HOMES WANTED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 October 1940, Page 6

HOMES WANTED

MORE BRITISH CHILDREN MAY ARRIVE SHORTAGE IN OLDER AGE GROUP. STATEMENT ON POSITION BY TOWN CLERK. The urgent need for the offer of further homes to receive British evacuee children was emphasised by the Town Clerk, Mr G. T. O’Hara Smith, this morning. Mr O’Hara Smith stated that people in the Wairarapa had .applied for 51 girls and 25 boys. Of these, the age groups stipulated were: 44 children between 5 and 7 years, and 20 between S and 10 years, leaving' only 12 for children between 11 and 16 years. The ages of the children who arrived in Masterton yesterday, he said, were from 9 to 15 years. This was an older age group than had been anticipated. Although so far there was no advice as to any further children arriving or as to the age group in which they might fall, there was .an urgent need,-should portion of any future party be allocated to the Wairarapa, that further offers of homes should be available, especially for children in the age group between 11 and 16 years. Of the ten children who arrived yesterday, eight were members of four families. Every effort was made to find accommodation for . the members of the same family in the one home, but where this was not practicable, accommodation had been arranged in the same town and as near as possible in that town.

Miss Margaret Fraser, who with other hostesses was in charge of the children en route from the British Isles, is making a tour of the district before leaving tomorrow. An effort is being made to enable her to visit all the homes to which the children have been allotted, so that when she and the other hostesses return to England they will be able to report with first-hand knowledge on the homes to which the children have been sent. The children who arrived in the Wairarapa yesterday were allocated as follow: —Mr and Mrs W. G. Groves, Tinui, Joan and Elizabeth Lightbody; Mrs E. Cameron, Moreton Road, Carterton, Donald and Terence Fell; Mr and Mrs H. Hughan, Carterton, Margaret Forbes; Mr and Mrs L. H. Smart, Carterton, Donald Forbes; Mr and Mrs J. V. Gordon, Masterton, Marion Emmett; Mr and Mrs T. A. Russell, Masterton, Robert James Stewart; Mr and Mrs J. L. Woods, Masterton, Christina Stewart; Mrs' A. Houston, Featherston, Hope Fitzpatrick. All these children come from Edinburgh. WONDERFUL SIGHT LIGHTS OF WELLINGTON HILLSIDES. HOSPITALITY APPRECIATED. “Nothing can exceed the hospitality and the warmth of the welcome we have received from the people of New Zealand,” said Miss Margaret Fraser, of Glasgow, one of the hostesses who accompanied the British children evacuated from England, and who came to Masterton yesterday with the Wairarapa party. “It was both amazing and delightful to see the lights of Wellington from the ship. The hillsides covered with twinkling lights were a wonderful sight to us, after a dismal winter of blackout,” said Miss Fraser. The display of spring flowers in the shops and gardens of Wellington had greatly impressed the party, as they had left England in the spring, and were experiencing their second spring in one year, said Miss Fraser. A drive to Paraparaumu along the new coast road, and back by the Akatarawa Valley had also impressed the children.

Miss Fraser, who was a member of the teaching staff of the Glasgow High School for Girls, prior to volunteering as an escort, stated that the children had been very good on the trip. The party had all come from Scotland, and had been selected by the Children’s Overseas Reception. Board. All sections of the community were represented, and the children had been medically examined and selected with a view to sending out a fine type of child* Miss Fraser paid tribute to the educational facilities available at Wairarapa College and commented favourably on its domestic science amenities.