CROWDED HOSTELS

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 28, 28 October 1942, Page 4

CROWDED HOSTELS

Weekend Accommodation For Servicemen A Problem

Last weekend brought a record influx of servicemen into Wellington city, and accommodation was at a premium. Ims matter was referred to at the monthly meeting of the Metropolitan Patriotic Committee yesterday, when Mr. 1. Jones, chairman of the hostels committee, ieported that not only were both of tae combined services hostels crowded, but they had to make an arrangement ior lhe use of the Baptist Sunday schoolroom, under the church in Boulcott Street, tor the accommodation of some 50 soldiers. Fortunately they had a reserve of blankets, as the allocation at both hostels had been cut down from three to two blankets on account of the warmer weather. He suggested that in view of possible repetitions of this experience some arrangement might be made with St. Johns Church or Wesley Church, in Taranaki Street, both near the Dixon Street hostel, to provide for servicemen who required sleeping space for the night. • If these churches would consent to the use of their Sunday schools for Saturday night only, they could, with a reserve ot mattresses and blankets, be made reasonably comfortable, and the men could use the bathrooms and get their meals at the hostel. It was stated during discussion that the abnormal number of men in the city on Saturday was due to so many being given leave at the one time, and a suggestion was made that perhaps the /Army authorities might take the matter .of night accommodation into consideration when they gave large numbers of men weekend leave. The chairman, Mr. Hislop, said he did not think it advisable to interfere in any way with the leave of men in uniform. Mr. Urquhart said that such was the nosition on Saturday night that they had to take 40 men to the police station, in order to get them cover for the night, as accommodation was unobtainable anywhere else. It was, in his opinion, a situation created by lack of organization as far as the granting of leave was concerned. Messrs. J. AV. Andrews and H. Green, representing Lower Hutt and Petone respectively, said that their organizations could scarcely cope witli the demands Being made on them. It was mentioned that some servicemen slept on the Petone railway platform on Sunday night. An application was made for larger clijb premises' at Lower Hutt, as (lie present, room was altogether inadequate for tlie purposes to be served. Aldssrs. Andrews. Green and Wise were asked to see if they could not secure a good site for n large clubroom winch would serve both Hutt and Petone. It was left to the hostels committee to make tlie best arrangements possible under the circumstances' for emergency weekend accommodation in Wellington.