DEFENCE MINISTER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 April 1943, Page 2

DEFENCE MINISTER

EXTENDED TOUR OF MIDDLE EAST SYRIA TO TRIPOLITANIA. MANY UNITS VISITED. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) CAIRO, April 1. The New Zealand Minister of Defence, Mr Jones, had an audience with King Farouk yesterday on his return to Cairo from his 2000-mile tour of the Middle East. He also visited New Zealanders in Alexandria, where he met 50 New Zealand naval personnel and one Wren, Margaret Chorlton, Wellington. In Cairo, he met and talked with New Zealanders serving with the Air Force. The extent the N.Z.E.F. covers in the Middle East is emphasised by the distances covered by Mr Jones during his tour. He found New Zealanders from Tripoli in Syria to Tripoli in North Africa and beyond. He visited Palestine and Lebanon and flew from Cairo to Beirut, where he was met by Lieut.Colonel R. T. Smith, commanding the New Zealand railway construction group. He travelled through the snowcovered Lebanon mountains to see New Zealand railway engineers supervising gangs of Lebanese labourers, and addressed groups of New Zealanders assembled specially to meet him. Mr. Jones saw many detachments on the jobs and, on the anniversary of the death of Mr. Savage, addressed a large group of railway surveyors beneath the keep of the historic Biblos castle, fortress and temple. Next day he addressed a parade of railwaymen in northern Palestine and was entertained along with many New Zealand officers at the Normandy Hotel, Beirut, by the New Zealander, Mr. Norman Nairn, whose name is famous throughout the Middle East for the desert transport system which he originated and operates. From Beirut, Mr. Jones motored south into Palestine, still visiting odd groups of New Zealanders and officer cadets at a Middle East O.C.T.U. On the journey to Cairo he stayed a night in Jerusalem. In spite of his tiring journey, Mr Jones continuing his visits, today saw New Zealand engineers working the famous Tura caves, whence stone for the pyramids was obtained. He is visiting war graves tomorrow. Mr. Jones’s visit to the Middle East is very timely, as nearly two years have elapsed since any sort 1 of political contact has been established between New Zealand and her troops in the Middle East. The insulation of New Zealanders here from the flux of domestic change is perhaps not realised at home. News at the best is gathered from letters and news stories in the “N.Z.E.F. Times” and the halfhour New Zealand broadcast to Cairo every Thursday evening. Now this distant colony of New Zealanders living more or less by itself : for three years is dimly conscious of • the social changes in the homeland and : has been sufficiently stirred up by Mr ; Jones’s visit to realise that the election 1 due in New Zealand is not yet past. 1 Mr Jones has not had a chance of visit- , ing the Division but has made a practice of meeting individually as many , men as possible to discuss problems. ]