AN APPEAL FOR GIRLS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20365, 20 September 1929, Page 13

AN APPEAL FOR GIRLS.

NEW ZEALAND EXTOLLED*

A VISITOR'S IMPRESSIONS.

"A FREE AND HAPPY LIFE."

[FROM OUB OWN COBRESPONDENT.]

LONDON, Aug. IS.

The August issue of The Sunday at Homo publishes an article by Mr. Peter, Cowley, who has recently spent about:a. year travelling widely in New Zealand—"that interesting country" where they arei wanting girls. It is safely asserted that, "tho right sort of young woman is both needed and welcomed in that beautifuL land. But they should be of the right, sort." „

"Is it not, therefore, strange to hear of b'esitation among young women to g® . overseas to one of the Dominions T Partly no doubt, it is the result of poor information, of a lack of knowledge of thf» conditions obtaining there; partly it i« due to the grousinghabits of the. Britisher, who always looks upon ■ th«i worst side of things; and partly it is duei to a reasonable and natural reluctance to» leave home." §& Mr. Cowley says that the'girl who goes; on her own to New Zealand, must not b» afraid of isolation. On "'the scattered farms of the back-blocks and cn the plains of the South Island, and on the isolated dairy farms of the North Island she must be prepared to "stick it" without th® company of a crowd. This will mean a. wrench to the town-dweller; but it ip a. wrench which is very well worth whiles. She will get near to nature's'heart; sh» will learn whrft life is when reduced to. V its simplest terms. . . . She must b» prepared for hard work. The conditions; are utterly different froia England.' Ni>V running round the corner to the ham-and-beef shop if sho is short of a lunch for ; the family! r 1 '

The "Country ol Sunshine," <

"Of course, she has recreations. . Bom* people think they have too many holiday® in New Zealand. .The' essence .of A . treat is-jarity. And one of the greatest treats in that country of sunshine is a picnic to some famous spot to which . the-girl goes as one of the family. -I want ;£■to emphasise this, because it is one of th» finest features of life in the Dominions.. - "It should not be assumed that becausei the chief exports of the country are wool„ mutton and dairy produce, there is any work for women on farms. New Zealand, knows nothing of girl-farmers! Housework is the main occupation of women ia . New Zealand; and it is to the credit of the men, that, as far as possible, thef help even in that. f "There stands before me as I write, continues Mr. Cowley, "a plain whitewood vase, beautifully ebonised and stained with flowers and fruit ,in natural, well-blended colours; This is the work of a New Zealand farmer's daughter," who/ also sings and plays, plays tennis, breeds and trains and exhibits ponies, and goes in for riding and jumping competitions. Sho also drives a motor and knfiws a very great deal about cooking and all manner !of farm work. She may be taken .as cal of the modern New Zealand girl—th« girl beside whom our emigrant girls will have to live and work in perfect equality —if they can stand the pace! For they do not believe in putting one to a job., they would not tackle themselves; so you must be prepared to meet them on their own ground. "

Courage and Cheerfulness/

"The qualities above all necessary ar» courage and cheerfulness. Can you bear teasing? Can you take a joke? Then, other things being equal, you. will certainly find* a suitable place in a New

Zealander's family, for a more inveterate lot of leg-pullers I have never seen J

And you will want courage; for in tha , , , rough, isolated, stark, and often bare life it is sometimes necessary for a girl to undertake duties which, in urban sur« roundings, would not fall to her shore. She must not be scared by sickness." Readers are advised to get it out of their minds once for all that tfce girl who emigrates is going to the wilds'. "Few places to-day on the face of the earth aro unurbanised 5 1 and of those few tho Dominion of New Zealand is certainly not one. The climate is good; tho people are kind; life is free and happy. Workia always monotonous, alike below the Line as above it. But it may be done down there under conditions which are free and pleasant, and more than that, no girl has a right to ask."