REST ROOM FOR MOTHERS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 291, 4 September 1919, Page 3

REST ROOM FOR MOTHERS

A GOOD WORK WELL STARTED. The fulfilment of a sohemn for -which its la-omoter, Mrs. Alex. Gray, has worked very hard and for a time past, .that of starting rest rooms, for mothers in the city of Wellington, took place C '.erday afternoon, when rooms that been acquired for such a purpose in No. 37 Oourtenay Plate were formally' opened J>.y. Her Excellcnc.y the Countess of Liverpool. There wi}s a large gathering of .members of tho'AVomen's National Reserve, of members of tho Mothers- Help Division (a branch of tho .reserve to whom fell the:\worlc of carrying out'the scheme), and of subscribers lo the funds. Her Excellency was met by Mrs. Corliss (Dominion president of the' W.N.R.), Mrs. Mathew Holmes (president of the Wellington Centre); and Mrs. Ales. Gray (president ,of the Mothers' Help Division of. the W.N.R.), and escorted into the room in which tho opening ceremony was held, Mrs. Corliss formally introducing her to her audience. , An outline of the history and aims of the movement was given by Mrs. Gray, who said how greatly such a place as that iu which 'they were in was needed for mothers with' young children, who, up to the present, had liad .no place in which they' could' 1 -rest and attend to their little ones or leave thorn while they went to transact-necessary.business, and so, the movement had been started to' remedy .this stato of affairs. It had been a-difficult' matter to find rooms; no one appeared to , wish to have any thing to do with mothers and their children, but finally she lwd met Mr. C. .Griffiths, who hail given tho use of the present rooms, and the City Council had undertaken to pay the rent for axstated period of time. Kiii'i friends had helped the committee of the Mothers Help Division, and to Mr. Fuller, who had Riven the use of his theatre for a matinee, and also allowed his artists to assist with tho programme, they owed a great debt of gratitude. The mntinee had brought in i!26G. One mri.tter which it was hoped might be remedied as the scheme developed was that they would l>o lining upon their capital for the upkeep of. the room. To the sympathy of Mrs. Porter, organising secretary _of tlie W.N.R., they owed very- much indeed. Tho Countess of Liverpool, in the coin-so of .a brief speeoh touched upon the value to the community that sucn places as rest rooms for mothers should be, and said that mothers had undoubtedly, owing to various circumstances, suffered from disabilities, not only in Wellington but in other places as well. She hoped that rest rooms in other cities would be started, aiict wished the Wellington rooms every possible success. , , . , i The Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) also spoke, and congratulated the mothers division upon the success that had crowned their work. He thought it possible that the City Council might be prepared to. do something still further to help. It , might ' evon bo • that other rest rooms for mothers might be started in another part of the town by the City Council and, 11 so, he hoped it would ho possible to conimaude&r. some of tho workers who had assisted in carrying through the present soheme. If they were not to be commandeered then perhaps they might help with their experience and advice. That the division should have to their credit in tho bonk at tho present time such a sum as <£020 was something to be proud of. Ho wished the rooms and those who had worked ,to bring the sohem9 about every- posSiblo success. A brief speech was made by Mrs. Arthur Myers, who explained that in furnishing the room the committee had been very careful with tbeii" funds ai)d there was no evidence of . any kind of extravagance. The papering had been done for them, a aoreen and some chairs given tliem, cushions and curtains roado by committee members and other things given or done. MxS. Corliss was another speaker, She' oonjjraitulated tho division upon the honour of being tlm first to introduce such 0, boon to mothers.