HAPPY LANDING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23773, 28 September 1940, Page 13

HAPPY LANDING

V BRITISH CHILDREN FIRST OFFICIAL PARTY 89 REACH WELLINGTON [bt telegraph—press association-] WELLINGTON", Friday Laughing, shouting and singing as the liner berthed, the first official party of British children to arrive in New Zealand under the Government scheme for the evacuation of youngsters from !' the danger zone to the Dominions reached Wellington to-day. With the . implicit faith of childhood, they gave ~ three cheers for /their new homes as th€» steamer drew into the wharf. ; There were SO, altogether, 37 girls , " and oil boys, in the charge of a schoolmistress, six escorts and two nursing Bisters. All came from Scotland. Be" tween 30 and 40 wore coming to friends or relations by whom they had been nominated. The remainder are to be billeted for the duration of the war ;; with foster-parents who had offered them homes in response to the appeal issued a few months ago. These did not. of course, know to whom they were going or what their destiny would be. Three Hearty Cheers The steamer's rail was lined with laughing young ,;faces as they came alongside. A young but heavily bearded R.N.V.R. rating, who was an apparent favourite with the children, was festooned with young admirers as - he pointed' out the sights. The children waved eagerly down at strangers on the wharf. "Oh, look! There's a real Maori," was one of the first, audible remarks. Then they hailed their new land with three hearty cheers. In charge of the children was Miss Jean Johnson, of Glasgow, headmistress of a children's school there before she undertook this form of national service. She will be returning immediately to England for a further Z batch. One of the two nursing sisters was Sister E. MpLauchlan, who went away from New Zealand with the Main Body of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to the Great War. Sho had not been back to New Zealand since 1920. " Bright and Happy Lot Miss Johnson said the, children had behaved extremely well on the voyage. She had never known such a bright and happy lot of) kiddies. The members of the ship's company were "simply daft" about them and she her- -. self was breaking her heart at the thought of parting with ,them. The main'task ! on the voyage was to keep the children occupied, Miss John- . son said. They diad games, lectures, English and geography lessons, physical training, ballet and cabaret dancing', and community singing. They/ were all sent to bed at 6.30 nightly. In the tropics all slept on the deck. The children were encouraged as far as possible to look after themselves. They did . their own washing and ironing, girls and boys alike. ( The discipline appeared to be strict, but anything but oppressive, as was evident from the alacrity with which Miss Johnson's least word was obeyed. Prom 15 ; to Five Years The children w£re mainly from Glasgow and Edinburgh in almost equal . proportions, but there were some from r Greenock, Kerrymuir and Aberdeen. c They ranged.in age from Sally Emmett, ( of Edinburgh, 15, to Warner Lamb, of • the same city, just five. The largest family comprised four sisters from 1 Greenock. 1 The children were warmly welcomed to' New Zealand by the Mayor of Wellington, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop, who addressed thern briefly as they had tea. They applauded vociferously and thanked him for his welcome with more cheers. Ministers Board the Ship All the children wore identification ■ discs round their necks and some evacuation labels in. their lapels. Kilts and t * tartan skirts were numerous. Soon after tea the Prime Minister, the Et. Hon. P. Eraser, with other 1 Ministers and members of the War 1 Cabinet, went on board. The occasion s was quite informal. The Ministers chatted with the'children and were photographed, in happy groups with '' them. e — '! ADVICE TO PARENTS h NORMAL HAPPY FAMILY LIFE j ■ li [by Telegraph—own correspondent J |. WELLINGTON, Friday Q Some suggestions to people in this country who have undertaken to receive British children into their homos were given in an address by Dr. C. E. Beebv, Director of Education, llie L ' main points made by Dr. Beeby "ere that the' children should be treated as » members of the family and be allowed ■ to slip as quietly as jiossible into the farriilv circle. Dr.' Boebv emphasised that nothing should be done that will tend to spoil them and lead -later>to unfortunate ■ reactions, and that they should not -'be allowed to become the centre of interest to friends and neighbours who might want to' hoar from them a re'•citnl of their experiences. At the same time ho did not suggest repression; his suggestion was that the children should j f be allowed to talk or lie silont on the subject as they wished without any prompting at all. Ho advised also the » keeping alive in the children of the E faith, that some day they will be going n back home. > \> The speaker's ,general advice wasto treat; the children with understanding and tolerance and to provide for them * the calm background of a normal happy family life.