Aust. Women’s Group Has Big Income

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31755, 12 August 1968, Page 2

Aust. Women’s Group Has Big Income

Rents from properties, interest from money invested, proceeds from hoy parties (housie), sales of work, and revenue from a catering service make the Country Women’s Association of Australia a very sound financial organisation.

This has been the observation of Mrs C. Rowley, president of the West Otago area of the Women’s Division of Federated Farmers, who led a delegation of 20 of her organisation on a holiday tonr of Australia.

The Australian groups often had budgets involving a quarter of a million dollars or more—"figures that made my head spin,” said Mrs Rowley. “Because there is not so much state aid in Australia there to an urgent need for community welfare work and the C.W.A. fills this need. They have child health centres, old people’s homes and flats for student teachers. They also have a waiting home for expectant country women in Brisbane, where the movement is particularly strong.” In Cities Unlike New Zealand, where the strength of the country women’s organisations to in the small towns, the strength of the movement in Australia lies in the cities where there is a better understanding of the needs of country people, she said. “Members have to live at least 200 miles out of Sydney before they are eligible to stay at the holiday house in Sydney—even though this to a project run by the Sydney C.W.A.”

C.W.A. projects were sometimes subsidised by the Government or financv.. by lowinterest Government loans. To keep ui their tremendous commitment members also had to pay a levy, over and above their subscription fee. Club rooms usually had a few flats attached to them which were let to elderly people or student teachers.

By including accommodation in their building plans, the association quahfied. for a Government subsidy and at the same time assured a permanent source of revenue. Although Mrs Rowley was tremendously impressed by the energy and enthusiasm of the movement in Australia (weekly meetings are quite usual) she would not like to swap places with them. “I feel we could move nearer to them but I would not like to move so far. I would not like to be so involved in money-raising ventures to support community projects that could well be supported by the Government. “I know they are filling a definite need but it is the same old story the more you are prepared to do the more the Government are prepared to let you do." “Too Little Time” Pre-occupied as it to with raising money, the C.W.A. had become a business organisation which did not have enough time for friendships and education of its members, Mrs Rowley said. There should be far greater co-operation between the country women’s organisations of Australia and New Zealand, she said. “By combining our strengths we will realise the power we can have by working together and we could make an all-out effort to help the women of the Pacific.

“It is not enough for one person to visit Australia or New Zealand —we need to meet together in dozens,” said Mrs Rowley. The Queensland C.W.A. was contemplating a reciprocal visit early next year.

Having sampled Australian hotels, Mrs Rowley has come to appreciate the services offered by New Zealand hotels. “It was usually a case of—don’t worry she’ll be right—

and we could never plan on our arrangements being just as we ordered. “Their hotel services are like everything else over there—they are more ambitious and attempting more but not necessarily achieving more or better results."