NEWS FOR WOMEN

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24911, 26 June 1946, Page 2

NEWS FOR WOMEN

CURRENT NOTES

Lady Park left Auckland by Tasman Empire Airways flying-boat yesterday morning for Sydney on her way home to England. She was to have accompanied her husband, Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park, who left by a special Royal Air Force Sunderland flying-boat last Friday, but she was confined to bed in Auckland with an attack of pleurisy. Lady Park has been in the Dominion nearly a month. (P.A.)

Arrangements for broadcasts to be made of part of the annual Conference of the Women’s Division of the Farmers’ Union, which will open at Wellington next Monday have been announced. The Dominion president of the organisation (Mrs W. Elliott) will give a message to members throughout New Zealand on the opening day. The following Thursday evening from 2YA there will be a 15-minute broadcast of the pageant for the twentyfirst birthday celebrations, when various speakers will give details of the work of the Women’s Division.

Under a new scheme for checking nurses’ health at the Wellington Hospital no stone is left unturned to ensure that each record is complete in every detail. By the time it is thoroughly established every nurse in the hospital, as well as those at the other hospitals under the Wellington Hospital Board’s jurisdiction, will have her own carefully computed file. When a nurse begin? her training her personal health history and that of her family background are recorded. From a doctor outside the hospital she has a physical examination before she is accepted for training, while the hospital doctor’s findings finalise the two previous reports made. Under the nurses’ health records plan a complete history of any nurse’s illnesses will be available, from the time she enters the hospital to when she leaves. Every six months the nurses have a Mantoux test (for detecting tuberculosis); every month a weight check is made, and noticeable decreases reported. The scheme is for nurses in training and trained nurses, not V.A.’s or other female hospital workers. The monthly meeting of the board of managers of Stratheona Home Training Hostel was held recently. A report on activities on the farm was received from the farm committee. A report on the progress of the trainees syas presented by the matron. Ways of utilising to the best advantage the work of trainees in -country homes were discussed.

Miss Jean Begg, of Dunedin, the director of Youiig Women’s Christian Association welfare services in India, was created an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (0.8. E. in the King’s Birthday Honours.—(P.A.)

The Congregational Federation of Women held its annual day of prayer at the Trinity Congregational Church recently. The speaker was Major Searle.

Mr P. G. Riches, patron of the Banks Peninsula Lawn Tennis Sub-Associa-tion presented the Rhodes Cup to the Akaroa Lawn Tennis Club at a dance held recently by the sub-association at Duvauchelle. Trophies were also presented to the winners of the Easter tournament.

The first women’s organisation to begin voluntary war work in Auckland, the women’s committee of the Territorial Force Association, will cease its activities at the end of this month. With the Drill Hall as its main headquarters, this voluntary band of women extended as times went on both in numbers and activities. From 1939 to 1944. the women’s committee served 18,000 cups of tea a month. The monthly receipts for the same period were £9OO to £lOOO, for, although mobilised men who were at the Drill Hall for boarding were served with refreshments free of charge, nominal charges were made to Army personnel attached to the Drill Hall. The cost of the food was borne out of these receipts and any surplus money was handed to various military units in the form of donations. The same system applied to any surplus money derived from meals served at the military camps.

The lady editor of “The Press’’ gratefully acknowledges receipt Of magazines from J.D.W., children’s books from an anonymous friend; and other gifts for patients at the sanatorium and for the “Glenelg’’ Health Camp from L.G. and W.A.K. Gifts Of wool and matches for “Glenelg” are also acknowledged from Mesdames 8.H., Westminster . street, W. Eager, Carter, and Campbell. At the end of the month one of the large dairy companies of Christchurch will revert to its pre-war practice of employing men on the milk rounds. During the last four years this work has been capably carried out by nine women employees who took up the work as a war-time employment. “It was very hard work in the winter months, but we enjoyed it in the summer,” said one of the women yesterday. She said that in frosty weather the horses drawing the floats gave a lot of trouble, and it was difficult to prevent them from slipping on the roads. Work began at 5.30 a.m. in the summer and at 6 a.m. in the winter and finished about 11 a.m. “Although we were finished early, this was a full-time job. We were too tired to start any other work,” said one employee. The crates of milk, which were sent down from the company’s farm to the depot in trucks, had to be reloaded by the girls on to the milk floats. There were about 220 houses in each “round” and two girls worked on each float, with one girl employed as a reliever. Days off were not always plentiful. “If we got one day off in eight we were lucky; sometimes we didn't get one for three weeks,” commented one employee. “I didn’t realise how inconsiderate some of the public could be until I had to deal with them,” one worker said. “But some of our customers were very good to us. One woman on our round has given us morning tea every morning for almost four years.” Of those who joined the staff four years ago. only two remain, but almost all the others have had three years’ service. PRE-COOKING preserves that Delicious Nutty Flavour in ’’HOLLY” OATMEAL or Rolled Oats. Your grocer stocks delicious “Holly” Oatmeal—the new breakfast cereal—cooks in two minutes. Advt Make an appointment on Klexema Telephone, 34-566, and benefit by specific treatment of skin and scalp troubles. Address: Triangle Buildings. 281 High street Advt.