More women on hand

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33680, 1 November 1974, Page 5

More women on hand

Young Farmers Clubs in Australia have an in- 1 creasing membership of ! girls who are working on i the land, according to Miss Nola Whitehead. 1 Miss Whitehead is visiting ! Christchurch during three months study of New Zealand banning and farming methods. The girls had the same interests as the boys in the clubs, and there was less emphasis on domestic duties, although the boys still expected them to make tea at the meeting, she said. Those girls who had broken into farm work had “made a go of it” Miss Whitehead said. She did not know how readily they were being accepted by fanners, as women were traditionally regarded as not being capable of such hard physical work as men, but there was no reason why women could not work with sheep and cattle she said. There were probably more female farm workers than were recognised, as many farmers’ wives helped on farms. The number of young people who were staying in the country was decreasing. In her own area, Towong, near the town of Corryong in Victoria, 75 per cent to 80 pet cent of young people drifted to the cities after : leaving school as they could .

not move oh to the land because of the prohibitive cost of farms and buildings, and farmers could not afford to pay many workers. Some attempt was being made by Federated Farmers groups in central Victoria to help young people on to the

land. Small farming units were being established for young people to take over. But this was only a very small part of the solution. “Decentralisation of industry is the most important thing, and the Government must help,” Miss Whitehead said. She explained that the postal and telephone charges were prohibitive outside the major cities. Development of Albany and Wodonga. two

I towns about 100 miles from > Corryong, was being , severely hampered by the I sharply increased postal and telephone charges —10 c in1 stead of 3c or 4c to post a > letter. The cost of goods pro-| i duced outside the cities made s it cheaper to transport the raw materials to cities. Government-supported decentralisation would ease the burden on the cities, especially that of transportation, provide employment for people in country areas, and stop the drift away. Young Farmers Clubs in New Zealand and Australia are very similar, Miss Whitehead said. They have a diverse range of members, both farming and nonfarming. Activities are educational, social and cultural as well as agricultural, and they enable their members to learn from each other by interchange of ideas. Miss Whitehead, who was chosen from six state finalists for her trip, which was sponsored by the A.N.Z. ’ Bank, said that study tours] were a valuable means of I / increasing understanding by • personal contact. She is the ' guest of the New Zealand J Federation of Young Farmers.