Seeing England Live and Work

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 787, 7 October 1929, Page 14

Seeing England Live and Work

LADY GUNSON’S TOUR FORMER MAYORESS RETURNS “I wanted my children to see how England lives and works.” That is Lady Gunson’s explanation of a wonderful tour she and her son and daughter made through the industrial centres of England. How many New Zealand tourists to England would spend their summer days in factories and manufacturing establishments? Yet Auckland’s former popular Mayoress was determined to do it, and she did. That tour was of immense interest to her from the philanthropic point of view and her children were given a splendid insight into England’s great manufacturing problems. Lady Gunson has been abroad for three years, and returned by the Niagara today in company with her daughter. Sir James returned last year, but Lady Gunson stayed on in England so that she could be with her son and daughter when they were at school. Speaking of the tour through industrial England, Lady Gunson said this morning that her party was made welcome wherever a call was made. They saw huge factories where the following commodities were manufactured: Needles, carpets, soap, cotton, wool, cutlery, silverware, ammunition and guns, lace and motor-cars. On this tour a call was made at the home of the Brontes, and several other interesting homes of famous people. Although it is throe years ago since Lady Gunson arrived in London, she still enthuses over her first glimpse of the Empire capital. “I learned to know London from the top of a bus,” she said. "It was all very wonderful and curiously familiar to see the places we had read about as children.” While in England, Lady Gunson represented New Zealand at the International Council of Women. Meetings were held in April and May to prepare for a big world conference which is to be held in Vienna in 1930.