WOMEN’S INSTITUTES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 April 1938, Page 9

WOMEN’S INSTITUTES

BUSH=WAIRARAPA FEDERATION ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETING YESTERDAY. TWO GROUPS TO BE FORMED.. An important move at yesterday’s annual council meeting of the Bush-Wairarapa Federation of Women’s Institutes, .held at Carterton, was a decision to form two federations from the existing one. According to the rules thirty is the maximum number of Institutes to be included in a federation and at the present time there are thirty-eight in the Bush-Wairarapa group. The southern federation will extend from Martinborough to Mauriceville. Delegates from thirty-five Institutes were present at the conference and when business was resumed after lunch an effectively produced playette entitled “Post Office” was presented by the following members of the Drama Circle of the Carterton Institute: —Mesdames H. M. B. Trapp, A. Knutson, P. Beere, W. Steven and Miss McLean. The players were heartily applauded for their clever work. Mrs W. Deans, president of the Dominion Federation, said there were 30,000 members and 900 institutes under the control of the Dominion Federation. With such large numbers the work could not possibly be carried out properly with merely the affiliation fees. For that reason an additional levy of 10s an Institute had been made and even then it was hardly sufficient. Mrs Deans went on. to refer to the activities of the Dominion Federation, the work of which, she said, was growing year by year. Particularattention was being paid to the Maori Institutes in the far north, while interest had also been taken during the year in questions of improved maternity services and criminal abortion. A plan was being worked out to provide domestic help for back-block mothers. It was a difficult problem and there was a need for a complete national scheme.

The proposal to divide the Federation came from the Executive, which considered that the present federation was too unwieldy. The two new federations will be formed after the next half-yearly meeting. The natural boundary is just south of Kopuaranga but it was considered that the community of interest of the Kopuaranga and Mauriceville Institutes lay with the southern part of the district., Mrs Crewe was re-elected president of the Federation and the following were elected to the Executive Committee: —Mesdames D. Adams, R. C. Austin, T. Clarke, J. D. C. Crewe, G. Dagg, S. J. Hobbs, A. Jamieson, C. Jennings, A. Keir, W. G. Macky, L. McKenna, W. H. Nixon, E. Watson, T. Weston and Miss O. Wolters. Votes of thanks were passed to the Carterton, Martinborough, Dyerville and Kahutara Institutes for providing refreshments during the day, Mr and Mrs E. McKenzie for acting as scrutineers, the- Drama Circle, the pianist, Mrs Twentyman, Mesdames Crewe and Deans and all who contributed towards the success of the conference.