WOMEN’S DIVISION.

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19899, 30 May 1936, Page 3

WOMEN’S DIVISION.

PUTARURU BRANCH. , A particularly interesting featurel of the meeting of the Putaruru] W.D.F.U. on Monday was a reportl by Miss Jean Sneddon upon the re-l cent educational course for daugh-i ters of members held at ’l‘aui‘ang‘a.l The course extended over four daysl and was attended by 53 girls, includ- l in; Misses Sneddon, P. Ruthe and P. Ranger, of Putaruru. The girls were welcomed by the Mayoress of Tauranga, Farmers‘ Union, the Chamber of Commerce, the Girl Guides, and other local institutions, and given a very extensive course of extremely interesting lec—tures by various authorities, each day being devoted to a. difl'erent subject. Thus on “Home Day” lectures were given on "The Ideal Home” by Mrs. Stenhouse, “Beautiful Surroundings”! by Mrs Corregin, “Handicrafts” by Mrs McNaughton, “The Glory Box”I by Mrs Castles, “Economy—Wise or Otherwise” by Mrs Stewart, and “Dress Renovation" by Mrs Marshall Wallis. The principal talks on “Health Day" were given by Mrs Glacken on invalid :are and sickroom training, on food and digestion by Miss Jackson, common diseases by Dr. Marks, and lectures by oculists and a Plunket nurse, while a visit was made to the public hospital, where a thorough inspection was made of each department. Interesting Travel Talk. Other splendid addresses were given | by the headmaster of the Tauramzal High School on “Some of Life's Ideals," by the Rev. Father Eccleston on the “Basic Ideals of Beauty." dealing- mainly with character, by Mrs Knowles on the League of Nations, Mrs Baddeley on "Beautiful Pictures," and a lecture on plant life by Mr Davidson. Of special note was a travel talk by Mr Denis Knowles, describing a car journey across Northern Europe and back. Visits were paid to the Technical School for an address on Home Science and Preserving, to the High School, where students were engaged in copper work, wool work, poker work and other home crafts. to a citrus farm for a demonstration in the curing of lemons, and to the modern Hillsdene motor camp. Attention was given also to physical culture and there was a roll call of hobbies. One of the most interesting visits was to the premises conductedl by Mr Cameron. where was seen the 1 largest collection of ferns in the Southern Hemisphere. The visitors were surprised to learn that there were 172 known different species of

’fern in New Zesland, including both the largest and smallest in the world. The smallest was only half an inch L in height. . Visit to Mission House. The social side of the course was delightfully arranged, and a visit was made to the Elms, the old missionary house in Tauranga where was housed the first piano brought to New Zealand. An added distinction was that it was also one of the first make of piano, and though it had been out of order for 20 years, it had been repaired and was played for the visitors. In the building were also the first our pet chair and the first bell brought to New Zealand, together with many other relics, while in front of the house was the spot where the local Maoris surrendered to the settlers. A visit was made also to Te Rengai'enga. an historic Maori fort. On the first day of their visit the girls were entertained at the home of Mrs Christion. AT ELSTOW. one of the most enjoyable events held in the lilstow Hall for some time was the concert and dance held by the Elslow scnlur branch of the W.D.F.U. on Friday evening. There was a largoi attendance and the programme was greatly enjoyed. After a delicious supper, an enjoyable time was spent in dancing to music supplied by local musicians. .\lr J. )Im'telli was .\I.C. Thanks are extended to all who helped to make the evening such a success. Items on the concert programme were as follows :—Duet, Misses P. and E. Blacktord (piano and violin); elooution, Mrs H. Strange; song, Mr ’l‘. Qualtroush; Highland dance, Miss Bernlce Mackay; ventriloquism, Canon Turner and ‘Ulaude‘; mouth organ solo, Master Graham Bennett; song, Mrs Dallas; Sean T-riuhhas, Miss Irene Martin; play, by menrhers of the Springtime Institute, "Rested." Sword‘ dance. Mlss Margo McLeod; song, Mr‘ A. Stewart; elocution, Miss C. Jackson: song. Mrs S. Clark; dialogue, Mrs l‘Zspiner and Mrs Laurie. of the Te Aroha—Wuihou W'.D.F.U. The accompaniments were played by Mrs Qualtroush and Miss J, Turner. NGARUAWAHIA BRANCH. The monthly meeting of the newlyformed Ngaruawahia branch of the Women's Division was held in the Orange Hall on May 21. There was a good attendance of members, Mrs . Empson presiding. Mrs F. Ryburn, president of the South Auckland Provincial Executive, and Mrs W. Godfrey, organiser for the South Auckland district, were present and addressed the members on the aims, objects, and general work of the organisation, and spoke on the remits to be dealt with at the forthcoming Dominion conference in July. A competition for the best butter sponge was won by Mrs Patterson.

TE AWAMUTU BRANCH. A meeting of the Te Awamutu branch of the Women’s Division was held in the Parish Hall on Thursday afternoon. The president, Mrs W. G. Neill, occupied the chair and there was a_ large attendance of members and Visitors from neighbouring divisions and other women‘s organisations. The first part of the meeting was conducted by Mrs Neill who, when Ithe routine work had been disposed iof, handed the chair over to Mrs W. ‘Godfrey. The reason for the change was prompted by a kindly thought on I Mrs Neill’s part. The birthday celebrations had been postponed from the March meeting on account of the death of Mrs W. G. Macky, a devoted worker. At that time Mrs Godfrey was president, and it seemed appro—priate that she should conduct the meeting celebrating the seventh birthday of the division. A very enjoyable programme had been arranged by Mrs Hartley Hall. The items which were all warmly applauded consisted of a violin solo by Mrs Barry; song, Mrs Berry; elocu—tion, Mrs Trevor Nicholson; short stories, Mrs McCready, and song, Mrs Lyndsay Young. A very clever sketch was given by Mrs W. Hopping and Miss F. Kay. Mrs Ryburn, president of the South Auckland Provincial, presented houqueis in Mrs Godfrey as a token of loyalty and esteem, and to Mrs Worthington, the honorary librarian, for her devoted work. Both members were accorded musical honours. Birthday greetings were conveyed to the division by Mrs 'Ryburn, president of the South Auckland Provin—ria], Mrs Clements, president 01‘ tlm‘ Hamilton \V.D., Mrs Burchell, presi-l dent of the Te Awamutu \Nomen’s Institute, and Mrs Probin, on behalf of the Otorohan-g'a VV.D. The birthday cake, with its seven candles was lit, extinguished and cut. The tea, which had been provided by all members, brought a successful birthday party to a close. A very large number of parcels of useful left-off clothing was collected for necessitous cases that might occur during the winter. ' AT TATUANUI. At the May meeting of the Tatum-mi branch of the W.D.F.U. Mrs S. Elliott presided. The quotation for the month was given by Mrs Darrell. An interesting demonstration regarding the making of attractive dishes from “left-overs” from meals was given by Mrs 0. Le Gallais. A competition for a child’s frock costing- not more than 1s 6d was won by Mrs Frampton with Mrs Woodley second. In the competition for a vase of flowers Mrs Darrall and Mrs Poynter tied for first place with Mrs Wratt second. The hostesses were Mesdames W. Northcott, J. Nola and F. J. Shirley. ©W®®®®®©®©©©©®©©®©