ORGANISATION OF RELIEF

Taranaki Daily News, 6 February 1931, Page 5

ORGANISATION OF RELIEF

HASTINGS ACTS PROMPTLY

NAPIER DESPERATELY SHAKEN.

NAVY’S VALUABLE ASSISTANCE. Hastings, owing probably to being not quite so disastrously affected as Napier, was faster at organising relief measures. Scores of young men were engaged to direct, traflic' at the intersections, no vehicles or unauthorised persons being permitted in the dangerous areas of the town. Food, hospital and water relief was instituted without dslay, and, most important of all from the point of view of the rest of the world, a record was kept of the killed and injured. The consequence was that whereas Hastings was a'blo on Wednesday night to supply a complete list of the known dead and injured, the ascertaining of anything approaching such a list i n Napier was impossible. Harder hit and in a more hopeless position, civic organisation in Napier simply broke down. Blame could not be laid on the people of Napier, who had their hearts and their hands more than full. But one consequence was that whereas for the first 24 hours the supply of both doctors and nurses was sadly inadequate, which could only be expected, ft was not very long before doctors and nurses were too numerous, and some of them after travelling all night on Tuesday, simply went home again. Nevertheless as soon as the machinery was set in motion a very great deal was done in tho organisation of relief. HELP FROM PARLIAMENT. Travelling all night by car from Wellington a party representing the Government —Messrs. R. Masters (deputyleader of the Legislative Council and Minister without portfolio), E. A. Ransom (Minister of Lands), J. G. Cobbe (Minister of Defence) and A. J. Stallworthy (Minister of Health), arrived early, on Wednesday morning. They, held a conference with the local authorities at the Police Station late in the morning and subsequently met the Commander and officers of H.M.S. Veronica.

(Speaking to the Daily News representative Mr. Masters said he and Mr. Cobbe would take over the organisation of food supplies, and Messrs. Stallworthy and Ransom health, hospital relief and sanitation. This was immediately successful. Lorry loads of bread and meat' began to arrive from the south, and it was not long before there was sufficient food in both Hastings and Napier to feed everybody. Early on Wednesday morning the cruisers Dunedin and Diomede arrived in the Napier roadstead from Auckland and Commadore Geoffry Blake immediately took charge of police and patrol duty, as well as organising the navy’s share in food relief and Red Cross work. ■Cars and lorries were secured in plenty, and with special inscriptions “Police,” “Food Supply” or “Red Cross,” they were soon moving methodically about their work in all parts of the town. Buildings were blown up by navy explosives in order to prevent the spread of fire, and naval men did invaluable Work in policing the streets and preventing pillaging from the deserted shops and stores. The presence of the naval men did a great deal to restore the morale of the community. The roadstead during Wednesday presented a scene of great activity and was watched with the keenest interest from the shore. This evident sign of outside interest and activity was a source of great comfort to the desperate people of Napier. The horizon was at times almost black with ships. ' Sailors in large numbers were sent ashore from the Dunedin and Diomede. During tile trip down from Auckland the bakers on the warships worked all night baking bread, carpenters were engaged in making splints, and special instruction was given in stretcher work. The ships raced at full speed, and after a fast passage the naval ratings were rushed ashore as quickly as possible. The Taranaki and the Northumberland sailed at 4.30 in the afternoon for Auckland and Wellington respectively with refugees whom they had taken on board. * Amongst a number of other important people the Commissioner of Police (Mr. W. J. Wohlmann) and several members of Parliament arrived on Wednesday. VALUE OF AEROPLANES CHLORINATING PLANT CARRIED. ’ TRANSPORT OF MAILS. The value of aeroplanes in an emergency has never been more clearly demonstrated than in the present crisis, and it has been an education to watch the' numerous aeroplanes come and go at the Hastings aerodrome during the past three days. Ten planes were drawn up in the aerodrome at one stage on Wednesday evening. At the height of the gale a News representative who was at the aerodrome at the time heard the familiar sound and saw five Moth planes, including three Army machines from Hobsonville,'preparing to land. It was discovered that they had a whole chlorinating plant and equipment aboard for purifying the water supply, and an expert to operate it. The pilot who had the ’t ;avy cylinder weighting several hundred lbs tied into the passenger cockpit of his machine had an unenviable task with such a dead weight in the gale. Mails are being carried by plane between Hastings and a number of centres and many passenger trips for special purposes have been made. Tlie Rotorua Airways Company’s aeroplane Arawa has . been kept very busy taking passengers, doctors and nurses to Napier, '.rhe machine made some very fast trips, doing the journey there and back in two hours and a-half.

On Tuesday Mr. J. Moore, of Napier, who is camping at Rotorua, flew to Napier in search of his daughter, Gladys. He went to his home, in Raffles Street and eventually found his daughter. They wandered about during the night and at daybreak they started oil by the aeroplane, reaching Rotorua about 6 a.m.