Four New Frigates Arrive Today

Chronicle (Levin), 5 January 1949, Page 8

Four New Frigates Arrive Today

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AUGKLAND/Jan. 4. After a leisurely voyage from Portsmoutli, f-our of the six modern antisubmarine frigates • takes. oveT by the Royal New Zealand Navy, axe due at Auckland tomorrow morning and- will berth at the Devonport naval base at 11 . o 'clock. They " are the Loch class frigates Taupo (dommander L. P. Bourke, D.S.C., B.D., E.N.Z.N.), Hawea (Lieutenant-Commander A, C. B'. Blomfield, D.S.C., E./T.), Kanieri (Lieuten-ant-Gommander'B. E. Turner, E.N.Z.N.) and Pukaki (Lieutejiant-Commander L. E. Herrick, D.S.C., E.N.). The doekyard will be open to relatives and -friends of the 'crews of the frigates. The Minister of Defenee, Mr. Jones, who arrived by air from Wellington todav, will welcome the vessels. He will address the crews who will assemble in the flagship, the frigate Taupo, at 2 o 'clock in the afternoon. The Chief of the New Zealand Naval Staff, Commodore G. W. ' G. Simpson, also fiew from Wellington to greet the new ships. All but eight of the 29 o£S.eers among the ships' companies are members of the Eoyal New Zealand Navy. About 200 of the 440 ratings are New Zealanders, the remainder being men reeruited from the Eoyal Navy. These men have signed on for three years. At the end of their term they will have the option of talcing their discharge in the Dommion or of returning to Britain. The New Zealand ratings are former members of ihe crews of the corvettes Arabis and Arbutus which have been returned to Britain. . About half the ratings will go on leave on Thursday and on Priday. Special • arrangements have been made for the English ratings, some of whoni will visit farms. The next two frigates for the Eoyal New Zealand Navy, which are expected to arrive later this year, will be named Eotoiti and Tutira. i