CHILD MARRIAGES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 182, 3 August 1944, Page 5

CHILD MARRIAGES

"ARCHAIC" N.S.W. LAW Church And Social Leaders Advocate Abolition N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent Rec. 11 a.m. SYDNEY, this day. The abolition of the New South Wales State law/allowing child marriages with the consent of parents, is being strongly advocated by Church and social leaders. This week a 12-year-old Sydney girl was married fo a 25-year-old man. The Methodist minister who officiated said he was. opposed to such marriage and would not perform a similar ceremony unless there were special circumstances such as he considered justified the present case. The girl, Joanne Davey, and the man, Jim Moores, were dancing partners. Under the New South Wales State law it is legal for girls to marry at 12 and boys at 14 with the consent of their parents. Commenting on "an afchaic law," the Sydney Morning Herald, in a leading article, says: "That the laws of New South Wales permit a girl of 12 to marry must come as a shock to persons who have thought that such child marriages belong to bygone ages or to Asiatic countries. The school-leaving age has been raised to 15, and even that limit is widely claimed to be too low. Yet here we have the extraordinary anomaly, that three years before she is considered fit to leave school a girl is permitted to take up the full adult responsibilities of a wife and mother."

Mrs. Moores is not the first girl aged 12 years to be married in Australia. As recently as 1941 a girl of 12 married a boy of 14, and since 1901 there have been seven 12-year-old brides. The average age for marriage in Australia is 27 to 47 years for men and 24 to 52 years for women. In the last year three girls of 14 were married in New South Wales. . . i THOUSANDS CAPTURED NAZIS ON AMERICAN FRONT LONDON, Aug. 2. The Americans'have taken 18,587 prisoners since the start of their offensive on July 28, states Reuters correspondent. In the 24-hour period ended at midnight on Monday they took 7812 prisoners. The total prisoners taken by the Americans since D day is now 69,186. It is estimated that in the second pocket, sprung south-east of Coutances, 500 German vehicles have been destroyed and at least 4500 Germans killed. The Secretary of State for War, Sir James Grigg, stated in the House of Commons that 52,000 prisoners were taken in Normandy and Italy by the Allies in the 30 days up to July 26. MINES NEAR KING LONDON, July 31. Two German mines exploded less than 300 yards from the King when he was having lunch after his inspection of the Fifth Army troops on the Italian front, says Reuters correspondent at Fifth Army Headquarters. The Commander of the Fifth Army, Lieutenant-Genera! Clark, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, Dr. Spellman, were seated with the King at the time.

An American soldier wiio trod <s*