MAY MORN CAMP

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2597, 20 October 1915, Page 6

MAY MORN CAMP

A TENTED PLAIN

EVERYTHING SHIPSHAPE AND

sanitary

EXCELLENT SANITATION

Tho railway siding which was built t-j accommodate timber wagons for the May Mom mill, situated.a milo and tliree-quarters to tlie northward' of Mangaroa, has had greatness thrust upon it, since tho establishment of a training camp there. A station house has been built and the erstwhile siding is now in charge of a stationmaster. Tho guard tent and the sentry at tho camp gates are just across the metals from tho station and military police witness the arrival and departure of trains, of which, by the way, there aro not many during cach day since tho suburban servico has its terminus at Upper Hutt, fivo miles away by rail <nid a good deal moro by road.

May Morn Camp is a subsidiary camp to Trentham, and it lias been formed to tako tho overflow from the big camp, and to bo used in conjunction with the permanent camps at Trentham and I'auherinikau. At present the whole of the 3rd and 4th battalions of tho Now Zealand' Bille Brigade, numbering 2500 men, under Major 0. B. ■ Cowles, and Major Wolstenholme, are encamped there, in tents of the Lidian service pattern. The officers and mon went into camp on Saturday last, and they had hardly settled down when a Dominion reporter visited May Morn yesterday. After a night of wind and rain the day was clear and sunny and the ground almost dry, but the high wind still prevailed. Yet the tents were standing up bravely to it, and work was being carried out according to schedule. Servicaabla Tents, There are a number of advantages, attaching to tho typo of tent in use at May Morn. In tlio first place, it has a ridge-polo and is very hnnl.y stayed ti pegs driven into the ground. The outer surface of the canvas is snow white, which makes tho tents stand out in strong contrast to the green sward. But the tent material is of three-ply, the inner one being of a dark .yellow colour. In lino weather, one side of tlio tent may be unpegged and flung back over the pole, allowing the sun and air to enter freely. AH the tents have wooden floors and they aro pitched so that their entrances face away from the prevailing winds. The floor-space measures 14 feet square. At present twelve men occupy each tent. Some of tho men expressed tho 1 opinion that there was only room for 10 men to comfortably bestow themselves' and their belongings iu each tent, and it is understood that as soon as moro tents are erected, the number of occupants will be reduced to ten. Tho amount of work which has been dono by fatiguo parties since early last week in clearing the ground of logs and stumps, erecting tents, digging soakpits, and making incinerators is pro< digious. Huge heaps of firewood near the cook-houses, which aro the only wooden buildings in camp, represent tho accumulated wood, gathered from 'tho camp site.

A Well-arranged Camp. The camp is well-arranged and the tents aro set well apart from one another, with' broad avonues between each, group of tents. At convenient places, marquees have been pitched, and in these the dry stores—bread, butter, etc. —for each unit are kept. The officers' mess and the orderly office are also housed in marquees. A field hospital under an army medical officer, has been established in a, cottage adjoining tho camp. Alongside the-railway are the supply stores, ■ consisting of roughly-built wooden buildings. Into these, all stores are transferred from the railway., trucks. I'roni the stores a wooden tramway runs by a circuitous route through the camp to the cookhouses, which are ,on tho outskirts on -the northerly side. Small trucks, pushed by men, carry all the stores into the camp. Except for a dray or two, which come, just inside the gateway to unload timber, 110 horses are allowed within tlie gates. Careful Sanitation. The most important item about a military camp is its sanitation. At May Morn, new as tho camp is, this matter has received'full attention. All the arrangements are not yet complete, but in a vorjj'fow days everything will bo in first-class order. In the broad avenues between the tents, at distances of about 50ft. apart, soak-pits over sft. deep have been dug in the shingly soil, and then filled in with largo boulders; The washing-placcs have' been tempoijarily built of corrugated iron. The water from tho washing up or from the washing of hands and faces runs first into a sink in which any solid matter is retained. Below this is an arranger ment for extracting any fatty matter from the water, which then flows through a sieve of manuka brush out down a stone drain'into a soak-pit 15ft. deep and about 10ft. square. The sinks tire thoroughly cleaned several times a day, and tho manuka scrub is buriiod in the huge stone incinerator. The Incinerators. There will shortly be two distinct types of incinerator in use at May J[orn. At present there are two of one kind in use. These aro made by digging a circular hole, about Bft. across and 3ft. deep. In the centre a cone of stones is built up fa make a draught, and tho, hole is lined and walled with stones. A circular glowing mass of burning logs is kept alight always, aud all rubbish is tossed into this red-hot furnace. The second type of incinerator is intended to burn tho night soil. These will bt smaller furnaces of brick and iron, something after the pattern of large destructors for city garbage. With the addition of kerosene and sawdust it has been found by experiment that complete incineration can be obtained. These incinerators will be in use very shortly. Amusement's for the Men.

May Morn camp is further removed from the attractions of town than any, other of the camps in the Dominion, nor are there any of tho usual places of entertainment as found in most of tho camps, in the form of picture shows and billiard saloons. The officers and men have therefore to mako their own recreations. This they are doing with zest. Already a- sum of £20 lias been spent in cricket material and- boxing gloves have been ordered. The cam]) has 110 piano or gramophones, and an opportunity presents itself to citizens who have the welfaro of'the men at- heart to give them some of these tilings,- which will make their company of May Morn a little livelior after drill hours'than it might otherwise be. It was noticeable that none complained of being so far, from town; tho men aro, in fact, a most earnest lot, and so long as they can have moans of recreation in camp, would not bo downhearted if thoy woro unablo to visit Wellington a.s frequently as their brothers at Trentham. The most important want at present is tlio piano.