CANTEEN WORKERS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20636, 16 August 1941, Page 4

CANTEEN WORKERS

TWO GISBORNE GIRLS OVERSEAS APPOINTMENT Congratulations were being showered to-day upon Misses P. Burke and I. Somervell, two Gisborne girls who have been selected with 28 others from many parts of the Dominion to proceed overseas under army control. They are to assist in staffing the clubs and canteens maintained for the benefit of New Zealand soldiers serving in the war zone, and have been selected for their proven capacity in organising and management. Miss Burke is the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. U. Burke, Northcote road, and has taken a prominent part in patriotic work in Gisborne since the organisation of the Poverty Bay Women’s Central Representative Committee. Among other activities, Miss Burke has had much to do with the catering tasks undertaken by the committee in connection with successive annual shows and with the recent rodeo, and also has given much of her time to the patriotic shop in Gisborne. She is a keen horsewoman and a skilled driver, trained in motor mechanics. In a test following her course of mechanical training. Miss Burke scored top marks. Sports Distinction Miss I. Somervell is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. E. Somervell, Ballance street, and for several years has been a leading official of the Poverty Bay Basketball Association, for which she has acted as sole selector and coach in successive seasons. Miss Somervell has been a member of the Gisborne War Emergency Corps since the inception of the uniformed unit, and recently resigned from the post of selector of the Basketball Association to give more time to the work of the unit. She received a signal honour this year, when she was selected by the New Zealand association to referee matches at the Dominion tournament, which is to take place shortly in Rotorua. Her selection for overseas work will necessitate her surrendering the sporting distinction, the first of its kind to come the way of a Gisborne lady. Miss Somervell is employed by Messrs. Adair Bros., Limited, in their Cash Stores branch, and is a highly popular member of the staff.