THE CITIZENS' BALL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 185, 1 May 1920, Page 4

THE CITIZENS' BALL

A NOTABLE EVENT. A masting of the Citizens' Ball Con** mil too was- held in the Mayoress's room of the Toivu Hall yesterday afternoon. The Mayor presided, lie.ports from. sub-committees were received and from the wny in which everything is,progressing. the ball should be a brilliantly successful event. About 1300 invitations have won issued so that heavy demand# will' be made upon the spr.ee of the Town I Hall. ■In this conncction the cmmilUc wished publicity to be given.' to the fact that though everything- possible has. beer! done to make the most of the accommodation provided by tho Town Hall, so many invitations . have been issued' that r.a'essarily the dancers must be somewhat crowded.- The committee, however, felt that it was better there should be a certain amount of congestion rather'than, deny anyone the privilegj of being present on this unique occasion. therefore ask the • assistant of these present ,at the ball in making it a record 6ucccss, and this can best 1» .accomplished by the. t'on' of cven/ono coupled with a spirit of good-natured tolerance. It was considered at tho meeting that as so good a view of the floor can be obtainedfrom the ■ galleries it was likely , that many of those present would prefer;to watch tho dancing from there and so relieve conation among the dancers to * a certain extent. . The meeting arranged that tlia Mayor's room should be; set- asido for the use of the Prince of Wales; tho Mayoress's room fpr Their Excellencies tho Governor-General and the Countess' of Liverpool j the City Council Chamber for the committee, ladigs; ' and ' No. 1 and No. 2 committee rooms for the use of the remaining members of the committee.' Mrs. Sleemnn,- Mr*. Firth. Mks Nathan, and Mr Why to weve appointed a sub-coin- • mitle.j 'to see A x> thn arrangements of the rooms for the Prince.of Wales and tli 4 Earl and Countess of Liverpool. The' Mayor and Mayoress anjl Mr. and Mrs lan Duncan (representing the cmmil ted) will receive the Prince of Wales upon his arrival at the hall. The* meeting decided that there should be no encores to the dances, and it was also • arranged that invitations should be sent , to tho visiting journalists on the Renown. Matters in connection with the supper room were discussed, also arrangements for the care of the Maori, house and curios.' . A vote of thank* to Mrs. Hannah for her assistance in regard to various matters that arose from time to time was passed. >' ■ Y.W.CiA. Notes. The "social", to bo held at the Y.W.C.A, to-mght will' take tho form of a fancy-dress party,, when Y.W.C.A. •members and their men friends will be'' "•elcomed. Miss Chapman has arranged i tho programme of games and mul-ic, and refreshment will bo served during the ■ evening. ': 1

The speaker at the sorvico to-morrow will bo Miss M'Lean, the newly-appoint-ed Girls' Department secretary. The service will be specially for the younger members, but all girls and young woiueri\ will be cordially. welcomed. A tea and social- hour .jjfill follow. The new course of the Wide Awake Club of the . Y.W.C.A. will begin on Monday week.' The subjects for• tlio onsuing'eight weeks are the" art of conversation and art of homo decoration, Those desirous of joining should enrol at once at the'Y.W.C.A. office, 5 Boulcott Street. I

On Thursday night,', at tlio Y.W.C.A. clubraom, a banquet was given by tho members of the Girls' Department (o welcome Miss M'Lean, the newly-appo'nt ed Girls' Department secretary, who has come over trom Melbourne to take up work among tho girls of Wellington.. She was welcomed enthusiastically, and' presented with a beautiful bouquet of rosebuds by tho girls. Speeches of welcome were, made by various members■ of the. Girls' Department. A very successful and enjoyable gathering was held' at the Y.AV.C.A. residence, Brougham Street, this week, jn-lierc Mis 3 Orford, hostel secretary, with' Miss Broso and Miss Gleeson, entertained the> girl's at a plain and fancy-dress party. Tho entertainment took tho form of games, musical items, and dancing. Tho rooms were tastefully decorated with' flowers, and at 10.15 p.m. supper was served, followed by a musical programme, which brought tho very pleasant evening to a ' close. A prize given for thfe best "bardup" dress was won by Misses Rice'end N. Smith, and Miss Arbon carried off tlio prize for the .competitions. Early Settlers' Pageant. . / Of how picturesque an event the early ■settlers' pageant at Petoue will be, some idea was gathered at a rehearsal , which was held Inst night in Wesley Schoolroom. Much delving into tho history of ' tho early days must have taken placo to reproduce the landing of the pioneer men and ,women, of this country, and, not only ii' delving into history, but' i also a delving into the fashions of that period. Luck.v the girl or woman who happened to find treasure trovo in the way of .Pauley shawls, as one or two lucky impersonators have, or somo such article of dress. Captain Cook, Colonel Wakefield, tho Rev. Mr. 1 Mars-' den, all. tho men that stood out at the ' time were represented, aiid several 'of those taking part in the reproduction of the landing of the boats are direct descendants of those pioneers who laid the foundations of this country so truly and so well. Much water has run under'--tlio bridge since those days, and thoso pioneen fyive no reason to bo aslmmed of the part that many of their descendants ' have played in the intervening years. ■ There is no doust about it that the dress worn by tho women of 1840 and thereabouts accentuated their feminity aud was very becoming. Several of tho-e pi'esent'lnst evening wero in frocks of flowered muslin made to givo a sloping shouldered effect seldom met with in these days, and worn with quaintly becoming poke bonnets, trimmed witli ribbon and flowers. Some wero fortunato enough to own a Paisley 6hawl, and . wero tho envy of tho others. Each boatload was welcomed by Colonel Wakefield and his party, who wero also dressed according to the period, and a particularly picturesque note was given by the vivid scarlet and ■ whito uniform worn by tho soldiers. The welcome of the friendly Maoris will not be tho least feature of the landing.,

A largely attended Catherine of tho members of the club for the wives of soldiers and sailom was held in St. John's Schoolroom yes',erday afternoon. Sirs. Porter Presided. Tt was decided that the monthly meetings of the club should be continued and various matters in connection with its activities were considered. Mrs. Porter gavo a brief address dealing with tho tims of th® club, nnd a musical programme arrang'ed by Mrs. M'Carlie, and taken' part in by lier pupils, was much enjoyed. It was a purely' Scotch programme, and tho Switch songs nnd reels met with an enthus'bstic reception. Afternoon ten' was served by tho Management Committee. with Mrs. Clifton in charge.