ROUND ABOUT WELLINGTON.

Otago Witness, Issue 3885, 28 August 1928, Page 23

ROUND ABOUT WELLINGTON.

Bi- Pencabbow. (Special for the Otago Witness.) August 23. What seemed like half Wellington motored or walked along the Hutt road on Sunday. We were out to see the damage the week’s storm had done. It was mid-day when I came abreast of the first great breach in the sea wall. Gangs of workmen were enjoying their picnic lunch. The sun shone brightly, and the sea was quiet and peaceful. But during the week that sea, lashed into fury by the worst southerly we have had this winter, hurled itself so violently against the sea wall that more than 30 bad breaks Were made in it, and the double railway line is seriously damaged and put out of action. In places the iron rails are hanging over the water, and for a mile oi two the whole track leans seawards. The railway people tackled the trouble promptly, and made a valiant effort to save the inner track. Men, working in great discomfort and more than a little peril, did their best, but until the rain ceased and the sea died down they must have realised that their efforts were almost futile.

A great slip came down across the road which runs parallel with the railway line, and it seemed probable that communication by road and rail with Petone would be cut off during the storm. But slips we have always with us, and for them we are prepared with steam shovels and experienced workmen. This slip was quickly cleared, making it possible for motor buses to cope with the people who usually come in and out by train. Work was continued by day and night once the rain ceased, and before very long a small train was able to run —with great caution —on the inner line. But on Tuesday of this week another storm came up, causing anxiety, which is not yet over, for the weather is by no means settled. It is feared tliat a heavy sea coming now would further undermine this track, which has long been regarded as rather a giracrack affair and only temporary, though it has served its purpose for 50 years, more or less. In bad southerly weather the sea has often damaged the wall, but never so seriously as now. This storm has hastened what was inevitable—the consideration of a sea wall which will last, we hope, for all time. Meanwhile effort is concentrated on checking the damage and keeping open the lines of communication. The Railways Department is having a very busy time with little worries piled on big. On the very first day of disorganisation, when the rain, wind, and sea were doing their worst, people wrote to the papers complaining that their railway tickets could not be used on the motor buses which the Department collected from somewhere to help over the difficulties. The new railway settlement at Eastern Hutt was' flooded during the storm, and there were many slips on the hillsides at Petone and elsewhere. Out at Island Bay a house was wrecked and a little ship driven ashore. Shipping was disorganised and delayed, work on the wharves and elsewhere out of doors came to a standstill, gardens were battered and spoilt. Wellington is still picking up the pieces with one eye on the weather, which we do not trust. It is bitterly cold and wet to-day. * * n There is scarlet fever in the city, but the school holidays may improve matters and check all epidemic trouble. The General Hospital is so full that it is difficult to get accommodation for any but urgent cases, and no doubt the isolation wards are as busy as the others. * * * The public, a trifle weary of the endless discussion about teachers and their rights and wrongs, education and schools, turns for a little relief to this chat about nurses, their holidays, and hours on duty. There has been a good deal in the correspondence pages of the daily papers, and the weekly holiday idea evidently- meets with approval. The hospitals, as a rule, keep on saying nothing, and' no one has ventured to remind tlie public that the sick person occupies the centre of the picture, and everything must be subservient to his need’s. The sick person requires continuity of service, and every good nurse knows it, and knows, too, that the nursing profession should be entered only in a missionary spirit. Every decent man and woman would wish for all good nurses the best of everything—including a weekly holiday. We hope they will get it without discussion, and w-ithout being described as “ overworked and underpaid.” Good nurses and good mothers are in a class which does not count the cost.