VISIT TO N.Z. A SURPRISE

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28981, 24 August 1959, Page 2

VISIT TO N.Z. A SURPRISE

“Bonus” For U.S. Women

Half the fun in travelling round the world by freighter is not knowing exactly where you are going according to three women friends from the United States who arrived at Lyttelton on Saturday aboard the Pioneer Gem. They are Mrs Nancy Campbell, Mrs Stella Barnhill and Miss Ruth D. Rolling, of Abingdon. Virginia, who had no idea until they got in the ship at New York that they would be coming to New Zealand. "After we got on board we were told: ‘We have a surprise for you —we are going to New Zealand:’ we were very excited." Miss Rolling said. At Cristobal she mailed a letter to the ship’s agents in Christchurch asking for a tour of the South Island to be arranged. They expressed great interest in the cargo the ship was carrying for the Deep Freeze base at Harewood which included a hangar, jet-fuel tanks and field ambulances. They had expected to go to Australia and regarded the chance to see something of New Zealand as an “extra bonus.” They left by car on Saturday to see Queenstown and Dunedin. Miss Rolling and Mrs Barnhill are keen members of the American Association of University Women and if time permits they hope to meet, members of the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Federation of University Women. An important project the American Association was engaged in at present was the raising of funds for a modern headquarters building to be erected in Washington, D.C., Miss Rolling said. The building, which would dost about 1} million dollars would be a national and international centre where educational research would be carried out and visits welcomed from other nations. Each branch of the association was allocated a certain quota of money to raise. Miss Rolling is building fund chairman for the State of Virginia which was responsible for raising 25,000 dollars, she said. Fund-raising activity had been going on for the last 18 months and It was aimed to have the building in use for 1960. Miss Rolling and Mrs Campbell are also active workers for the Girl Guide movement in their home town and would like to see something of how the organisation works in other parts of the world. Miss Rolling is a regional director and Mrs Campbell's particular interest is in camp planning and training camp leaders. The trio expects to visit Australia, Malaya, Ceylon, India, Egypt and Italy on the voyage, where they will disembark to travel across Europe and catch a ship from London to the United States in mid-November.