Want to Come to N.Z.: 42,000 in Britain and Thousands in U.S.A.

Grey River Argus, 5 June 1948, Page 5

Want to Come to N.Z.: 42,000 in Britain and Thousands in U.S.A.

LONDON, June 3

The Minister for the Commonwealth Relations, Mr P. J. NoelBaker), a Conservative, in the House of Commons gave figures relating to people wishing to emigrate. He understood that 200,000 potential settlers were recorded at Australia) House and about 35,000 other prospective passengers were registered with the shipping companies here and in Australia. Fourteen thousand were registered wi'tji the New Zealand High Commissioner in London and 28,000 with the New Zealand shipping companies. A Conservative, Mr C. N. Thorn-ton-Kemsley asked was it not a striking commentary that after three years of Socialists administration so many wished to leave Britain? Mr Noel-Baker replied, amid Government cheers, that many' people before 1939 wanted to leave Britain because of unemployment and poverty. The number wanting to leave after the last World War was much less than.after the first. He admitted that, • accommodation was always available abroad.

ANOTHER BATCH FROM BRITAIN

WELLINGTON, June 4

Besides ordinary fare-paying passengers many of whom will be making a permanent home in New Zealand, the Mataroa which is due at Wellington next Wednesday from England is carrying 40 passengers whose fares are being met from private sources, but to whom berths have been granted from the immigration quota. „ • In addition their are 145 Govern-ment-assisted migrants on board, including nursing staff for hospitals, engineering tradesmen, printing tradesmen, footwear operatives and tradesmen for the Post and Telegraph Department and for the State Hydro-electric development .works. Announcing this the Minister of Immigration (Mr McLagan) said the settlers by the Mataroa were the first to arrive under the new policy, under which, in order to conserve the available hostel accommodation, and enable the widest possible distribution of new settlers the preference in future was being given to districts and to employers able to provide suitable private boarding accommodation. U.S. MIGRANTS TO AUSTRALIA AUCKLAND. June 4. More than half of the 460 passengers in the Marine Phoenix from the United States for Australia passing through Auckland to-day are assisted immigrants under the Commonwealth Government plan. Almost all are exservicemen who served in Australia during the war. Many are married to Australian girls.

Americans Want Assistance to Come

AUCKLAND, June 4.

Reports in American and Australian newspapers of improper behaviour on board ship by American migrants were discounted by Mr A. H. O’Connor, president of the Australian Society, New York, who was a through passenger on the Marine Phoenix. He' said the conduct of the young men and women on the present trip left nothing to be desired. “Thousands of former American servicemen and others are anxious to go to Australia and many would like to come .to New Zealand if your Government had an assisted immigration policy for Americans.” he added. “I dealt with 5000 applications up to Christmas as head of the Australian News and Information Bureau, New York. America is an inexhaustible reservoir for good class immigrants.

This is the first time there has been exoduS of Americans to other lands—a trend altogether apart from the pressure by Australian wives.” Passengers described the large party of ’immigrants bound for Australia as the living results of Mr O’Connor’s boosting life in the South Seas countries. Mr O’Connor’s son, Kendall, is a leading artist, in Walt Disney’s studio, while ° his daughter, Barbara, is a correspondent for the magazine Life, with headquarters in Paris.