Longer School Holidays At Christmas Proposed

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29766, 8 March 1962, Page 16

Longer School Holidays At Christmas Proposed

(New Zealand Press Association)

QUEENSTOWN, March 7. Longer school holidays at Christmas could become of great benefit to New Zealand and to retail shops, Mr J. R. Milne (Auckland) said at the Retailers* Federation conference today. It could result In thousands of visitors from Australia pouring into the country, Mr Milne said. "They cant come now because every bed. bunk and batch in the country has been taken over by New Zealanders for the same period as Australians would prefer to come" A committee, led by Mr J D Berry (Wellington), reported to the conference that It believed there were many advantages in a holidays proposal submitted to a conference of private school heads last November by the Rev. E M Marshall Two-term Tear ’ Two schemes were suggested—a two-term and a three-term year Christmas holidays could be taken from about December 15 to March 4. with either two fortnightly holidays (May-June and August-September) or a four-weekly holiday in September The Travel and Holidays Association intended to call a representative meeting soon to discuss the whflle Question of holidays, Mr Berry said. The committee report stated: “Apart from the low level of retail trading up to mid-January at non-tourist resorts because of the large number of people away on vacation there is a growing tendency for manufacturers and wholesalers to complete! v shut down over this period. “This results in difficulty'

to retailers in replacing stocks depleted by Christmas trading. The committee considers that a longer school vacation period would help to spread adult vacations and the shut-down problem " Longer summer school holidays would allow for staff annua] leave to be staggered over a longer period and casual employment would be more readily available