WOMEN’S INSTITUTES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 28 October 1941, Page 8

WOMEN’S INSTITUTES

NELSON FEDERATION II Ml'-YEARLY COUNCIL iUl.l ll\G AT N< LVI LMO IT the Nelson Federation of Womens Institutes was held in the Ngatimoti' Hall on Wednesday. 22nd October.' There was a large a Item la nee of delegates and members from all parts of s the district. Mrs E. A. Smith «president) eon-! ducted the meeting. With her were the I following members of the executive:; Mesdames Tweedy (Motueka). Johnston (Hope), Wilkes (Richmond),! Davies (Stoke Wakatu), Stallard (Collingwood) and Stable (Takaka). VISITORS WELCOMED Mrs Mitchell, president of the Ngati -j moti Women's Institute, welcomed the j visitors, remarking that it was the! first occasion on which a council meet-j mg; had been held at Ngatimoti. She ! took the opportunity of presenting j shoulder sprays to tthe president and 1 • members of the executive. Mrs E. A. Smith, in her address to the meeting, said how gratifying it; i was to see so many present, especially l as every institute was represented. She j commended all members for being 1 faithful to their organisation during a| ! time when there were so many calls j on their time and resources. : The following delegates presented i reports from their institutes: Mrs Nord. 1 i berg (Collingwood ). Mrs Eden (Hope-! I Ranzau), Mrs McKay (Lower Moutere), | Mrs Price (Mapua-Mahana), Mrs I Cowin (Motueka), Mrs Llewellin (Ngatimoti), Mrs Miller < Poharn ), Mrs Best j | (Richmond», Mrs St. John (Stoke- 1 j Wakatu), Mrs Henderson (Tahunanui), i Mrs Bell (Takaka). Miss Russ (Uruwhenua) and Mrs Douglas (Wakefield).! The reports showed that although war work was uppermost, the work of the Institute was going along smoothly land that the movement was actually growing in strength. | After the routine business of the j j meeting was disposed of, Mrs Smith' gave a report of the Dominion Council meeting, which she had attended. She; announced that the 21st anniversary of Women’s Institutes in New Zealand | would take place in 1U42. She urged! institutes to support the Dominion! i Conference and each to send a dele-: gate. She also reported the great satis-! faction of the Dominion Executive in | j having Mrs Barnicoat appointed to I | the New Zealand Standards Institute Committee. PIONEER WOMEN’S MEMORIAL After consideration of remits, it was decided to approach the . Nelson City j Council with a view to having more conveniently situated conveniences in the city for women and children. I Especially is it desired that they be j available during week-ends and holidays. | It was also decided that institutes! j subscribe to a suitable memorial to the; J Pioneer Women of Nelson District to ‘ |be placed in a prominent place in the! J city during the Centennial Celebrations, in 1942. Mrs Chaytor, a member of the Crippled Children’s Society, spoke on ; behalf of the Society and thanked in- 1 stitutes who had contributed to its! funds. LONG-SERVICE BADGES During the afternoon, Mrs Smith | presented the first long-service badges to be awarded in the Nelson district to: . Mrs Llewellin (first president of the l Ngatimoti Institute), Mrs Mitchell pre-j sent president of the Ngatimoti Institute) and Mrs Burrell (secretary of the Ngatimoti Institute). Each of these ladies harl ten years’ service to her ; crecjit, Ngatimoti being the first Women’s Institute formed in the Nel- - son Province. 1 It was announced that the onion • growing competition had been won by > the Uruwhenua Women’s Institute, and 1 the certificate presented. ! A report from Mrs Jenson, honorary ' organiser of the Institute’s group travel scheme, stated that organised tours to ■ Franz Josef Glacier, Mount Cook and j . Eglinton Valley had been conducted, 91 I 1 persons having taken advantage of * ■ them. INTERESTING ADDRESS i A feature of the meeting was an address by Mrs Pond, of the Janefield > Women’s Institute, Mosgiel, who re- : turned from England in May of this | l year. Mrs Pond, who was a nurse in j ‘ the Great War and did refugee work i 1 among children prior to her return toj ■ New' Zealand, gave a glowing account j : of the wonderful spirit of the women j of England in the ordeal through which I . they are passing. Mrs Pond was thanked for her j ( i address and presented with a shoulder | spray. A very sucessful meeting closed with | ; afternoon tea and the singing of the i j New Zealand national song.