PROVED THEIR METTLE

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 53, Issue 32413, 29 March 1944, Page 3

PROVED THEIR METTLE

N.Z. GIRLS IN PACIFIC | DUTY DONE BY W.A.A.C. | ! There is no glamour about the ardu- I ous job of work being performed by I the W.A.A.C.’s on duty in the Pacific | which involves manifold tasks. The official war correspondent with the N.Z.E.F. tells us -that from duty on the home front to active service in New Caledonia with the Kiwis is a test proving their mettle, and demonstrating that the New Zealand girl is ’ as competently adaptable as any girl in the world. None of their duties is easy and anybody thinking in terms of glamour still has a. lot to learn about island life. In the almost-completed Fourth New Zealand General Hospital one may find some indication of the range and nature of the task undertaken by the W.A.A.C.’s. The girls commence at 7 a.m. in a hospital ward, where bandages, pyjamas, linen, etc., are gatheied and taken to a washing machine. They work with a morning tea break until noon and from 1.30 to 4.30 p.m. A minimum of 20,000 articles is ii oiled weekly in the ironing room, where the girls have to stand over hot irons in a. temperature of 95 degrees. Leisure hours are spent at the rivers, most of which are close to the camps, and debating is a populai pastime. Pictures are fairly regular, and disadvantages of the work aie offset by comfortable living quarters al. the Fourth General Hospital, where four girls share large wooden huts.