WOMEN'S NATIONAL RESERVE

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 82, 5 April 1924, Page 9

WOMEN'S NATIONAL RESERVE

GOOD AND VARIED WORK DONE,

There was a good, attendance ■. at St.. John's Schoolroom, in Willis street) yesterday afternoon, when the annual meeting of the Women's 'National Reserve of New Zealand took place, Mrs. L: 0. HV Tripp, president, being in the| chair. - • . . ■ : ■

The , secretary, Mrs. Staples,, read a brief report of the headquarters, work being w^ll sustained. '. The balance-: sheet, showed a credit of £29 16s 8d; asagainst £50 i6s 2d last year. ,: Branch.1 subscriptions totalled £33 17s 4d, and donations £22 9.5.. .iThe chief item was rent, which totalled £.53 10s The work •■ accomplished by -^members of the various branches in and. about Wellington includes many , useful and kindly details. . A great- deal is done in support, of the Residential Nursery, which is, a fine and outstanding part of the work accomplished.. Each branch provides\a sum of- mgney, varied according ' to v the possibilities of the district, while others make and provide garments for the children and. mothers who are1 needy; .groceries' ,arf., specially worked' for by others, and one branch' makes a specialty of getting together, funds for toilet and household soap, a great deal of1 which is used in such a big establishment. . Assistance has been given in the repapering of rooms at the 1 nursery, and .in.'.other necessary works for the benefit of the home. All branches worked splendidly ..for Violet Day, and a, good number assisted in arranging. : the-successful Oriental Ball., The uianner'of raising funds yafie'd ■as the work. did. In .some places the work was carried on in private houses; dances and jumble sales were also means used for raising funds, and a-shilling subscription had'been useful, in another direction.. Mention was made/Of the sue-, cess, of an entertainment given by the late Colonel Purdy, whose elocutionaryitems .were appreciated, greatly. .There-are T branches at Berhampore, Lowon Hutt,. Seatoun; South iKilbirnie, Lyall 3ay),/syadest.own,' Khaudallah,'. Karori, jHataitai, ,'and. KelbuTn-NorthlandrKaro-; ri road, and; a "circle. at' Wellington South... ; It was stated that the work of each had been excellent, and mention was .specially made ;,pf 'the good' work of. Mrs. Willis, at.'Wadestown,. with great regret_ that she. had. found., .'it necessary to resign.' the presidency, of the branch. „ In with the.Girls'. Club, it was stated that the resignation of Mts. ChMs, ..pneTof ' the workers, had been \ received "with regret, and- that' thanks were due to-Mrs. Neilson for cleaning and keeping the. vases .at. the-. Soldiers' Cemetery'in good order, and •to her 'and Mrs.. Fuller, for representing the reserve at as many of the soldiers' funerals as they received notifications about. These' did not/always come ,in sufficient time for arrangements to be made. „ ' The sub-centres included . Gisborne,: Hastings, Hawera, Thames, and Feildmg, and Mrs. Porter made eulogistic reference to the, fine work done by these,. the gatherings of soldiers' mothers at Feilding, and the help given,- towards the establishment of a district nurse whose necessity was established by the fact that in" six months she had paid 1000 visits.: At Hawera a-rest room had been established \fdr mothers and children,: and the. members were most helpful to those who needed assistance Gisborne, which boasted the first establishment of the W.N.E., was another fine centre, an,d the work' of rMiss. Faubert was spoken of with high praise, and a vote of thanks passed tocher for good work. Excellent work was. reported from Thames, and Mrs. Gaisley was also specially thanked. ,' Mrs. Tripp. moved the adoption' of. the report and -balance-sheet, and Mrs. Boden seconded it.

_ The election of "officers resulted; as follows :—President, Mrs. • Tripp ( r .e-[ elected); bon. .secretary and^ treasurer,' Mrs. Staples; assistant, secretary and treasurer, Miss Cooper; executive < committee, the presidents of the branches, viz. L Mosdames. Tripp, Porter, J. Mac--kenzie. Beals, Townsend, S. Seed, Boden, M Arthur, Hargreaves, Hunter, Taylor, Kudkin, Weston, and Miss Freeman. It ■ was moved. and seconded that Miss raubert, of the Gisborae branch who is'leaving for England, he" presented with a reserve badge. ''; ■ -,- Votes. of thanks were passed to all workers and subscribers.