NEW ZEALAND NAVY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17062, 21 September 1929, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND NAVY

HALT IN RECRUITING CRUISERS GOING HOME (Special to the Herald.) AUCKLAND, this day. ‘ ‘ The navy was never more popular in England than it. is" to-day, and the standard of recruits is really higher than before the war. It is regrettable that, owing to extensive jcflttings planned for the cruisers Diomede and Dunedin, the . recruiting of New Zealanders must cease fpr ahput two years,” said Commodore Geoffrey Blake, D. 5.0., and the new commodore of the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy, after his arrival from Wellington in the flagship Dunedin. Recruits in great numbers were .coming forward to join the navy in Great Britain, and there was no difficulty in securing men of the highest standard, said the Commodore. A factor, of course, was the extent of unemployment, through which the navy was benefiting by being given a wider choice than ever. It was an unpleasant necessity that -the recruiting of New Zealanders must cease for the next- two years, but; the Diomede would leave on October 1 for England, via Panama, to refit, and would not he ready to return to the New Zealand station until about October of next year. Then the Dunedin would be sent home for the same purpose.

Recruiting in New Zealand had attained fair proportions, and last year, 68 men had been accepted. However, although the brake must he applied temporarily, the one cruiser remaining in New Zealand waters would continue to carry out exercises on the usual plan, and next March the New Zealand naval and military forces would carry, out combined manoeuvres at Akaroa. ' Probably the air arm of the Dominion forces would join tho navy and military in these exorcises, and it was quite likely that when tho Hobsonville air base was'fully'established manoeuvres would be carried out at Auckland by fighting aircraft and cruisers in conjunction.