WAR IN PACIFIC NEARER

Southland Times, Issue 24574, 24 October 1941, Page 4

WAR IN PACIFIC NEARER

SIR KEITH MURDOCH’S VIEWS AUSTRALIA’S WAR EFFORT (P.A.) AUCKLAND, October 23. “Australia sees the present movement in Japan as bringing war in the Pacific appreciably nearer,” said Sir Keith Murdoch, managing director of The Herald, Melbourne. Sir Keith is visiting Auckland on his way to the United Kingdom and will leave by the Pan American Airways clipper at the week-end. “We have every desire for friendship with Japan,” he continued. “We have exchanged ministers and are on courteous and civil terms, but if Japans policy brings a collision we are entirely reconciled to it. Of course, the Japanese have come a long way south with their airline and high-ranking officers are arriving in some strength, ’ Sir Keith added, referring to an extension of the Japanese airline to Timor. “The Japanese obviously mean to make the most of their new privileges, but we are quite close. There, too, we are not particularly concerned with the fact that the Japanese airline is coming to Timor. “Although lacking in sharpness in some ways, Australia’s war effort already has been quite a remarkable one,” said Sir Keith. More than 170,000 men were abroad or undergoing final training for the Australian Imperial Force. Four divisions were overseas with many reinforcements, and an armoured division destined for overseas was being trained in Australia. The Commonwealth had also contributed something like 20,000 aircrew members who were either serving already or under training, and more than 100,000 men had enlisted for ground work with the Air Force. MUNITIONS EXPORTED “Australia is already supplying munitiorrs to the Middle East,’ Six' Keith continued. “There is a very wide range of works nearly all based on the great steel producing works at Newcastle, the biggest in the Empire. Some factories are just coming into bearing now and we are making and importing machine tools for still more factories. Great quantities of boots and textiles were being supplied to India, where Australia was largely filling the part of British manufacturers as far as this type of equipment was concerned. He said that Australia was producing among other weapons a small howitzer field gun, mobile and fixed antiaircraft guns, rifles and small arms ammunition. One plant going up neai Adelaide represented an expenditure ot £6,000,000 and covered 300 acres. The British mission that recently visited Australia about the development of the munitions industry was astonished at the production prospects. It reported that it considered too long hours were being worked in some cases. One criterion, of course, was the amount ot production, but there had probably been instances of overwork.