TRENTHAM VACATED

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2510, 10 July 1915, Page 6

TRENTHAM VACATED

FOUR NEW GAMPS ESTABLISHED ; THE WORK BEGUN

Swiftly/ has the hand of dissolution fallen upon' Trentham' Camp," tho greatosfc military institution New Zealand has known. ..WlieniNow.Zeala.lid awoke yesterday morning it was. surprised to find' by r'tho morning papers that: tho Prime Minister had announced overnight that the Tientham sito was to bo abandoned, aud hew'grounds chosen. At. 5 o'clock bo the information ;goos 'at Dcfenco Headquarters, the decision to • abandon Trentham was. arrived at. A cbmmitteo of - the principal military officers,,' in-, .eluding tho New Zealand Commandant .(Brigadier-General; Robin) and the Chief of tho General Staff (Colonol Gibbon) sat immediately'the' decision was made, and in a couple of .hours they had; decided; npon a, new.< scheme of 'training!:men .for-'-the.'war: . Moving orders were issued - Tight away, arid that night some of tho advance party men were on their ' way to localities - which hy now are fairly/large-camps. Early yesterday .morning. a. body, of • the .men, left by train; and; by -Monday Trentham will havo been completely .vacated. ! :• J? widely: different from tho-iTrentham ;idea.-. Instead of the- ono v big- camp of, 7t)00 '.men,-. there are ; :t6 ;bo' four canips. The localities chosen arc:— . ■ : . .- ' Palmerston North. , \ .Tauherenikau. ', •'Waikanae.. " » Banio'tu. . ! -. ; .■ : .!Ri!e' , Palmets!fti4 North Gamp -will . bo. •pitxilied-Ojr'tho;.show! ground, and.'there-tlieinew-'in'en shortly to : go under: can-: ; vasS*will .beswiti' ' Tho ,newly-selected n.c.q.'s. fqrr.'tlrei'iEighti"Reinforcements leave for "this; site- at, once. : The Wel•lington:; sclectiohio.f 'n.c.o.'s.igoes up, by; the:. 1.10 ■express";/.train .this...afternoon. The Ambulance aiien leave < for I'almerston North.on; July 15. The 1 Rangiotu- site -is between Foxton and ' Palmerst-on North on tho branch railway. The military consider it a ' good - camp' site, . and state that , the', ground, is -very sandy,: and therefore .porous. Even, had Trentham Camp-not been dissolved, tho' Trentham Battalions (Earl ,'of .tiyer-; pool's,;Own)-would have; been quartered 'at-'Rangiotu.''.' The site '.was inspected by tho Chief, of. Staff a few days ago. It 'has:an!' artesian . water .supply.'. • The Waikanao Camp will be made on tho' site .used for'the Territorial Camp a.few months ago. The Seventh Reinforcements are. to be located there, and :by now most of them aro in their new quarters. ' . " i The Tauherenikau: sit-e is close to the Tauherenikau Itadecourse. <, < The mill-; tary have pitched camp in the vicinity previously. - ; A big Territorial Camp \vas held there in 1913. The, mounted men and ; the infantry of tho Sixth; and ''tHe r -;-':;l&'giheers.and. V ...the' •Artillery. will . bo . trained \ there. : Most, of . the mounted: men : are a i ro ady at Tauherenikau'." '. . : . •. So," tho now -locations ,of the 'troops' will bo:— . , : - - : ;Sixth.,-Infantry, at Tauherenikau. : Sixth; Mounteds ..at. Tauherenikau. / Seventh Infantry at-Waikanae. . Artillery.. at .Tauherenikau. ' . Engineers at Tauherenikau. - ' Trentham; Regiment at Rangiotu. : '' Eighth Reinforcements .at Palmerston North.:' \ ■ . • Tho. Palmerston North; Camp will 'bo run: under'. tho District Headquarters' Staff, .which is stationed at Palmerston Nortn!: - : Lieut...Cheater,,.who -was-.-the-infantry instructor! at Troiitham, will' ,have. charge of the' instruction.' work. , Tlio commandants chosen for tho other camps are:— ■ Rangiotu, Lieut.-Colonel Fulton, Officer' Commanding Trentham Regiment. Tauherenikiii: Major'Morrison.'N.Z. SC - Waikanae, Major A. E. Wolstenholine, 4th Otago Regiment-. . • ■ The. Commandant ot tho iate Trentham Cainp (Lieut.-C.oloriel Potter) and his staff will now bo ail inspectorial staff for all the canips. Tlio numbers of men in the new caMps will bej roughly:— . . . Rangiotu 2200 ;.Waikanae 1200 . :' Palmerston N0rth....... . ..:, 1400. • Tauherenikau : 3400 !n, The leave of the Sixth Reinforcements has been cancelled owing to tho camp changes. Tho men wero to have commenced.leave yestrday. : The Army Service Corps and the Artillery will not -leave 'JVentham till 'Monday. - At present they are driving to and from the railway station vehicles containing the ; tamp -furnishings and men's . beloiigings. • : . At' least som'e military .men hold the' opinion -.that: tho .decision' to substitute .the.,'.^ A 'l>i^4»mpV^^Kvfour :-smaller campsi isnofc ■ a-good-oiie. The military training.! system which';'.had Been built lip!:;very efficient!' ; -To a great extent" the 'system ;Lieut.Coloriel. Gibboiij tho Chief of Staff,"'and ho was given generous praise by other officers:for liis constructivo';ability, 'organising powers, and ceaseless toil. I It was,-, considered that • if,.; through defects in tlio medical: arrangements, Trenthamwas abandoned; it would only be to go to somo more, suitable site not far away. It was. considered that tho onc-big-camp idea would be retained, and it is now considered, says an authority, th'at the . splitting ; jips of . the - training business -into 1 fivo -camps-will -lesson -the efficiency of the men-and cost extra money. - Tho reason'ivliy all tlio new camps are in the Wellington Province is, that it is desirable for them to be close to Defenco Headquarters, which are in Wellington City'.; Tho military do not favour going so far ,away: as the South! Island- or tho, .Auckland Province. ; - .I'' : Tile celerity with which. the' arrangements 'forfjdhange iVere' made and. put into operation is looked upon as evidenco thai the' News Zealand • General Staff is capable^of,,inoying rapidly when need arises.' - [Until late last night the military intended having five canips—the four' mentioned abovo, and, one at Baincsse, on the FoxtjiKline: ;Tliis "article had to bo rovised in consequence of tho decision to! cut out the Bainesso pro-posal,-and send-the 6th Infantry (which were," to go''there) to Tauherenikau. Tho''alteration v 'inay affect tho. allocation of■ camp...commandants also,, but that could; not. ,ba . ascertained last night. Maiftr C."R.' i Macdonald, Staff Infantry lustruetoi'/ ,was" ; to have been in command at Bainesso.]