WAIOURU HOLDS BIG NAVAL RADIO STATION

Chronicle (Levin), 20 September 1946, Page 5

WAIOURU HOLDS BIG NAVAL RADIO STATION

-Press Association

Bif Telearavh -

'■ WELTJNGTON, Hept. 18. : Flrst detaiis of the naval wireless ' telegrap'hy station which was estublishi ed itt- Waiouru Plains in 1942, anil which hafidled .administrative tratfic for the British Paeifie Fleet operating d# Jstpan- ii the latter siages of ihe war, were releaseil today. ; The aerial systenx of the station icoyers 20 acres and at the hcight of its • activity,! there were about 350 personnel stationed. there, of whom two-thirds were Wtens.- This number lias now ybeen redueed ta 70 naval men, practicajly all of whom are in Ihe permanent serviee. - The4 station comnmnieates . with- ; th'e Ad mira-l ty in London, the !-Ansfr.alian. Naval Board, Canadi'an !'Nayk£'.;.^et\ fi.ee Ileadquarters, Ilonolulu ;ai^-H^^^;;warship.Sj, in. the South • -ahares ■ th'e p$t jif er c h a ti t ship .Telegraph radio aij'cl Ajv'arua. the administrative .traf&c for the Admiral ty was hanilled .'By* the - station with great success Waiouru handled praeticallv all mes sagis be'twien Admiral Fraser and the Home ' Government, coxxcerned with political and ' other questions which •arose while peaee was being settled, a-nd als'd' a large proportion of similar messages between Admiral Mouxxtbat-.-.teu- an'di the British Government. ! No ofificial announcenxexxt has yet been made as! to whether or not the station will be permanexxt. It is still carrying. on work which it did during the war althoxxgh on a redueed scale. : Wellington radio statioxx Aoes all the transmitting to ships at sea bxxt the naval station reeeives a certain amount of trafBc tind also aets as internxediary "or relay statioxx for xuessages between slxips in the South Paeifie.