MONTECILLO HOME

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24772, 24 November 1941, Page 3

MONTECILLO HOME

SUCCESSFUL GARDEN FETE WORK OF DISABLED MEN To raise funds for the maintenance of the Montecillo Home for sick and wounded soldiers, and to provide the patients with an extra opportunity of disposing of their handiwork, a garden fete was held by the Dunedin Red Cross Association in the grounds of the home on Saturday afternoon. In spite of the dull weather, the fete was well patronised by the public, and as the result of sales of work and competitions, the funds of the home benefited by £2ll lis lOd. The president of the Returned Services' Association, Mr W. E. Earnshaw. declaring the fete open, said that the Montecillo Home had been opened in 1918 to care for wounded and convalescent soldiers. The home had been maintained by funds collected during the Great War, which were administered by the Joint Council of the Red Cross and St. John. The work had been carried on continuously for 26 years by 'means of these funds, and no calls had been made on the public purse during that period to assist in meeting the| expenses of the home, which had been serviced by the Red Cross Association. "The Returned Services* Association feels confident that the work is in capable hands," said Mr Earnshaw. who stressed the need for such a home in Dunedin. The home usually accommodated 30 soldiers, and over 1000 had passed through it since the last war. "Recently, a number of Territorials from the camps around Dunedin have been provided with a temporary home at Montecillo during their convalescence," Mr Earnshaw added. The opportunity provided by vocational training for men who were unfit for normal work was described by Mr Earnshaw, who commended the work of the returned soldiers to the patrons of the fete. "The question of handling numbers of men who are suffering from physical disability is one that will have to be faced in the future," he added. "It will be good for the men if they are given the opportunity to find the real happiness that lies in work." Because of the threatening weather, the display of handicrafts was held indoors, and the articles offered met with a ready sale. Competitions were also nopular. and music was provided by the Band of the Ist Battalion. Otago Regiment, under Lieutenant L. Aston.