Farmers' Wives Praised

Chronicle (Levin), 31 August 1948, Page 6

Farmers' Wives Praised

RecoiVed. Monday, 7 p.m. ' ' LODDON /'Anguat 30. Writing in The . Farmers ' \V eekiy, a correspond»«iit, Miss Beryl Ilearnden, who has been touring New .Zealand, says: "I have come to the conelusipn that a farmer's wife works haxder than a'nyone I have met in this country. New Zealand may be a workera' paradise in the towus but there is no 40hour week in the country." Describing her impressions of Varying types of farming conditions in the New Zealand backbloclts, -Miss .Heurnden says the diiiiculties of New Zealand farmers ■ wiy'cs are due partly to isolati'on and partly to lack of labour. Particularlv on the larger stations ; the shortage of labour is not a mattep ,of inoney. - Domestic workers can. get good money in the towns and dislike the isolation of the country. " After describing conditions on. a large sheep rlm, the eorrespondent sayi life on smaller fanns is even tougher. She describes the day' to day routine of a farnier's ivife on a 1000-acre backblocks farm where the wife did all the buttcrmaking, houseivork ■ and cooking, looking after the pdultry' and in addition, during the period of AIiss . Ilearnden 's visit, was trying to ..teach tl.ie children their scho'ol lessbns' by a cpfrespondence.' course ovving; :to ' .the. closing of schbols' .d'uring •-th.e poiip epidemie. "The woriien • doir't :.cbmplain/.' says Miss •Heamden,--' /thpugh many of them iook .tire3 and^aVkssed. Talking to them, I fqund tho wdrst phft Of it is their fear • oi, -sickness: - They can make but when thi'ngS • are .npfmal but there is no margin for ft'cciclents..', It anything goes w.rong, there .is no one fo help. ' ' - ■ " . ' • .. . .* . Miss Ilearnden suggests' that whai many backbio'cks areas. iii.Kew .Zealand Jack, is a replica of the Englisli villago. In many areas the local hall will be iii one place, the schoohin another and the store in a thinL ,If they could all be brought together and possibly hbuses for married farinworkers erected arouinl them, the business of taking children to school and gathering stores would be simpler for the farmer's wife. Miss Hearnden praises the work of the Women 's Division of Federated Farmers, particular'ly tho Kainga . Moe rest home for farmers' -wives .neaf Palmerston North. .