British Migrants Arrive At Wellington

Chronicle (Levin), 9 February 1948, Page 3

British Migrants Arrive At Wellington

WELLIN GTON , Feb. 8. With more than 500 assisted. immigrants, 31 Navy, 3 Afmy, 39 Air Force personnel a'nd a handful of other passengers, the G-overnment charter.ed Atlantis berthed shortly after 10 a.m. to-jlay. She had arrived in the stream on Saturday evening. Included among the male jassisted immigrants were coalminei"3, timber millhands, men for the hydro-eleetrie development, engineering tradesmen. printing tradesmen, footwear operatives and labourers for essential industries. The women, besides drafts for general and mental nursing, included shortha/nd typiats, • men's clothing operatives, woolleri mill workers, domestics for hospitals, hostels and liotels, and general factory workers. They were welcomed on behalf of the Prime Minister and Minister of Immigration by the Parliamentary Under Seeretary to the Minister of Finance, Mr. H. E. Combs, and on behalf of trade union organisations by the secretary of Labour, Mr. K. Baxter. All seemed glad that the tedium of the six weeks' voyage was ended. Except when the ship touched at ports on the way out via Suez, they had no news of what was going on in the world, no bulletins 'or wireless being available to the passengers. They all agreed that the food was very good with three meals daily and plentv of variety. Mr. P.° F. Eobertson, who, with his wife, was in charge of the immigrants, said they were all bigger and better for the food and sea voyage and most of tliem were "^hanged people." Mr. Eobertson, who has been studying physical education in Britain and Sweden on a rehabilitation bursary, has returned to take up the post of lecturer in physical education at Otago TJniversity. Mr. Eobertson said the great majority of the immigrants were very keen to make good in the new life whieh lay before tliem. He had lectured once weekly to them on life and customs in New Zealand. Because the ship's lounge would not accOmmodate all at one sitting, each lecture had to be given twice. He had dealt with the history of the Dominion, its geography and with Maori life, and had endeavoured to impress on them the investment the Government was making in hringing them out. He had told them it was up to them now to make an adequate return. He expressed the view that there were few among them whom he was not confident in as good future citizens of the Dominion. Many of the immigrants asked that their gratitude to tlie Eobertsons for the work they had done, sliould be recognised.' They themselves realised that in their midst there were few who might not fit in — one referred to this group as spivs. Only four of the party whieh. sailed in the ship from England, failed to complete tlie voyage. One was missing after the call at Colombo. Two -more failed to turn up after leaving Australia. A fourth, a woman, was left behind in hospital at Perth. Mr. Eobertson said he had found among the men trained tradesmen who were to beeome miners or labourers here. Tliev had chosen to do that rather tlian stay in their own trades in England. "Anything to get away from the pressure of Government restrictions in England," he said, was the attitude of these men.