FEMALE MIGRANTS

Grey River Argus, 1 March 1939, Page 7

FEMALE MIGRANTS

SETTLING in AUSTRALIA. AUCKLAND, February 28. On her way to Australia to conduct inquiries preparatory to the sending of English girls to that country, Miss E. M. Thompson, C.8.E., chairman of the Society for the Overseas Settlement of British Women, arrived at Auckland by the “Mataroa”. Miss Thompson, who will be in New Zealand for only a fortnight, is on her third trip to the Dominion, the last being in 1934, when she toured the country with a party of schoolgirls. “No negotiations are being carried out with the object of settling women in New Zealand at present,” said Miss Thompson. “I shall, of course, confer with executives of the Victoria League, our representative here, but there is no system of nominated passengers operating for New Zealand, as is the case with Australia.” Miss Thompson explained that under the system approved, nominees were able to get to Australia for £ll 10s. The British and Australian Governments Shared the difference between that sum and the ordinary steamer fare. The emigrants had to have with them at the time of landing the sum of £2. Ages ranged from 18 to 35. Not many women had been sent to Australia yet, but last year about 1,000 were sent to South Africa. They were women of all types—domestics, saleswomen, nurses, teachers, masseurs, and so on,” she said. Asked whether her organisation could supply women for settlement in New Zealand, Miss Thompson said it ’could, but at what rate of supply she could not say. There were always girls keen to come to New Zealand to start a new life. “In England there is also a definite shortage of domestics,” said Miss Thompson, commenting on the shortage of such workers in New Zealand. “The former high wages in your country are no attraction now, for rates have risen in England to such an exj tent that a good cook, for example, can command a really good wage. d “I am sure that in future there will i be no wholesale immigration as there ,' was just after the war. The procedure i'is entirely different now, and settlers ■ will come out to new countries in small batches or individually. As far as our organisation is concerned selection is carefully carried out. We select candidates for settling, but the final word rests with Ausrtalia House. Every settler comes out on her own merits.”