WOMEN’S DIVISION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 July 1938, Page 4

WOMEN’S DIVISION

PRAISED BY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE OPENING OF THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE EXTENSION OF SERVICES (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. Opening the annual conference of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union and the Women’s Division last evening, the Hon W. Lee Martin (Minister of Agriculture) expressed strong sympathy with the aims of the Women’s Division. In some parts of the world, he said, the departments of agriculture had women’s divisions; he believed that two instructors often visited a farm together, one going into the fields and the other into the house. Although the department had no such service in New Zealand, the Women’s Division of the Farmers’ Union had, by persistent enthusiasm for a convincing case, achieved much for women who did not enjoy the facilities of urban life. “More must be done for them before any of us will be satisfied,” Mr Martin continued, “but it is extremely gratifying that increased services are being provided for the women and children who live in the country. Unless we do our best to level up the amenities of town and country life, it is going to be difficult to keep the young people on the land. It has been said that, when a country’s agriculture fails, grass will grow on the city streets. That is so. City and country must be complementary. They must share as equally as possible the blessings of civilisation, and I am glad to say that the present Government recognises that fact.”

Mr Martin went on to refer to the Hon P. Fraser’s concern for the education and health of country women and children. He gave an assurance that the recent report of the commission on maternity services would have the sympathetic consideration of the Government.

In his educational policy Mr Fraser had introduced a number of reforms designed to give country children the benefit of larger and better-equipped schools. Small schools had been consolidated where possible, and conveyances arranged or travelling allowances made for children.

To meet the needs of children in the backblocks who were not able to take advantage of these new facilities, the scope of the State correspondence school had been enlarged; there were now nearly 1000 secondary and more than 1600 primary pupils. A country library service had also been inaugurated for the benefit of rural communities, and the adult education service had been extended to embrace those living in isolated districts. The Women’s Division had played a prominent part in the furtherance of education among country women. On the health side, four additional school medical officers, five additional school nurses and 12 additional district nurses had been appointed in the last two years, and there had been a considerable increase in the number of trainees at the dental clinic. Twenty new clinics had been established, and others would be as soon as trainees were available.

The milk in schools scheme was being rapidly extended to country districts, and it was estimated that milk was now available to 61 per cent of the school population. To meet the needs of schools where the supply of pasteurised milk was not practicable, alternative schemes had been introduced, under which free milk for cocoamaking of free, whole or malted milk powder was issued.

The proposed social security legislation would give further help to lighten the burden of the division in the great work it was doing for women in the backblocks, Mr Martin concluded. Those who had pioneered the Women’s Division 13 years ago must be happy to see how it had grown to have a’ membership of more than 20,000, said Mrs J. D. Drake (Dominion President). “We want to make the organisation really worth while,” she said. “There is a great deal to do, and we know that we have the support not only of the Farmers Union, but also of all classes of the community.”