GIFT TO COUNTRY WOMEN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 42, 20 February 1939, Page 6

GIFT TO COUNTRY WOMEN

SHEEPOWNERS’ GESTURE “KAIANGA-MOE” OFFICIALLY . OPENED When the Great War ended in 1918 it was realised that probably the most vital factor in the success of the Allied cause had been the keeping open of the trade routes of the world to Britain. Chief responsibility for that Jay with the British Navy and in appreciation ot what had been done the sheep-owners of New Zealand established what became known as the New Zealand Sheep-owners-debt to

British Seamen Fund. That fund became the means of acquiring two properties, one for the training of sons of British seamen, the other for training their daughters. Now that the war has receded so far into the past, the quota of sons and daughters of men who served in the navy has fallen steadily lower, and new uses have had to be found for the properties, which became known as Boys’ Flock House and Girls’ Flock House, respectively. Boys' Flock House, near Bulls, has already been taken over by the Government as a training farm. Girls' Flock House, near Palmerston North, has been given to the Women's Division of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union. It will enable that body to bring to fruition a long-cherished desire to have a rest home for tired country women who have suffered because of the rigours of the backblocks and lack of amenities of the towns and cities. The home was officially' opened on Saturday by the Hon. Edward Newman. Marlon, chairman of (he Flock House Trustees, and henceforth the property will be known under the name ot “Kaianga-Moe.” Lady Galway, who was invited to open the house, sent an apology regretting inability to attend. The president of lhe Women’s Division, Mrs. J. C. Wickham, presided at the opening ceremony. In an interview she said that the rest home had been opened free of debt, the division furnishing it from funds in hand. It is intended to maintain it from a fund established by the payment of one shilling annually by each member of the division.

Declaring the home open, Mr. Newman said that there had been some criticism of the action of the trustees in that they might have exceeded their powers in making use of a fund which had been given for another purpose, but he thought everybody would realise that there was a definite link between the Farmers’ Union and the Women's Division, which would thoroughly justify the gift. Ever since the union had been formed, he

said, and he as one of its foundation members, it had looked forward to something being done for the women of the country whose part had contributed so greatly to the raising of the money which had enabled the purchase of the property to be made.

“And the money to buy this property was given by the farmers,” he said, “and to-day, when there is not the need for such a home as it was originally intended, what better activity could it be put to than the humanitarian work of the Women's Division of the Farmers’ Union? The success of the scheme will depend upon the women, and we already know of their capacity for handling such a work in a businesslike way." Mr. T. R. Lees, managing director of the Flock House Trustees, said that it had been the desire of Ihe trustees to help the Women’s Division in gratitude for the way the members of it had co-operated with them in caring for the boys and gills who had passed through the two Flock Houses. The success ot the whole scheme had largely depended on the way the women of the division had taken those sons and daughters ot British seamen into their homes. Mrs. Wickham, in her opening address, said that the day marked trie accomplishment of what had been a long-cherished dream of the division, the establishment of a home fol country women who, because ot the:, work and comparative isolation iron: the amenities of the town, nccdc... quiet and rest. Nearness to a town had not been forgotten, as it was realised that people who lived in tm. country found life in a town a congenial break from their everyday work. Mrs. Wickham expressed the division's thanks to the Flock House Trustees and to all who had helped to create “Kaianga-Moe, making special reference to Mrs. W. .1. Moore, of Makuri, who had given, a wireless and chiming clock to the home in memory of her husband. It was fitting, Mrs. Wickham said, that the home should be opened so near to the celebration of New Zealand'* one hundredth birthday. It was definitely a link with those early pioneer women, whose work had helped to make New Zealand what it was. "This work has come about by a desire to help others,” Mrs. Wickham added. “That is the spirit of the division and it comes clown to us from those early pioneers, who, although they did not have the conveniences that we women of to-day have, would not, if they were lie.c, wish that we should go back to what they had to contend with. The National Council of Women, the Women’s Institutes, the Mayor and Mayoress of Palmerston North, the Farmers' Union, Massey College and branches of the Women’s Division from localities in New Zealanu north of Auckland and south of Dunedin, all conveyed their congratulations to the division on taking oyer the management of the home, which is regarded as one of several to be established as time goes on. “Kaianga-Moe" nas accommodation for a maximum of 14 guests. II is a large two-storeyed building, set in spacious and picturesque grounds at Awapuni. It was the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Alan Strang prior to becoming a hostel for girls under the Flock House scheme. •