YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.

Northern Advocate, 21 October 1920, Page 3

YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.

WHANGAREI BRANCH FORMED

The accommodation in the supperroom of the Town Hall was occupied yesterday afternoon by an attendance of 24 ladies and nine gentlemen, the occasion being tne formation of a Whangarei branch of the Young Women s Christian Association, and an address by Miss Florence Birch, National Fields Secretary of New Zealand tor thac organisatiin.

At th© request ox the Mayor (Mr. J. S. DiuU), wiio presided, Mr. H. W. Crawford submitted th 6 financial position of the Whangarei Hostel Fund, wnich indicated that £2136 8s 6d had been promised to date. Mrs. Hanlon then moved, seconded by Mrs. Pope, that a Whangarei branch of the Young Women's Christian Association be organised, and the motion was carried unanimously. The articles of incorporation and constitution of the association were read by Mr. h'. H. Steadman, and, after some discussion upon matters such as the numbers required for a quorum, they were adopted. Inter alia, it was decided that 18 directors should be appointed, and upon the advice of Miss Birch, it was resolved that seven should form a quorum.

Four of the ladies present who wer e visitors to th e district intimated that they did not propose joining ihe Whangarei branch and the rest were duly appointed members of the organisation. The following ladies were elected to the Board of Directors for the first year;—Mesdames Dent, Carruth, Holmes, Levien, McGregor, Hanloh, Pope, Miller, Steadman and Harington, who had acted as the provisional directors, and Mesdames Peat, Kamo; Wharfe, Maungatapere; Ormiston, Onerahi; Hutchinson, Huanui; McCarroll, Maunu; Rust, Hikurangi; J- J- Fraser, Poroti; and W. Jones, Titoki. MISS BIRCH'S ADDRESS.

Miss Birch declared, m response to the Mayor's introductory remarks that she had come/o Whangarei at considerable inconvenience to further the movement, that it really was with eagerness that she had made the visit, and she congratulated the provisional committee upon having made so good a start, which she declared was a good sign for the future. The speaker said knew perfectly well that the committee would have.met with some who considered the purchase of the hostel an extravagant one, but that was to have been expected; it always was the ease. Those holding such views deserved a hearing, but Miss Birch said she ventured' to 'think that the day would come when th e people of the district would look with pride up the street and would show visitors th e beautiful hostel in its pretty grounds, indicating at the same time that it represented what the people of the. district had purchased and had given to the The acquisition of the hostel was in accord with a movement going on' in all parts of the country, arising from realisation of the fact that it was a good thing to look after the girls. It had been the custom rather to provide for men. but it was evident now that people wanted to do things to. help girls in a town and to hold them there. Provision of the hostel would be of marked benefit to country girls and those in business or engaged in domestic duties. The Y.W.C.A. would not encourage girls to stay out of situations, but when they were unemployed the fact that there were the comforts of the hostel available would tend towards keeping them in the diltriet. Miss Birch congratulated ! the Whangarei district upon its acu- j men in providing the institution and j said she hoped that there would be a spirit of self-sacrifice evident within the building, similar to that elsewhere. In this connection the speaker instanced a case in Wellington where a newcomer to the hostel would have been turned away, owing to there being "no beds available, had not one of the boarders given up her bed for the tired visitor and made a-shake-down for herself upon the floor.

Miss Birch declared that the pub- I lie could disabuse its mind of any suspicion that the hostel would be for only one section of the community. So far the executive had found that the association everywhere catered for girls from all parts of the com. munity; in fact, one use the hostels had been put to was to bring girls from all walks of life together and thereby to foster th e fine spirit of comradeship. The speaker said she liked to think that the people were providing more than a mere hostel. She niade glowing reference to the splendid grounds surrounding the building and pointed out that visitors from the country having babies in their charge would be welcome there. The grounds would be open to people who, being visitors from th e country, desired to rest, and were admirable for that purpose.

It should be remembered, continued Miss Birch, that a girl's outlook on life in certain cases could be overcome. There was a lot of opposition to the wearing of silk stockings and georgette blouses, but Miss Birch declared that she sympathised with the girls who did so. AH women were anxious to mak e themselyes attractive, and there was more work for the girl's'of th e georgette blous 6 nowadays than there used to be. Unemployment of girls in a town rarely occurred, and it was probably be-

cause business life afforded mor c opportunity for comradeship that there were less domestics available. Miss Birch said she considered that it was the existing commercial conditions which had thrown that type of girl into the position she was in to " day. Homes were even perhaps less happy than they used to be and it really was circumstances which had le_ to the georgette blouse and silk stocking type of young woman, and to the charge of extravagance against her. Th e speaker asserted that she had seen great changes effected in the making of girls into splendid, helpful citizenesses and remarked: "Don't let us criticise, but rather build up. Let us hav e confidence in the girl and in the assocation." The organisation of the association was headed by a national board in Australia and a field committee in New Zealand, the duties of which were to organise the movement within the Dominion. At th e present time there wer e about 20 application* for guidance in the provision of hostels in. various parts of New Zealand, and in not one instance had the association first asked or prompted their formation. Miss Birch suggested that th e Whangarei Y.W.C.A. should affiliate with the National Board, and the suggestion.,was adopted.

The Mayor thanked Miss Birch for her address and the ladies present then signed the application for incorporation under the Friendly Societies Act.

The Rev. G. Lochore, as a minister in the town, declared that it was a matter for gratification that a branch of the Y.W.C.A. had been formed in Whangarei, as it stood for all that was finest in social and religious life. H e said that he knew little of the Y.W.C.A., but he cherished happy recollections of two sessions of residence at the Christchurch V.M.C.A. in his student days. With that experience as a basis, he feltssu e that in future ladies-would carry happy recollections of the camaraderie which would rule in the beautifully-situated hostel which the public were providing for the district, and for the future of which all wished success.