GISBORNE CALL

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22362, 21 June 1947, Page 7

GISBORNE CALL

EAST AFRICAN FAMILY INTERESTING VISITORS Its a long way from Nairobi, Kenya., to Gisborne. New Zealand, but that’s the place where Mr. and Mrs. R. InnesWalker and their two sons, David and Michael, set out from over two months ago. Mrs. Innes-Walker. looking smart in an attractive grey bowler and grey suit with snakeskin shoes and matching handbag, was speaking to the Gisborne Herald yesterday and her remarks underline the outstanding differences in the way of life of the East African housewife, as compared with the New Zealand housewife. The visitor of course, is accustomed to having her home competently run by native servants who, when trained, make excellent servants. This is in direct contrast to New Zealand households, where the wife and mother is coo.v, laundress and maidservant all in one. Mrs. Innes-Walker thinks New Zealand women work dreadfully hard and although she realises that the servant problem is exceptionally simple in her home town, feels that something should be done about the work which New Zealand women do. The war brought with it another contrast. She was able to take a job as part of her war effort and her nome to the servants to look after. Now that the war is over, she is thinking of continuing the work. Servants’ wages are not high in Kenya, her cook receiving 50s a month, two houseboys each 40s a month and a garden boy 25s a month.

On the other side of the ledger, Mrs. Innes-Walker has to pay from £3 to £6 for a pair of ordinary shoes which price would come as something of a shock to a New Zealander. Shoes in East Africa arc made by Indian shoemakers called Fundis, incidentally. Clothes were not rationed in Kenya during the war, but bread, sugar and butter were.

Nairobi, although smaller than Gisborne, is a very much gayer place. There are three hotels complete with cabarets and dance bands for those who like this sort of relaxation, golf and polo are played extensively, and race meetings arc popular. Race Meetings Popular The visitor explained that although the women arrived at these racemeetings beautifully frocked and “often looking as though they had just arrived from Ascot,” there were only small races and gentlemen riders usually rode their own mounts, Mrs. Innes-Walker confessed that she was feeling the cold after living practically on the equator for years. The “cold season” in Kenya, June. July and August, was mild compared with our frosty mornings Contrasting again with the New Zealand way of lite. East African homes were usually built of stone, and in much bigger grounds than i n the Dominion. Some would be set in 10-acre gardens and even right in the towns, it was common to have a driveway extending to the front door. Mrs. Innes-Walker finds New Zealand women—despite their housework —looking most attractive in their tweedy-looking clothes and thinks they have lovely complexions. The visitors are spending fivemonths’ leave at present and came over on the same ship as the Springbok soccer team, which they saw play in Australia and which is now in New Zealand. They took a month by sea to reach Melbourne. From there they flew to Sydney and took the flving boa.t to New Zealand, the trip taking two months in all.

The Rotorua district, the Waikato (where they saw the Waftomo Caves and were most impressed by them) and South Island have all been visited or will be visited by this family, which is bent on seeing as much as possible of a country which they like very much They have many friends here, both being New Zealand-born. Mrs. InnesWalker is from Dunedin and will be looking up fellow ex-St. Hilda’s College schoolfriends, and her husband is an Aucklander who is a King's College old boy. The travellers saw some of the decorations still up in various places after tlie Royal lour and .they had to be seen to be believed, they said. There were enormous photographs of Princess Elizabeth, as- much as 20ft. j n length and width framed with electric lights and whole storied buildings draped in red, white and blue, expensive velvet, not bunting, being used. There were complete buildings with the verandahs smothered in potted geraniums and other flowers, the whole combining in a decorative scheme which must have cost many hundreds and thousands of pounds.

It is 21 and 10 years respectively since Mr and Mrs. Innes-Walker were in New. Zealand so they have plenty of comparisons to make. Final favourable comment on their impressions of New Zealand came from Mrs. Innes-Walker vvhen she said that compared with Australia, where they were quite likely to have to sleep in one hotel and eat in another, or be moved out altogether in two days, New Zealand’s travel facilities, if not luxurious, were comfortable and had not been subject to anv upsetting changes.