LABOUR FOR MINES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26749, 19 April 1948, Page 4

LABOUR FOR MINES

NEW INDUCEMENT ERECTION OF HOSTELS HIGH CLASS ACCOMMODATION P.A. GREYMOUTH, Apl. 18.' The first of a number of Government hostels being constructed in the mining areas in ah effort to attract labour to the mines, the new Reefton hostel, which, with equipment and furnishings, cost over £45,000, was opened on Saturday afternoon by the Minister of Mines, Mr McLagan. The new hostel will accommodate 52 men, with a staff of seven, and it includes several groups of hutments, with dining, sitting and writing rooms and a manager's flat in the main building. In opening the hostel, Mr McLagan announced that hostels to accommodate a total of nearly 200 men would be completed this year at Huntly, Ohai and Bennydale. In addition, a building formerly used by the directors of the Westport Coal Company at Granity would be used as the central building for a hostel there to accommodate 50 men. The, possibilities of Denniston. Blackball, Runanga and Greymouth were also being investigated. “We aim to provide the highest possible standard of accommodation,” said the Minister, “and this building has accommodation never previously given to working men in this country. When the grounds are laid out, this will be an institution of which Reefton can be proud. We expect the residents themselves to show that they are worthy of the accommodation provided for them,” he added. To date, 79 miners from the Old Country had come to New Zealand, and of these, 20 were in Reefton. The hostels, however, would not be exclusively for those engaged in mining. They were to be available to local residents as well. “This hostel is a tangible proof of the Government’s appreciation of the mining industry and recognition of the very important part the miner plays in New Zealand’s economy,” said Mr McLagan. “It will be welcomed by the miners, and will ensure that coal production is maintained at a high level.”