A NOTABLE VISITOR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 June 1938, Page 4

A NOTABLE VISITOR

MISS E. ANDREWS COMING TO MASTERTON. THE PAN-PACIFIC WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION. Masterton is to have a visit early next month from Miss E. Andrews, M.8.E., who will speak, on the work of the Pan-Pacific Women’s Association and on preparations for the 1940 conference of the association, which is to be held in Wellington. The Pan-Pacific Women’s Association originated from a suggestion made in 1924 by the late Hon Mark Cohen, of Dunedin, to Mr Alexander Hume Ford, the. then director of the PanPacific Union at Honolulu. Mr Cohen suggested that as the Dominion of New Zealand had done such valuable work in connection with child welfare, it might be as well if an opportunity could be given of passing on this knowledge to other peoples round the Pacific Ocean, with the object of safeguarding child life as much as possible. The interest of a group of devoted women in Hawaii was also aroused and to them was entrusted by the Pan-Pacific Union the task of promoting the first Pan-Pacific Women’s Conference, under the auspices of and as guests of the Pan-Pacific Union. This Hawaiian executive committee extended the scope of the first conference to include questions affecting women in relation to industry, health (with reference to home economics), government (the legal and political status), social service and education. The first conference was honoured by having Miss Jane Addams as its president, and her words in opening the proceedings have been proved abundantly true: “I am sure the interchange of achievement and honest opinion of this women’s conference will give us all new courage and enthusiasm, and that we shall realise as we go on that many problems cannot possibly be solved by any one country unless their solution is undertaken by - other countries as well.”

This first conference was held in 1928 and subsequent conferences have been held, generally, every two years, the place of meeting usually being Honolulu, but the last conference (1937) was held in Vancouver. New Zealand is to be the venue of the next meeting in 1940., when women from all countries bordering on the Pacific will visit us, and bring their contribution to the general council. The theme of that conference is to be “The study of practical ways and means of promoting international understanding,” which shows that the association does not merely deal with the gathering together of statements and statistics as to what is being done in various countries. The objective of the conference is widening and its horizon is extending. Miss Andrews, who has attended as a New Zealand delegate three PanPacific Women’s conferences, has been appointed Programme Director for the 1940 conference, and is touring New Zealand doing preliminary organisation work with regard to the conference. '

Miss Andrews received the distinction of M.B.E. in the last list of Birthday Honours in recognition of her educational and social work. She is an able and experienced speaker, and will appeal to all intelligent and thinking women who are interested, not only in the welfare of their own country, but in that of their neighbours of the Pacific.