DISTINGUISHED VISITOR

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19943, 30 October 1934, Page 10

DISTINGUISHED VISITOR

Miss Sheila Macdonald, daughter of England’s Prime Minister, who is visiting Australia for the Centenary celebrations, is described as being tall and slim, with brown eyes, a delightful voice and a dignified poise. Miss Macdonald is a graduate of Somerville College, Oxford University, in Modern Greats. For the last two years she has had a very irlteresting job at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, doing research into the history of text-books of 30 different countries, with a view to discovering the kind of teaching in international affairs that is going on in the primary schools of those countries, states an Australian writer. To a remark that the nature of the work suggested the need for a wide knowledge of languages Miss Macdonald answered that she herself spoke only French and German, but that it was part of her responsibility to find competent translators of the other languages. Not always, she added, an easy thing to do. The institute came into existence, Miss Macdonald explained, following the peace conference, among the leaders responsible for it being Mr Linel Curtis. The work has been growing steadily until there it at present a staff of about 60 at the institute. In Miss Macdonald’s department there are nine or ten people engaged. Another job that provided her with very interesting work was that of secretary to Commander King-Hall, who does a great deal of journalistic work and broadcasting.