The Social Round

Southland Times, Issue 24499, 29 July 1941, Page 3

The Social Round

Mrs C. J. Tocker, Earnslaw street, is at present visiting Queenstown. She is the guest of Mrs J. N. Armour. Mrs H. Dargaville, who died recently at Kaikohe at the age of 68 years was a direct descendant of Hone Heke, the famous warlike chief. Mr and Mrs E. H. Smith, Tahakopa, are visitors to town today for the Emden wedding celebrations of Mr Smith s parents, Mr and Mrs W. H. Smith, Biggar street. Miss Gretta Riddell has arrived at Wellington from Canada, to join her parents, Dr W. A. Riddell, High Commissioner for Canada in New Zealand, and Mrs Riddell. Miss Stewart Hamilton, of Wellington, who is to take charge of the pre-school educational centre at the Truby KingHarris Hospital in Dunedin, arrived in Dunedin yesterday. The purpose of the school, which will open at the beginning of the thu-d term, were explained

by Dr Helen Deem during her visit to Invercargill. The centre will be controlled by the Plunket Society in conjunction with the Dunedin branch ot the Free Kindergartens, in an endeavour to fill the gap in a child’s life when Plunket supervision ends and before it comes under the care of a school medical officer. From the negative evidence of an abscence of complaints it is assumed that little difficulty exists in North Taranaki in the supply of domestic help on farms. The president of the North Taranaki executive of the Women’s Division of the Farmers’ Union, Mrs C. Parker, has stated that no outcry for domestic help had reached the ears of the executive and no cases of distress because of lack of help had come to the executive’s notice. That was apart from the W.D.F.U housekeeping scheme’s activities. There was always a great demand for housekeepers, but for permanent domestic help for farmers’ wives the position was either much easier in North Taranaki than in other districts or the farmers’ wives were content to do without. Recently a social and dance were held in the Wakapatu school to bid farewell to Mr and Mrs Te Koete and Miss Coulston, who have left the district to live on the West Coast. Songs were sung by Mrs Portnick, and Messrs Belsham and Miss A. C. Dallas and Messrs C> Whelan, S. Pollard, J. Woods and S. McKenzie. Tap-dances were given by Misses E. and B. Cleaver. Mr G. Pearce in presenting a sum of money to each guest of honour, wished them success in their new home. Mr Austin, on behalf of the school committee, Mr R. Wilson (dairy factory suppliers), Mr Bennett and Mr Kini also spoke, and Mr Te Koete replied. Music was supplied by Mr M. Bennett and Messrs Stuck and Tecofsky were masters of ceremonies. EARLY TRAINING OF CHILDREN FREE KINDERGARTENS IN INVERCARGILL Twenty-one years ago the first free kindergarten in Invercargill was established. It was in Gala street and was opened as a creche. Today there are five kindergartens in the city and that fact alone shows the development and increase of the work. Each establishment is under the charge of a trained director, one of whom told The Southland Times that the training course took two years in a kindergarten in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or Dunedin. A refresher course was held every two years at one of those centres. “Children from three to five years are taken and in those critical years of a child’s life the training it receives is a vital factor in its future development,” she said. “Although the games may appear as such to the children, they are really scientifically designed and chosen to develop each aspect of the child’s personality, and to lay the foundations of a good citizen, mentally, morally and physically.” From the president of the Invercargill Free Kindergarten Council it was learned that the kindergartens were approved and subsidized by the Education Department. They were not Government institutions, but like the Plunket Society were voluntary organizations. Each one had a committee which worked to raise funds, and each one had a mothers’ club. The purpose of the clubs, which met regularly, was to provide a personal contact between staff and parents and to keep the parents in constant touch with the kindergartens. The five kindergartens are in different parts of the city. The Gala street kindergarten is now housed in a new building in Lindisfarne, and “Ranui,” the kindergarten in Nelson street, has recently been enlarged. “Wharapuna” is in Bowmont street and the Kew Kindergarten is in Selwyn street. Recently a new kindergarten was established at Waikiwi and it is hoped to build there when circumstances permit. AIR SCHOLARSHIP FUND AMY JOHNSON MEMORIAL A fund for an Amy Johnson memorial scholarship has been started in England under the organization of the Women’s Engineering Society. It is sponsored by Lord Sempill, Lady Astor, M.P., Sir Malcolm Campbell, M.8.E., Miss Caroline Haslett, C.8.E., Miss Pauline Gower and the Guild of Air Pilots. The scholarship is to be for women in aviation after the war, and the fund is to be invested meanwhile in Government stock. A memorial is later to be erected in some appropriate place. Miss Johnson was drowned in the Thames Estuary in January of this year when on a flight as a ferry pilot for the Air Transport Auxiliary, of which she was one of the 28 women members. The leader of the auxiliary is Miss Pauline Gower, one of the sponsors of the memorial fund.