AT THE PUBLIC WORKS CAMPS

Evening Star, Issue 22873, 3 February 1938, Page 14

AT THE PUBLIC WORKS CAMPS

EDUCATIONAL COURSES ' WIRKERS SHOW EKTHUSIASM The success of short educational courses in the far-back .Public Works camps has been established beyond question by the efforts of the Otago vV.E.A. during the past few weens. While the outcome of fast year's experimental courses fn the Holly ford and Haast Pass districts was considered gratifying, the interest aroused this year was considerably greater. At the Haast, with a camp of about 160 men, attendances at the lectures averaged about 110, and six discussion groups were formed to continue study by means of typed material and correspondence with the tutors. In the Hollyford region lectures were given ,ut Marian camp (about 70 men), at Cascade (20 married, workers), and at Homer Tunnel, The average attendance for all these camps was 36 at 14 lectures, and six group courses were arranged. Attendances at the Homer Tunnel were not large, the reason being that the work is being rushed, dnd long overtime hours are being worked. In both districts valuable help was given by the engineers - (who arranged transport for workers to the • camps where lectures were being given), by the Y.M.C.A. and its secretaries, and by the officers of the New Zealand Workers’ Union. • ON THE HAAST PASS ROAD. Conditions were favourable on the Haast Pass road, nearly all the men being concentrated in the one camp, at Davies iiat. Proceedings were enlivened there by the social ■ activities arranged by Mr S. R. Morrison, who organised and led an amateur orchestra and arranged community singing and items by the workers in conjunction with the lectures and discussions, so that the camp—despite the hours worked with ■ pick and shovel—took on much the character of a summer school. Mr Morrison’s associate was Mr F. B. M'Laren. Both are graduates of Otago University ' with first-class honours. A valued voluntary helper was Mr D. A. J. Rutherford, late Director of Education in Samoa, whose illustrated lecture on Samoan life was probably the most popular of the series. Mr Rutherford also gave great assistance on the social side, and was pianist for the orchestra. Mr R. Lucas, Y.M.C.A. secretary, also took a keen and active interest in the W.E.A. effort.

As there is no electric power at the camp, lantern slides were shown with the aid of car batteries, several of the workers lending their batteries for a period. The pictures, including a series on. Japanese life lent by Mrs W. N. Benson, were much appreciated. Mr M'Laren’s lectures were ‘ Gandhi and Nansen,’ ‘ What Is Happening in Palestine?’ ‘Colonial Problems,’ and ‘ The Auckland Islands.’ Mr Morrison’s subjects were ‘The Chine-Japan Conflict,’ ■ ‘The Population Problem in New Zealand,’ ‘ Labour Governments of the World’ (France, Mexico,’ Scandinavia, and New Zealand), ‘ Experimental Psychology.' Groups were formed to study the following W.E.A. courses:— ‘ Experimental Psychology’; ‘ New Zealand To-day and To-morrow ’; 1 International Issues, 1938 ’; ‘ Biology and Social Problems ’; ‘ The Labour Movement in New Zealand ’; also a play-reading group. The season ended with a successful dance and social last Saturday evening. Mr D. Barnea, M.P., visited the camp during the season and was much impressed by the work and the interest shown. IN THE HOLLYFORD. The tutors appointed for the Hollyford camp were the same as last year —Messrs Angus Ross and C. J- F. Simkin, both first class honours men. Mrs Ross accompanied the party and gave much help, -organising a playreading group at Cascade camp, and giving a lecture on “ Propaganda ” at Marian tp an audience of 45. Though conditions on the whole were less favourable than last year, when Homer Tunnel was the headquarters and an excellent rallying centre, the work' went, on the whole, even more favourably. Introducing the subject of Psychology, Mr ' Simkin lectured at Marian and Cascade on ‘ Are You All There ?—The Psychology of Everyday Mistakes.’ He gave two further lectures on Psychology at Cascade, where a group was formed to continue the study of this subject, besides a playreading group, which hopes to give a performance of ‘ Cupjd flampant ’- (a burlesque on Hitlerism) at Marian shortly, on the occasion, of the organising tutor’s visit. The lectures at Marian (to which workers from Cascade were transported by the Department lorries) were a series on ‘ The Next Depression,’ by Mr Simkin, and a varied series by Mr Ross, including ‘The War in China,’ ‘ The British Labour Movement,’ ‘ New .Zealand’s Relations with the. Outside World,’ and * The British Empire.’ The Hon. H. T. Armstrong, Minister of Labour, was present at the camp on the day when ‘ New Zealand’s Relations 5 were discussed, and gave his assistance. At Homer Tunnel Mr Ross' gave two of his lectures. Discussion groups were formed at both Marian and Cascade to take the courses on ‘ The Labour Movement in New Zealand ’ and ‘ New Zealand Today and To-morrow.* The party; returned to Dunedin on Tuesday. _ being unfortunately involved in a collision near Te Anau, in which Mr Morrison was injured, having a rib broken. He is making a good recovery.