NEW ZEALAND GIRLS

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 25 July 1913, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND GIRLS

"MINCING AFFECTATION."

A criticism of- Australian girls, tliat appeared in a New Zealand paper recently, has been reprinted in Sydney, and has brought forth many indignant letters. It was, on the authority of a Christchurch lady, asserted in the - papSr in which the criticism originally appeared, that the young ladiee in the offices in New Zealand ' 'are more diligent,. more attentive, more careful, loss frivolous, and more .anxious to give satisfaction than the Australian girls, who, as a rule, do no show any inclination for office work—indeed, for any vocation which demands application and entails drudgery. Besides that, the Australian girl has developed a decided twang which amounts almost to a misuse of English. "

I "Most of the girls in Sydney offioJ es," says one correspondent who takes I up the curgels for the Australians, I "have matriculated, can make their I' own clothes and do their own millinery, In addition to possessing estimable qualities, they are extremely original and resourceful, and thor- [ oughly domesticated, and make good ( companionable wives and good mothers." He refers to the Christchurch •manner of speaking, and says they speak with a mincing affectation that is most distressing, and amounts to a distinct "lingo." A business man who has just re- , turned to Sy.dney from New Zealand, after spending the last ten years there, is as much a champion for the Australian girl as the Christchurch lady is for the New Zealand girl. "It is quite impossible," he said, "for the New Zealand girl to be as competent as the Australian girl, for.the simple reason that she has no means of acquiring the experience. New Zealand" ers are very nice to you when you are on a visit here, but the is a different matter when you stay there for good.' As for New Zealand girls, I can tell you I was glad to come away. They do nothing but talk about each other all the time. They pick out everyone's bad qualities, and embroider on them at length. - God help any girl who goes astray, because they never forget her, and they'll never let an; - one else either."