PROVINCIAL SECTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24739, 16 October 1941, Page 5

PROVINCIAL SECTION

Ike oamaru district

emelgency trial WEAKNESSES DISCUSSED COMPETENT PERSONNEL ANOTHER TRIAL IN DECEMBER A meeting of controllers of the Emergency Precautions organisation was held on Tuesday night to discuss the recent emergency trial in Oamaru, and to brine forward proposals for remedying the weaknesses which were disclosed In the trial. There were present the Mayor (Mr J. C. Klrkness) in the chair, Messrs J. Branthwaite, A. Wilson. R. K. Gardiner. I. Dalmer. J. B. Purcell, A. R. Talt, J. H. GrenfeU. A. Whyte, L. J. K. Familton. Inspector Colville, Superintendent T. Herron, Senior Sergeant T. 1. McGregor. Major M. H. R. Jones, and Dr R. S.J. Fitxgerald. The Mayor thanked the controllers for attending the meeting, saying he thought It wise to have a round-table talk on the recent trial. From his observations, he said; he was satisfied they had an excellent personnel in the organisation, and with a little more co-ordination between thfe, units they would have an organisation 4 which would cope with an epidemic or a moderate catastrophe quite satisfactorily. 'For these purposes it would function 100 per cent. In the case of an enemv attack, such as they had tried to imagine at the trial, however, it was a different matter, and everyone had felt • little at sea when the alarm went. The moat serious criticism was that there wait a 'Slack of co-ordination between the 1 Headquarters Removed Headquarters in the Centennial Buildings, Mr Kirkness said, were not suitable. as* was impossible to do anything satisfactory in a big room where there were no telephones, and he suggested that at least for a try-out. head quarters should be .removed to the Town Hall, in the council office room, where the necessary telephones could be linked up. Mr J. BrfiTthwaite. whose office would also be used, would. be ,-his right-hand man in 1 thafcase of a disaster. Mr Branthwaitean* Inspector ColvtUe. who organised the trill, deserved great credit, and also those who helped. - Headauarters would have to b« reorganised. In the case of trouble they would need a fairly competent stall of stenographers and runners. . Continuing. Mr Kirkness said the first messag*was received at 2.10 p.m., showof emergency, existed. Trylrthl-raf afte of the weak points, and MrOiMr and Superintendent T. HerrelKkWoufil 'devlaei something that would ba satisfactory- It might cost a little money, but that could not be helped because it was necessary that they should have a satisfactory alarm system. Atmospheric conditions on the day of the trial we*e j»uch that the smoke at the fires did noirlaa or show up to the best advantage. Tlßraejci weakness was that they did not

have a liaison officer for all units, and it was essential to have someone for every department at headquarters, so that they could deal with the runners. There was an unnecessary delay and he did not hold himself blameless in this respect. There were too many details instead of essentials, and there was too much delay in getting the runners away. There was delay in the reporting of casualties, until he himself rang the medical section informing it that there were casualties to be attended to. .;..»... Despatch Riders The medical section, Mr Kirkness said, commandeered a despatch rider on a motor cycle, and.the organisation should fry to get despatch riders, who were quicker than runners. The transport arrangements were very good. The work of the Fire Brigade was good, and he accepted the fault for not notifying the brigade. Some lorries drove through bomb craters, but they should have used their Imagination, as the object had been to make the trial as realistic as possible. The Mayor added that he appreciated the co-operation of the controllers, National Reserve and Home Guard, and said that generally the trial was a decided success, in that it showed the weaktIGSSCS. Colours for Different Units

Mr J. B. Purcell recalled a case in traffic control at a corner, where there might have been an accident through people in different units giving different signals to a motorist. There should be an indication on the armlet to show the unit to which the person belonged. Mr R. K. Gardiner pointed out that there were coloured armlets in the original scheme, and Mr A. R. Talt said the colour scheme was abandoned when the E.P.S. was started. Messrs Purcell and Tait were' authorised to go into the matter and report at the next meeting. Works Department

Mr A. Wilson * reported that, all the works lorries had been placarded .to show the units to which they belonged. He did not think there was a delay in getting out the messages. The siren itounded at 2.10 p.m.. and the first message went out at 2.30 p.m., the second at 2,31 p.m., the third at 2.34 p.m., the fourth at 2.35 p.m.. and the fifth at 2.40 p.m.v ■'■■'.''.. Mr Talt supported the Mayor's .remarks, submitting there was too much detail. It would be wise to *end out a general squad to/ report damage- and casualties.The Mayor suggested there should be liaison officers at headquarters, and that the controllers should remain with their units, so that they could give orders on the Spot. Mr Dalmer said they must have competent men in charge of squads, so that in case of disaster every man would do what he could at once. Mr Kirkness: In future, it would be wise to send an ambulance squad to any disaster right away. There was always a humorous side to things. When the ambulance sent to Victoria Home returned it was reported that the inmates of the home had been evacuated to Maheno half an hour ago. , The medical section should not do that without notifying headquarters. ■-:■•■•■'■;:■

Mr Talt: They sent.for supplies after Victoria Home had been blown up. The Mayor said the controllers and men put their best foot forward, and were on the . job. Mr Dalmer*s men did good work, and he congratulated Superintendent Herron on the auxiliary firemen, who looked very smart. Superintendent Herron: The trouble was they did not have enough to do, and they were rather keen on it. ' Longer Alarm' Period

The Mayor said there should be a longer period In the next try-out, and more points of damage. He thanked Inr spector Colville for the valuable suggestion of appointing observation or patrol wardens in various parts of the town to report damage and casualties. • Major Jones said wherever there was a nerve centre there was a congregation of

cars. There should be no congregation of. cars or men. There should be strong guards on headquarters and dressing stations, which must be guarded against possible Fifth Columnists. To-day orders were issued verbally, and later confirmed in writing. Th'e trial was an exercise In itself, and required a lot of practice to attain efficiency. All controllers should have a code name which would make it shorter and much more accurate in getting messages. Mr Gardiner reported that Inspector Simmons stressed that the public must obey the signals of the traffic officers. An effective alarm was required. Superintendent. Herron said the fire bell was capable of carrying to Weston, but the proper place for a siren was on top of the Post Office or Town Hall. The matter was left to Mr Dalmer and Superintendent Herron. More men Required *

During further discussion it was agreed that many more men were required to act as observation wardens and messengers and special constables. Mr Kirkness said that some of the boys who acted as messengers were very youns. and asked if it was fair to keep them on that duty.

Dr Fitzgerald said he thought that was absolutely wrong. They could not have children running about if the town was bombed or shelled.

It was agreed to hold another trial on a Saturday afternoon in December, and the question of removing headquarters to the Town Hall or back to the Gardens was also discussed. Public Patriotic Rally The Mayor said a public patriotic rally for recruits for* the- National Reserve, ,the Home Guard, and E.P.S. would do a lot of good. Mr Gardiner said the first thing was to convince the public of the necessity for the organisation. ' Major- Jones supported the suggestion of a rally, stating.- the 'National Reserve was three men short, but was losing men all the time through their going into camp. It was decided to hold the rally in the near future and to invite Colonel Lascelles (Christchurch-) to be the speaker at the function... ." . ■ , ■ PIG INDUSTRY WAITAKI BOYS* HIGH SCHOOL VISIT OF SUPERINTENDENT On Tuesday the Waitaki Boys'; High School was visited by the superintendent of the pig industry for New Zealand, Mr M. J. Scott,- who was accompanied by Messrs.R. Denize and N. Macdonald, inspector and supervisor respectively of the Otago and Southland Pig Council, and Mr W, Hamilton, chairman of the North Otago Council: The visitors were present at morning assembly, where the rector, Mr M lln * r » welcomed .them, and expressed great • admiration for the work done by the departmental experts in raising, the standard of primary production in New Zealand. Mr Milner said that the boys who had chosen farming for their life wo.rk were to be congratulated, as not only would they be serving New Zealand, but also the Empire. Later, the boys of the agricultural classes were addressed by Mr Scott and Mr Denize., Mr Scott spoke of pig keeping in the past and explained the various factors which had helped to change the attitude of the farmers towards this very important branch of the livestock industry. Feeding practcie, he said, had been. greatly . improved by the introduction of meat'rmeal, while price stability assured steady returns. Mr Scott made no extravagant claims as to " easy money" from pigs. Pig keepings, he said, like any other branch of farming, necessitated much hard work; but properly housed and rationally fed, pigs offered as good returns for money invested as any other class of livestock; Mr R. Denize gave a talk on pig keeping, illustrating his remarks with a fine set of screen pictures, many of which were taken in New Zealand. He showed typical examples of the more important breeds, pointing out the essentials in conformation of good bacon pigs. , From the breeds he passed on to the housing and equipment, showing various types of pig houses which found favour in New Zealand and other countries. As a contrast to these model lay-outs Mr Denize then showed some of the undesirable ways of keeping pigs and pointed out how, under such conditions, pigs could not be healthy or profitable. Finally, he showed some pictures of the great Smithfield Market in London, to which New Zealand's exports of bacon and pork eventually go for distribution to butchers in Eneland. . .. The agriculture master expressed the thanks of the boys for the visit and for the interesting talks. UTTLE THEATRE M:iETY FINAL READING OF SEASON The plav presented at the. final reading for the season of the Little Theatre Society was " Indoor Fireworks," by Charles Macrae. There was a large attendance at the Peter Pan Theatre for the occasion. The play was a splendid comedy, and the cast fully appreciated the finer points and overcame anv difficulties admirably. Thoss who took part were Mrs K. C. McDonald, Mrs F. A. Crimp. Miss R. Woodgate,, Miss S. Lane. Miss Gillies, Miss D.. Williams, Mr G. Bulleid. Dr H. Scotter, Mrs D. Copland, and Mr D. V. G. Smith. The producer was Mrs V. Sutherland. The reading was thoroughly enjoyed by readers and audience alike. SHIPPING ACTIVITIES PORT OF OAMARU High Water.—October 16: 11.32 a.m. and 11.59 p.m. ■'.. Coastal Movements The Wainui will load on Friday morning for Wellington, Napier, and Glsborne, via ports. . _ . . The Waipahi is due an Tuesday, October 21.'t0 load for Wellington, Nelson, and New Plymouth, via ports. The Waipiata is due about November 3 to load for Wellington and Auckland, via Timaru and Lyttelton. ITEMS OF INTEREST IN AND ABOUT TOWN Civil Claim.—Judgment by default wau given for the plaintiff In the civil claim, Joseph Johnston v. T. E. Goodall, £5 7s 5d and costs (£1 10s 6d), heard before Mr H. W. Bundle, S.M.; at the Oamaru Magistrate's Court yesterday morning. AMUSEMENTS Majestic Theatre.—" Sailors Three," a well-recommended' comedy, with Tommy Trinder. Claude Hulbert, Michael Wilding, and Clara Lehman, will be shown finally to-night. For the change to-mor-row. George Formby will appear In Call a Cop." , ~ Opera House.—Damon Runyon s wellknown story, •'' Tight «Shoes," an action comedy, with the mystery drama Ellery Queen, Master Detective," will be shown finally to-night. PERSONAL Visitors to the Town Queen's Hotel.—Mr C. J. Taylor (Palmerston North). Mr J. B. Thorp, Mr J. C. Scath (Wellington), Mr E. Parnell, Mr P. J. O'Brien (Christchurch), Mr S. G. Bridges. Mr J. Ewing, Mr C. J. Walsh (Timaru), Mr W. F. Crum, Mr E. J. Lee. Mr H. Macdonald. Mr H. R. Denzle, Mr W. E. Collins, Mr M. R. Jenkins, Mr B. G Ussher. Mr J. Wilson, Mr T. D. McKenzie, Mr W. Gunnyoh. Mr J. McNeilly, Mr W. Johnston, Mr E- A. Patterson (Dunedin).

PATHFINDERS' CLUB GYMNASTIC DEMONSTRATION The Pathfinders' Club recently concluded Its 1941 season. Pastor James Crawford (president) occupying the chair. There was a good attendance of parents and friends, and the members gave an excellent programme of physical culture and gymnastic items. Musical and elocutionary numbers were contributed by Misses Wilson. Henderson, Hill, Cayford, Mrs Hosking and Master Stevens. Mr F. Robertson (secretary) presented the annual report, and Mrs Crawford presented the trophies and badges. The following gained places in the annual competitions: —Sandow: Juniors A—l. Wright 1. D. Crawford and G. Wilson (equal) 2. E. Gilchrist 4; B—H. Stevens 1. G. Hosking 2, W. Duncan 3; Seniors —F. Robertson and R. Blackgrove (equal) 1. Gymnastics: Juniors A—E. Gilchrist 1. R. Tonkin 2, G. Wilson and D. Crawford (equal) 3; B—J. Hicks 1, L. Hicks 2, I. Wright 3. Sandow Shield: W. Barsdell. Wilson Bros.' Shield-. E. Gilchrist. Most progressive junior cup: D. Crawford. Barsdell Memorial Cup Mr Crawford referred to the death of Mr A. A. Barsdell. who had been a good friend of the club for 30 years, acting as judge and counsellor in connection with the Sandow section during those years. Those present stood in silence as a mark of respect to Mr Barsdell's memory. Mr W. ißarsdell presented a cup to the club, to be known as the A. A. Barsdell Memorial Cup. which will be awarded from time to time to members showing greatest qualifications for leadership. Another cup, to be known as the James Shirkey Memorial Cup, was displayed, and will ba presented to the club next year for award to members from time to time for discipline. Reference was also made to past members serving with the forces overseas.