NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24855, 3 March 1942, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

\X7TTH the resumption of the University year, a new ambulance unit has been formed in Dunedin to replace the 16th Field Ambulance, which was previously made up of medical students. The new unit is the 3rd Field Ambulance, and its pei-sonnel consists of specially selected territorials to replace the medical students who have been permitted to return to their studies. The headquarters of the new ambulance will be at Logan Park. Reduced Building Construction An indication of the reduced amount of building that is being carried out in Dunedin is given' in the returns for last month. The total value of the permits issued, involving both construction and alterations, was £11,675, as compared with £43,790 for the corresponding period last year. Missionaries Safe A further cablegram (says the Outlook) has been received at the Missions Office from Macao giving the welcome news that the New Zealand missionaries in Hongkong are safe. This news, in addition to that received in an earlier cablegram t%t the Canton and Kong Chuen workcrs'are also safe, is very cheering, the, Outlook adds, and gives grounds for deep thankfulness. Women Fire-watchers With their starts greatly depleted by men being called up for service in the armed forces, many business firms in Auckland are finding great difficulty in obtaining sufficient men to act as firewatchers. Part of the difficulty is being overcome, however, by women volunteering for fire-watching duties. The teaching staff of a commercial college, composed entirely of women, has commenced fire-watching duties. Japanese Propaganda Leaflet One of the propaganda leaflets dropped by Japanese aircraft over Singapore in an attempt to upset the morale of the defending European troops has been , sent to his parents at Lyttelton by Leading Aircraftman R. F. Wilson, of the New Zealand Aerodrome Construction Unit. The leaflet shows a weeping child, and carries the caption: “Daddy! Come home quickly. Mummy and I are very lonely without you.” Army Greatcoats When winter comes some of the childless married men drawn in the recent ballot will (states the Auckland Star) be the envy of many who donned khaki at an earlier date. A proportion of them have been issued with the latest style of army greatcoat. It is a stylishly cut garment, double-breasted, with flapped pockets cut on the slant. Tru- coat resembles somewhat the British “ warm ” in which later drafts of returned soldiers in 1917 and 1918 came back frorry England. Wintry Conditions The heavy rain showers and cold southerly-wind which swept Dunedin yesterday were 1 not confined to the coastal districts, fdr similar conditions prevailed in Central Otago. In most districts, there was a good sprinkling of snow on the higher levels, and on Mount Pisa at Cromwell the coating was further down than is usual at this time of the year. On the flat there were cold showers during the day, but there seemed little likelihood of the snow coming down as far as the foothills Night Medical Service The night emergency service arranged by the Auckland division of the British Medical Association was inaugurated at 10 o’clock on Sunday night. The service is to cover practically the whole of the metropolitan area. Two doctors are to be on duty each night, and all calls for their services are required to be made by telephone to St. John Ambulance headquarters. Complete arrangements have been made under the scheme for the patients to receive treatment similar to that which they would ordinarily obtain from their own medical attendants. „ Beer for Nurses The days, very long ago, when a pint of beer a day was issued to each purse on the staff of the Christchurch Public Hospital, were recalled at a recent meeting of the North Canterbury Hospital Board. The board was discussing a historical survey of the hospital, which had been prepared by Miss W. R. Norris. High praise was expressed for the history, which members said was an excellent permanent record of the earliest days of the institution. An interesting feature of the early days, said Mr J. K. Archer, M.L.C., was that nurses on the staff were required “to be able to read and write,” which compared interestingly with the present educational qualifications. Motor Vehicle* in Australia Of the 585,888 motor cars registered in Australia at December 31, %940, at least 72,000 were delicensed and put out of Commission by the end of 1941, says the Dunlop Bulletin. War conditions, and to a slight obsolescence, accounted for ‘ one car in every eight registered in Australia at the end of 1940 being taken out of service by the end of 1941. That loss was partially made up by 12,000 new cars being sold in the Commonwealth during the last year. The falling off in registrations of commercial motor vehicles throughout the Commonwealth during 1941 was far less serious as only 7524 trucks, vans, etc., were delicensed. Actually the net loss was 2659 units, as 5865 new commercial vehicles were bought and pul into service last year.

Malta’s Brave People “Leaving Malta caused me no regrets, but, while there, I saw the war and met many brave men—so brave that I could hardly believe there was so much courage,” wrote a Nelson airman now in Britain in a letter to his father. “ The people of Malta live with the past: their knights and grand masters of 150 years ago are still with them. Malta. is hilly, and the original steps over which the knights of old walked in their armour are still to be seen. At a small place called Rabad is situated the largest cathedral in Europe. It is an amazing place, and one could spend days looking at the paintings, which are the work of great artists. The cathedral has, also one of the oldest Bibles and hundreds of documents relating to times as far back as the first century.”

Official War Correspondent “ The people of New Zealand may well be proud of the splendid reputation which the men of the New Zealand Division have won for themselves in the Middle East,” said Mr R. T. Miller, official war correspondent with the Expeditionary Force, who has been invalided home from Egypt. He is temporarily unfit for duty, and will undergo further treatment in New Zealand. The fighting qualities of the New Zealanders were demonstrated in Greece, substantiated by their actions in Crete and proved beyond question in the recent Libyan battles, said MiMiller. “ Some wonderful tributes have been paid to our men by authorities in the Middle East,” he added. The New Zealanders had played an important part in the fighting at Sidi Rezegh, which he considered was probably the most crucial battle in the Libyan campaign. Allies’ Merchant Shipping

Reports received from London by the Associated Chambers of Commerce of New Zealand state that merchant shipping in the service of the Allies in Britain for September, 1941 —the latest date for which comprehensive figures are available—comprised 1524 vessels of 500 tons gross tonnage and above, totalling about 6,750.000 tons, gross tonnage. In addition, 95 vessels of 311,000 gross tons, formerly under the Danish flag, were also at that date in the service of the Allied- cause, besides a small number of vessels from Estonia and Latvia, now sailing under the British flag, many of them being manned by crews of these nationalities. Allied merchant ships are, in general, manned by Allied seamen. Together with neutral seamen, who have volunteered for service, they bring the total number of Allied and friendly seamen serving the'-Allied cause, to well over 40,000,