WELL PLANNED HOMES

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 282, 25 August 1944, Page 6

WELL PLANNED HOMES

Women’s Advice Needed, Says Plunket Society

While recognizing the claims of exservicemen to State houses, the council of the Plunket Society considers that in the allotment of well-planned houses provided with labour-saving devices parents with families should be recognized as being of equal importance to the State, states the current issue of the “Plunket News,” referring to housing conditions in the main centres of New Zealand.. "In 1937 the Minister of Health in England recommended that a womens advisory council be established to promote co-operation of women in the planning, building, and equipment of the home and to pass on information gained from surveys and research to the Ministry of Works and Buildings. Representatives of 40 women’s organizations were elected to find out the special needs of the housewife in her home. “Plunket council members have been showing much interest in the planning and erection of houses in their areas. A member from the far south told of a Government house built in a district which is renowned for its frosts. All the water pipes were placed in the coldest part of the house. There was an electric range in the kitchen, and no "Others mentioned the lack of facilities for airing clothes, space for prams, and small kitchens. All agreed that no one who has not cooked, washed, cleaned, and brought up a family is qualified to plan a house suitable for family Ry. in ei and that a knowledge of local conditions is imperative in planning a house. “It was, therefore, resolved that an branches be asked to make contact with the local bodies in their districts and ask that some supervision and. advice from competent women's ' organizations be procured whenever housing, schemes are undertaken by local authorities.