Joyous Hours With The Children

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 17, 21 January 1939, Page 2 (Supplement)

Joyous Hours With The Children

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6.—Hurrah for Waitomo. Oh! the excitement when the getting-up "bell sounded on Friday morning, for this was the day of days set aside for a visit to Waitomo. Packing was great fun, for in order to avoid unnecessary luggage, all group captains were required to pack one suitcase containing the requirements of their group of girls for the two-day trip. At 1 0.1 0 a,m. the train pulled out of Auckland station with a special carriage in which were 36 of the most excited young folk who ever went a-traveiling. At Frankton we all poured out of the train and into the special "bus which was to take us to Hamilton. The sun was shining brightly for the children's first glimpse of this pretty town, and the setting was quite perfect for a picnic lunch on the river bank. Lunch over (and what a jolly lunch it was tool) and off set the party by bus for Waitomp. It was on this happy journey that Wendy and* I discovered nil the talent that Idy hidden in the young folk of our backblocks party. Reo sang a Maori song, and plump little Merrill gave us a Maori dance. The two Joans —Joan Jameson and Joan Reynolds sang "My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean," and all the others merrily joined in the chorus. Then we discovered that Alf had a fine voice, and he sang several songs in Maori. On the whole it was one of the jolliest journeys imaginable, and Waitomo was reached in record time. At Waitomo we found Dennis awaiting us. Dennis was our guide, and before we said farewell to this fascinating tourist resort Dennis was our firm friend. "Firstly, we explored the Aranui Cave, and the children learnt the difference between stalagmites and stalactites, and explored all the strange wonders of these wonderful caves. But it was the glow-worm grptto which they loved best of all. In fact, of all the exciting items, in a most exciting week, the visit to the glow-worm grotto' ranks foremost with most of the" boys and girls. In the boat, gliding quietly under a canopy of twinkling lights, a hush fell upon the children, and no spund wap heard save the gentle lapping .of the waters. It was a memorable evening-^—memorable for the children, memorable for Wendy and myself, who shared this experience with them. Memorable, but in a different form, was the dinner that evening at Hotel Waitomo,; where the usual service was provided for the children who sat.,down with .visiting adults from the cruise ship Otranto. The return trip,, tQ i Hamilton was marked by two outstanding factors." The first was the. missing of the train *o Harpilton by those who imagined that they might be. bus sick, but —and this provided the second point—they forgot their car sickness in a sing-song which will live oii years after many other memories have dimmed. Back at the YjM,C»A,..We were met by Misa Mawson and her friends, who had devoted the. earlier part of the evening to the preparation of a most enjoyable and welcome supper which disappeared in fine style. But speed was the ordqr of the day or night, for the preparation of 46 beds from palliasses which had to be filled with straw, and which entailed lessons in the art of camp bed making, was accomplished in record time, "Lights out" sounded 45 minutes after our arrival at Y.M. Reveille next morning was at 6,30. It is just amazing, liow Tour bales of straw can distribute .themselves into the furthest corners of a big building. One felt rather proud of the manner in which the group captains assumed control and left a clean and tidy building by way of thanks for the night's accommodation. The visit to tTie branch oF ftfe "New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., proved to be one of the most interesting items of our varied programme, and, the genial manager who conducted us through the large factory found that.his visitor? displayed more than a passing interest in the. various processes. SATURDAY, JANUARY 7.—Onward to Rotorua. Onward to Rotorua in the last carriage aboard the Otranto special. With lunch aboard, we set off. for the model pa at Whaka, which was **done" in. tourist styla at. a speed hitherto undreamed of in order to return, three-quarters .'of an hour later to have front seats at the reception accorded to the tourists. There was just time for a hurried visit to the Blue' Baths, but just as the bus was about to move off there occurred that happy interlude of which reference was made in last week's Budget-r—the meeting with the Honourable Minister of Education, Mr. Peter Fraser. Speed being pow thoroughly in our veins, a 15-minute dip and a three : minute "dry" was crowded into the remaining minutes before the train pulled out at 4.3o—just'3 hpura■ 1 5 minutes after our arrival in the thermal regions. We sang ourselves hoarse that night coming back home to Dilworth House —or at least half the. carriage did, for the other half was reserved as a sleeper- ), This bracket of two days, made possible by the enthusiastic and remarkable effort pf that band of keen business girls the Tasman Club, is, of course, the; most outstanding feature of. our 1939 programme. The breathless hush that marked the progress through the glow-worm grotto, the exclamations of astonishment which greeted the first sight of plopping mud, - provided a form, of thanks which must have been deeply appreciated by the representatives of the Tasman.. Club, whom we invited to share,v/ith us the happiness of these two days.

SUNDAY, JANUARY B.—We give thanks. After such a glorious opening to the holiday, one feels that those who attended the churches of their own faith did so with a sincere desire to convey an expression of thanks for all the joy and happiness that had been brought to them. Thanks in a different way were expressed when the children entertained Archdeacon and Mrs. Mac Murray to lunch. The children were told just how much they owed to the Archdeacon, who, in his eighty-third year, was still carrying out a life of service for other . people, and whose interest in their welfare had largely resulted in the party's presence at Dilworth House, From the youngest to the oldest, all were moved by the simple but inspiring message which the Archdeacon gave us in his little talk. After the strenuous two days which had preceded, rest was the order of the afternoon, and happy little groups of children scattered themselves on rugs in the shade of trees, or sprawled in the sun, according to their fancies, until the ringing of the now familiar bell called them to tea and foreshadowed a quiet evening and early bed.