INTEND TO RETURN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26033, 22 December 1945, Page 8

INTEND TO RETURN

SAILORS' DECISION LIKING FOR NEW ZEALAND (Special) AUCKLAND, Dec. 20. An extraordinarily high opinion of New Zealand has been formed by the majority of the officers and ratings of H.M.S. Indefatigable and her destroyer escorts, Wizard and Urchin, who have now left Auckland for Australia. Many of them say they have decided to seek permanent employment in the Dominion after they have received their discharge from the navy. When the British Pacific Fleet was first assembled and sent north for operations against Sakishama Gunto, thousands of the officers and ratings spoke with amazement of the hospitality which had been lavished upon them in Australian ports, especially in Sydney. They longed to get back there. Now, however, scores of these same men are not so keen on Australia. They still express deep gratitude for the welcome they received there and envy the Australians some of the advantages which their vast and underpopulated country bestows upon them, but they are also decidedly critical of some of the more prominent aspects of life in the big cities. Australian “ Toughness ”

These sailors came to dislike what they call the “toughness” of Australian cities. Sydney, they, claim, is full of “rackets” and infested with people whose main object in life is to fleece the unwary visitor. “We did not like the greed,” said one sailor. “Australia is a beautiful country, but it is being spoiled by the people, who do not realise how lucky they are to live in a land where they can breathe fresh air, have plenty of leisure and easily reach places, where they can enjoy it. I came to think Australia was all horse racing, strikes and rackets.” From Sydney, the British ships came to Wellington, and that city gave them a wonderful reception. When the Indefatigable went to sea again for exercises off the Wellington coast, wardroom and mess decks alike were flatteringly complimentary of the hospitality received. First impressions of New Zealand were equally excellent, and many of the ratings decided after having seen only Wellington—or as much of Wellington as they could see in a week—that New Zealand was the one place in the world for them. As the strike in Australia gathered way and threatened to paralyse almost every normal activity, many of the sailors listened eagerly to a “ buzz,” or rumour, which spread through the ship that it was not going back to Sydney, but was to return to Wellington for Christmas.

Wellington was liked not only because it was clean and fresh, but also because so many of the sailors said, it did not appear tp them as being so “hard and tough” as Sydney. Life seemed to be more spacious than in Britain.- The air, as compared with that in many of the English cities from which numbers of them come, appeared to be clearer, and they decided that there was not the same fierce struggle to survive as in Britain. High Standard of Living

From Wellington the -ships went to the Marlborough Sounds, where houses are few and far between, and from there they came to Auckland by way of the east coast. Again they remarked on the thinly-spread signs of habitation, and, although the rugged and often barren nature of the coast surprised them, they continued to find confirmation of their first impressions, the chief one being that here was a country with plenty of room for a man willing to work hard and keen to enjoy sunshine and fresh air when he was not working. Another impression the sailors formed is of the bounty of New Zealand living. Almost every man among them sought to buy food to send home to his relatives. All have been surprised at the absence of queues, in front of food shops and the comparative freedom of movement in the bars. They have formed other opinions. Some are not flattering. But the good far outnumber the bad, and as a result it will not be surprising if many of them find their way back to this country to live.