MATARAE CAMP.

Otago Witness, Issue 3808, 8 March 1927, Page 28

MATARAE CAMP.

FIRST BATTALION UNDER CANVAS. USEFUL WORK ACCOMPLISHED. Over ' 1000 men'returned to everyday life on Friday after spending a week, and in some cases 10 days, under canvas at Matarae in the camp of the Ist Battalion Otago Regiment. It was a great camp in every sense of the word, and not one ef the men who participated in its pleasures and its hardships is likely to forget it. ft was the largest camp held in the South Island since the war, and it re<|>iired skilled control. A small mistake might have had serious consequences, but under the command of Colonel H. E. Barrowclough, D. 5.0., M.C., with Major A. S. Falconer. D. 5.0., M.C., as his right hand man, and Major P. Mackenzie as quartermaster, the camp was carried through almost without a hitch and with benefit to the men individually and to the regiment as a whole. On Monday, February 21, C Company, which consists mainly of students and school teachers, went into camp, and on Thursday the main party followed. Only a few Technical College night class students remained when the camp broke up on Thursday. They returned to Dunedin on Saturday. Only nine of the men in the camp were not members of the battalion. Of these seven were cooks, one was in charge of the camp sanitation, and one in charge of the horses. The visitors to the camp included General Young, Colonel-comman-dant Gardiner, Colonel Hargest, Colonel M‘Ara, Major Bell, and Captain Hunt. > Each morning the men rose at 5.30, and after washing in the cold waters of the Taieri returned for mess parade. Before the work of the day began the camp was left clean and orderly. The men were brought back from their training grounds at 11.30. Work began again at 1 o’clock, and at 4.30 the men were free until "lights out” at 10.15.

. In the evenings entertainment was provided by the Y.M.C.A., which had a marquee where the men could read and write. Concerts and moving pictures were provided, and Dr Merrington, one of the chaplains, delivered a lecture. THE FOOD AND MEALS. When the amount of work every housewife has in providing and preparing meals is considered the difficulties experienced in feeding over 1000 men can be appreciated. Meals for the men were prepared in a large cookhouse, with open fires outside, by six cooks, mostly ex-army men, and • number of men from the ranks. The ichemc employed in distributing the food

was exactly the same as that used last year. Mess orderlies paraded from each tent, and, as they passed through the cookhouse, the rations were handed to thenj °n trays. If the meals reached the tents cold the fault lay mostly in the hands of the men, but in a day or two they became so used to the scheme that the food was handed out in a matter of minutes. Officers and sergeants were given a special meal allowance, as is the usual custom, with the result that the food they received was of a much better class than that on which the men fared. There were over 50 mouths to feed in the officers’ mess and 63 in the sergeants’ mess. In the officers’ mess were 10 orderlies and in the sergeants seven, the whole of the food being cooked by one experienced cook and four men from the ranks. So efficient did the men become in their work that not one meal for either officers or men was late. The food the men were given was quite satisfactory when the circumstances under which It was prepared are considered. Had the cookhouse been of a more permanent nature better results would have been obtained. Some of the dust off the ground found its way into the dixies and trays in which the rations were served, and the “hair” off the blankets had a nasty habit of settling on the butter, but this was a matter that did not cause great concern. The men realised that they were in camp and that as soldiers they could not expect the best of food. The inconvenient circumstances under which they dined were regarded as a matter for jest rather than for ' -mplaint. Water for drinking purposes and for washing up was pumped from the Sutton Creek into tanks. The importance of the water supply was made very apparent one night when the pump broke down, and hardly a bucketful remained in the camp. A willing band of volunteers left a concert at the Y.M.C.A. tent and carried suffi; cient water from the river to last the cooks until the next morning, when Major Mackenzie had the pump in working order again.

A STORMY MORNING. Weather conditions at Matarae are ideal for a camp. The days are usully cloudless and hot, but on Sunday morning the campers struck one of the storms that occasionally do take place. The men awakened to hear, the rain beating ceaselessly down on their tents, and in many cases to find that they were surrounded by xvater. The storm became more violent as the morning advanced, and several tents were blown down. As usual, Major M'Kenzie was ready for emergencies and waking early, he aroused the men in time to save several of the marquees. The side of the quartermaster’s store was blown in and the floor was soon flooded. Fortunately little damage was done. The men kept a constant watch on their tents, but the rain soon ceased, and a strong wind dried the camp up before the afternoon

was over. Many a man slept at night, however, in damp blankets. , CAMP SANITATION. The efficiency of the camp sanitation •scheme was one of the outstanding features of the organisation. A_ squad of men was permanently employed in keeping the surroundings clean. All drains, were covered, and every particle of rubbish was burned. The work was so well done that one scarcely saw a fly during the whole week. “■ .___ THE CANTEEN. The canteen this year was probably the best the Ist Battalion has had, and the return was the largest yet received. During the 10 days the camp was in progress £650 crossed the counter. Business- became so brisk that a second canteen had to be erected. Almost everything the men needed was provided. The huge amount of chocolate sold included 5000 penny santes. Cigarettes sold numbered 40,000. Other goods which found ready sale were fruit cake, oranges, tomatoes, apples, pies, biscuits and tinned fruit, lhe pies sold numbered 720 and 30 dozen tins of fruit were purchased. In addition to this the men bought 3601 b of biscuits. Anything of a cooling nature was so greatly appreciated that 130 gallons of ice ojeam and 576 gallons of soft drinks had to be brought into the camp. PAY DAY.

When troops go into camp the burning question for a day or two is "When is pay day?” The urgency of the question provides material for the practical joker, and there are usually several disappointments before the men collect their 245. Pay day at the camp just concluded was Monday, and that night the canteen profited to tile extent of £ll4. A PRACTICAL JOKE. The practical joker is found wherever men congregate, and many a good story of how someone had “fallen in” went the rounds. Early in the camp, the report went, two men armed with mallets amused themselves by hitting at the outlines of heads at the sides of the tents. Iheir operations were brought to an abrupt ending when two of the Port Chalmers squad, clad in overcoats, appeared,' .and, stating that they were policemen (the battalion had a permanent police force), ordered the “head hunters” into their tents. A short time later the “policemen” appeared at the mouth of the tent and informed the offenders that their breach would be overlooked if they took police duty until 1 o’clock the next morning. In the cold of the night the culprits trudged wearily up and down the lines, and at the stroke of 1 the Port Chalmers men returned to inform them of their identity. Cries of anguish disturbed the quietness of the night as the “head hunters” returned footsore to their quarters.

A PLUCKY ACTION. There were several small outbreaks of fire could be put out paliasses and some men in one tent awoke to find that their tent was full of smoke. Half-suffocated, they managed to get out, but before the fire could bt put out paliasses and some clothing had been burned. On Monday night, when most of the men had congregated round the canteen, flames and smoke could be seen rising at the other end of the camp. A wild rush to the scene of the outbreak followed, and it was found that a tin of benzine was ablaze. The outbreak was the result of a mistake by one of the men who had opened a tin of benzine instead of kerosene in a tent which contained ammunition and stores. One of the cooks was filling a lamp when the contents of the tin burst into flames. Luckily Major Mackenzie happened to be in the vicinity, and picking up the blazing tin in his arms he threw it outside, where it burned in the centre of an excited crowd. Major Mackenzie, who was badly burned, was attended to by the doctor, Major Borrie, and next morning the quartermaster was up again early and about his duties. AN UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT.

Perhaps the only really unpleasant incident of the camp occurred when one of the officers offended the ranks by giving men who paraded sick light duties to do. When he went to dinner on Tuesday night he was followed by a hooting mob, and it was decided to 'dump” him in the river on Wednesday night. When the time arrived ho was dragged from the officers’ mess tent and carried towards the river. A sergeantmajor of the permanent- staff happened to be in the vicinity, and he prevailed on the men to allow the officer to go unharmed. The officer was compelled to make a public explanation of his actions before he returned to his tent. A HAPPY FAMILY. The men under canvas were a happy family, and, indeed, one of the most pleasing features of the eamp was the cheerfulness of the men and the friendly spirit which existed among them. Most of the officers were carried shoulder high and cheered at the end of the week, and the cooks were not forgotten. Almost every man returned benefited by the climate and the work, and in most cases, it may be surmised, more appreciative of the comforts of their homes. Discipline was well preserved throughout, and it may be said to the credit of the men that they obeyed orders willingly and cheerfully and entered into their training with enthusiasm.