PHYSICAL WELFARE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 May 1941, Page 3

PHYSICAL WELFARE

HOME GUARD AND WOMEN’S WAR AUXILIARY MINISTER REVIEWS ACTIVITIES. RECREATIONAL CLASSES. “Reports received recently from Physical Welfare Officers show a wide range of satisfactory progress,’’ said the Hon. W. E. Parry (Minister of Internal Affairs) in a review of the various,. activities. “The principal work continues to be the training of instructors for units of the Home Guard and Women’s War Service Auxiliary, but officers have gladly and efficiently helped in the organising and promotion of various recreational projects whenever they were able to spare time for such purposes. . . . “Numbers of Home Guardsmen, who have keenly appreciated the benefit of weekly training classes, are asking for more. Therefore, in some localities, the matter of keep-fit lunch hour recreative exercises is receiving attention. Remarkable enthusiasm has been shown by many Home Guardsmen in country districts. Some have travelled more than forty miles to attend classes. and several of the .long journeys have required the fording of flooded livers by mounted men. “It is anticipated that, as time goes on, large numbers of the Home Guard cesses will evolve into recreation clubs. Already the Palmerston North class has formed itself into a recreation club, with a membership of seventy-five, whose ages range from seventeen to sixty-three years. The club has set itself the task of providing recreation equipment which may be used immediately for Home Guard purposes in the city, but will remain the property of the club. In several districts a start has been made with preparations for extending the physical training activities to units of the Emergency Precautions Scheme. “The ‘Keep Fit' classes for the Women’s War Service Auxiliary are going along excellently in all districts where the Department has women officers. For this purpose classes of recreation leaders are being trained at focal points, so that the benefits of the Department's scheme can be spread as widely as possible. “Ah interesting incident is reported from a town in the Bay of Plenty area. At first very few women were inclined to join up with the Women's War Service Auxiliary. Then an energetic member of the local committee suggested the starting of ‘Keep Fit’ exercises first. Eighty women quickly responded, but they had to join the Auxiliary before they could take the physical course. “The Department’s recreation card scheme is proving helpful in the recruiting of new members for various sports bodies, which have expressed warm appreciation of this enterprise. It is plainly evident that the Department's range of operations will prove increasingly beneficial in this field. To assist the Department to achieve its ideals, the formation of a Dominion Federation of Sports Bodies is / now in progress. Eventually the Department's services will make a very helpful widespread liaison between schools and the sports bodies.”