Untitled

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 359, 10 May 1911, Page 6

Speaking to a Wellington "Evening Post" reporter on Thursday regarding girls for domestic service, Mr Sedgwick said that in the South Island he continued to make inquiries on the subject, and found that the demand was as great, if not greater, than in the North. People were generally agreed that the trained domestic servant from England was not the best adapted for domestic work here. This was borne out by the fact that several girls who had come out this year as domestics were now in tea-rooms, etc. Several people mentioned that they were willing to pay 15s to £1 a week for girls to help in the house. The matter would, of course, have to develop slowly, but there was no reason why it should not develop on the same lines as the scheme for the boys. Many of the farmers expressed a willingness to take widows, even with one child, and it was generally thought that girls from orphanages and other institutions from 16 to 18 years of age, under good supervision, would do well, and would find the life far better than factory work or even domestic service at Home.