PEACE-TIME RED CROSS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 94, 7 May 1937, Page 52 (Supplement)

PEACE-TIME RED CROSS

The Part Mrs. T. H. Lowry Has Played

FJMIE CITIZENS of Hastings have for many years had every reason to congratulate themselves on the excollence and variety of the social services of their town. More especially is this the case in Tegard to organisations design ed to assist persons in need and to alleviate sufT-ering. In addition to the excellent work of such organisations as the Plunket Society and the Distriet Nursing Assoeiation, the town has sinco the time'of the 1931 earthquake had an mctive fiub-eentro of the Eed Cross Society and, more xecently, a brancli oi the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, familiarly known to most of "us aB the St. John Ambulance. The work of these two lattcr organi--sations is perhaps worthy of more than r passing thought. The primary objeet of each of these bodies is the same — namely, the alleeiation of snffering and the hclping of those is need. The Eed Cross Society is probably associated in the minds of most people as a body whose pxincipal duties occnr in wartime; but that is no longer the case. Since the signing of the Cpvena'nt of ihe League of Nations it has boen incnmbent on. all the signatories to ionnd and foster national Eed Cross societies in their own countries whose major work will be peace-tfene operations and to render each other mntual assistance internationally. Thus came into being the League of Eed Cross Societies, -whose headquarters is in Paris. Thiring thia earthquake period, the public of Hastings received very genexous assistance froni national Eed Cross societies in many parts of the world, and shortly aftenvards a branch of the ■ peace-tim® organisation was formed here* Ihe first duly assigned to ' the

newly-formed body was the clothing of those in need of it. Under the then Maypr, Mr 6. F. Hoach, as president; and Mr. E. J. Herrick as chairman, assisted by an able committee for investigation of cases, the Hastings - subcentre carried out this useful task until relieved of the necessity by the founding of the -Mayor 's Central Eelief Committee some years lateri Since that timo the local Eed Cross Society has quietly pursued its way and eonductod very suceessful classes for the training of girls and women in the rudiments of home nursing and first aid. The present chairman of the Hastings sub-eentre, Mr W. S. Averill, has had no Small hand in moulding the constitution of the New Zealand body iu his capacity as delegate for the Hawke's Bay centre to the Dominion CouneiL At his suggestion all subcentres in the Hawke's Bay distriet elected ' delegates to form the Hawke's Bay centre, and this body has func-

lioned most successfully, being situated in Napier and Hastings in alternate years. It is to the credit of those concerneo that on this Hawke's Bay body there lias never been the slightest lack of harmony among the delegates from the various sub-centres. So suceessful has this metliod of controi proved fhat it has now been adopted by the New Zealand society in its amended constitution. But no history of the progress of Eed Cross in this distriet, or, indeed, in this country would be complete without reference to the yeoman service renderod to the' cause by Mrs. T. H. Lowry, O.B.E., of Okawa. As one of the old war workers who assisted to raise large sums of money to provide comforts for the men at the Eront, Mrs. Lowry was well iitted to assume the leading part : which she played in bringing peace tiine Eed Cross to this distriet. She it was who bve her niagnificent donation to the League of Eed Cross Societies made it possible for the gfeneral secretary of the League, Mr. do Gielgud, to undertake a mission of instruction and goodwill to this country this year, In Tecognition of her sterling qualities and tremendous interest, Mrs. Lowry .was last ye^r unanimously appointed*Dominion president of the society. rIn that capacity her sphero of activity has widened and she has already visited most .of the bther parts of New Zealand. organising . branches. and encouraging the work. Mrs. .Lowry was also largely instrumental in completing the merger * between the wartime Eed Cross and the new national body and in completing a sehemo of understanding and cO'Cperation with tho Order of St. John.'

The Hastings branch of the Order of St. John has not been established as long as the society, but already it has made its presence felt iu the provision of much-nceded first-aid officers at football matches and other public functions. And it is pleasing to know that Hastings has led the way in Kew Zealand in a practical sense by arranging an actual working scheme. of cooperation between the order and the society. ,£y this arrangoment all male eandidates in iirst aid are . being trained by thb order. and f emales by tho society. The society 's V.A.D.'s are now trying to arrange to mahe practical use of their knowledge of first aid by providing the same first-aid service for the ^girls' sports as are provided by the St. John Ambulance for the men» So that it rnay be confidently expected that ' by their co-oporation still greater service may in the future be rendered to tho town and distriet by these two societies.