SINGAPORE BASE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18378, 21 April 1934, Page 15

SINGAPORE BASE

“VERY NECESSARY” WORK MAKING GOOD PROGRESS Newspapers, societies and individual persons all over the world have discussed from all angles the building of the naval base at Singapore; hut what is the opinion of the man who lives at Singapore and who is more directly affected than most by the work? Mr. B. Lowick, a leading accountant of Singapore, who, with his wife, is at present making a holiday trip through New Zealand, told a Christchurch Sun reporter that the general’opinion in Singapore was that the base was very necessary and that the work on it should be expedited. Mr. Lowick said that for some time not much had been seen or heard of the base, which was situated at Seletar, but lately a great deal more land had been acquired fqr defence purposes and the work was now; making good progress. There was certainly in Singapore a feeling of fear and distrust toward Japan. In other ways, too, the building of tho base meant a g°od deal to* the residents of Singapore, since it provided _ plenty of work and brought money into the country. The base was rather in the shape ol a fireplace, with a hill at the hack, (hi tiic top of this hill Micro had for a. long time stood ■ a dative tomb. When it became necessary to cut away the hill on which the tomb stood, the Asiatics refused to blast, it. and prophesied that any white men who did so would bring a curse upon themselves. White men, however, did destroy the tomb; and curiously 'enough, not long afterward, four of them met their deaths in tragic circumstances.