MONEY WELL SPENT

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 152, 15 July 1937, Page 4

MONEY WELL SPENT

-fr*M AMOoistipB.)

Development oi Singapore Defences MR. A. E. MABIN'S OPINION

(By Talerrmnh

AUCKLAND, Lsst Night. New Zealand 's contribution towards the cost , of' the defencq works at Singapore Naval Base has been ^611 spent, according to Mr A, E, Mabin, of Wellington, who arrived at Auckland on the final stgge ot his round trip from the Do.mimon to the EasL * He said that the naval, military ?*nd , air resources there wero a revelatipn. Mr Mabin was present 'at the opeping of the huge commercial airport at Singapore on July 12, and witneSsed the arrival of 28 aif-liners eontrolled by Imperial Airways and the Dutch Company known as the K.L.M. Tho spen'dmg of well ovor £1,900,000 had transformed a jungle swamp ipto a fine aerodrome equipped with palatial offices and every conceivable accessary, the aerodrome and its equipment could eaaily be adapted and used for def ence purposes. • After he had seen something of the disposition of the three defence units at Singapore — naval, military and air — Mr Mabin was convinced that they formed a powerful bulwark for Britaiu's possessions in the Southera Pacific. "Singapdre undoubtedly is the key to the East," he added, "and New Zealanders may rest content that they have made a wise investment there."