is now probably equal in strength to what the Royal Air Force was about two years before the war. Since the war broke out it has already flown some 2,000,000 miles in ocean reconnaissance and the convoying of troopships. Most important of all, however is our contribution to the Empire air scheme, which is to reach in three years' time 30,000 pilots and 27,000 ground staff. Already we have accepted 40,000 men for this scheme out of 150,000 offering. There are now 50 air schools, and the training facilities are being expanded as quickly as possible. "We also have our own flourishing aircraft industry, which, when in full swing, will be one of the biggest in the Commonwealth with an investment of £20,000,000," Mr Critchley added. "The principal machine we are turning out just now is the Wirraway,. which is being built in Melbourne in a factory, situated on a spot which two years ago was a sandy waste. A month ago the factory produced "ts hundredth plane, and is probably one of the most up to date establishments of its kind in the world. In addition to the Wirraway, which is a trainer fighter suitable to Australia's needs, we are turning out 75 Tiger Moths a month. The Gipsy engines with which these trainers are powered, are being produced elsewhere." Important Aircraft Industry Early next year the aircraft industry in Australia would undertake a new and extremely important task in the manufacture of the modern Beaufort bomber, Mr Critchley continued, and it was hoped to build 200 of those machines next year. Thousands of 'drawings were necessary to work on in producing that plane, and 12,000 men would be required for the building of that one type. To give an idea of the size of the Australian aircraft industry when it reached full development, it was only necessary to state that it would be a bigger undertaking than the Broken Hill steel concern. Since the outbreak of war the personnel of the Royal Australian Navy had been, doubled, Mr Critchley said. There were now some 12 additional ships in Commonwealth waters, while there were also in service five merchant and , thirty auxiliary cruisers. One hundred and fifty merchantmen had been armed. In addition. Australia was building patrol, anti-submarine and other vessels., 'ooth for Britain and her own needs, and was constructing a dock in Sydney which, when completed, possibly in two or three years' time, would make Sydney nearly as.strong a naval base as Singapore Production of Munitions "Possibly our most important war effort, however, is the production of munitions," Mr Critchley declared, "because the industrial strength of the Empire is the oower we are depending on to win the war for us. In the past few years Australia . has made remarkable progress industrially, and we can manufacture there almost any article we use to-day. We are not only producing munitions for our own needs, but are also supplying them to New Zealand, to Empire countries in the East, and to Britain herself. "We are making almost everything used in modern mechanised warfare, including the new 25-pounder field guns, rifles, Bren gun carriers and many other things, while we will shortly be turning out Bren guns, which are of extremely complicated manufacture. Australia has the biggest steel industry in the Empire a o ™ J" the past 12 months has sent 250.000 tons of iron and steel to Britain. Outlining the cost to Australia of this tremendous activity, Mr Critchley said that this year the Government expected to spend £172,000,000, which amounted to £25 per head of population, while the estimate for four years was £454.000,000. It would mean very high taxation, as well as loans, internal and external. "Itis a heavy burden he concluded, " but we are £ to face financial ruin rather than national calamity."