20 Young Northlanders To Benefit By Holiday Scheme

Northern Advocate, 10 December 1940, Page 2

20 Young Northlanders To Benefit By Holiday Scheme

This is a story of thankfulness—thankfulness expressed. There is a Wellington schoolteacher, Miss J. D. Cunningham, who has a “thank you” to say to the men who have donned khaki and gone overseas to defend the freedom New Zealanders love so dearly.

And being a schoolteacher she could hit on no better idea than giving a holiday to twenty girls whose fathers are serving in the military forces.

. Miss Cunningham knows Northland—thinks McLeod’s Bay is the ideal spot for a holiday.

And so Greengables Camp was selected as the spot for the monster good deed and the twenty girls are to be selected from the Whangarei district.

They might have been brought from farther afield, but transport costs are hgh. Arrangements at Whangarei were left in the hands of Kupe.

He undertook to find the children and arrange transport from Whangarei to the camp and back. If twenty girls cannot be found whose fathers are serving with the permanent military forces, the rest of the number will probably be made up from girls whose fathers are returned soldiers.

The Mayor (Mr W. Jones) and the president of the Whangarei branch of the R.S.A. (Mr G. A. Bethell), when asked, were only too happy to cooperate in the big job of finding the children who are to benefit by this most geherous act of a Wellington lady. ' :

Goodness knows just how the selection will be made—perhaps the names will be drawn out of a hat —but certainly 20 young Northlanders will be able to write to their fathers saying that during the Christmas holidays they have had the best time ever. In the big scheme Miss Cunningham has received great support, particular-

ly from Mr and Mrs Wiffin, owners of Greengables camp, who have in a tremendous garden to help provide food for the camp. A special building has been erected.

It contains a well-laid-out kitchen, complete with small stove, and a tremendously large verandah that can be screened off to provide dry accommodation no matter how hard the rain (though we hope the Christmas holidays will be fine). Stout bunks have been built. The Helene and Wendy are two jolly little boats in which there’ll be high jinks in the creek and in the shallow water of McLeod’s Bay beach. The Helene in particular will be popular, for Mr Wiffin built her specially for young people. A grand scheme, this camp for girls whose fathers are soldiers. Let’s wish it the greatest success, Northlanders,