DISPLACED PEOPLE SETTLING IN AT MURUPARA CAMP

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 47, 5 October 1949, Page 5

DISPLACED PEOPLE SETTLING IN AT MURUPARA CAMP

A visit to the Displaced Persons camp at Murupara last week-end found newcomers still very busy settling in and a call at the house of the latest arrivals revealed Mrs Tucker and Mr Mason of Rotorua very busy distributing clothing, kitchen utensils, crockery and furniture.

The goods are distributed with the greatest fairness and where there is only one article and two or more families for it, as happened in the case of a kitchen settee which had been brought from Rotorua along with other furniture, lots are drawn. The two young women who Were taking part in the “draw” did not seem to be quite clear what Was going on but accepted the decision quite cheerfully, trusting in the word of Mr Mason.

The house seemed to be a veritable “lucky dip,” and men and women were entering and coming out with a motley assortment of goods. One carried a squab for the settee, another a baby’s high chair; one a couple of kitchen chairs; then a dressing-table came through the door with many helping hands to push it through. Clothing, jugs, basins, etc., all kept coming from this ever-open door. Cause For Thought

Seeing these people, so cheerful in a strange land and under such conditions, makes one begin to think how one would like to be taken to a foreign land, not able to speak the language properly, not knowing their ways; not. having anything of one’s own with which to start a home and having to rely on other people to help one get that start.

However,- all seemed happy and cheerful though they no doubt feel the strangeness of their surroundings. A young Lithuanian girl, wife of a German doctor, explained that she quite liked it where she was, but it was very quiet—a fact which there is no gainsaying. Some seem to be trying to get a little garden started and one family was met coming back with their arms full of ferns. They also had a pram full of them, but closer inspection revealed a baby nestling amongst their cosiness. Help Appreciated

They are very grateful for all that is being done to help them get settled and a great variety of goods has already been distributed, but much more is still needed. Mr Mason said that crockery, kitchen utensils, curtains, etc., are the most wanted things and it is hoped that each family will have its share of such items before very much longer. The visit was both enjoyable and. enlightening but almost got off to a wrong start when Mr Mason mistook the party with which the Beacon’s representative travelled for displaced persons and asked which v/as their house and what did want. However, this seemed quite fair as, until he spoke, they thought he was a displaced person too! Things were soon explained, however, and the party left hoping to be able to return and visit them all again when they had settled down a bit better.