Comment permalink

At the Technical School Conference at Wellington Mrs F. Baume has been making an eloquent plea for the better training of girls in the work of the home. The State, she urges, must undertake the training of girls in home management, if overburdened mothers are to get any relief.

No doubt Mrs Baume is quite right and there is room for a much wider instruction of girls in the direction urged than obtains at present. But there is this also to be said. It is not altogether because the State may not be doing enough along these educational lines, and not altogether because women lack representation on administrative educational bodies, that girls are found in such numbers working in shops, offices and factories, rather than in the home.

They have, after all, a say in respect to their occupation and there is no doubt that a large proportion of them are little interested in the science of home management, and, since work of some kind is required of them, prefer the office, the shop, or the factory as a sphere of labour. Nor perhaps can their preference be so greatly wondered at, seeing that there is in it so much of human nature.

There seems no denying that domestic duties are somewhat unpopular among girls as a class. Girls will enter offices and shops as a means of earning a livelihood who would consider it beneath their dignity to undertake domestic service. Nor is this again so surprising. It is easy to say that the dignity of domestic service should be raised, but even if that could be done the result might be disappointing. Overburdened mothers may clamour for assistance, but the girls are not anxious to answer the call. In the circumstances it does not seem to be of much avail to upbraid the State for neglect to provide for the training of girls in home management.

Wire rubbish receptacles

The works committee report to be presented to the Dunedin city council on Wednesday night advises that instructions have been given to the city engineer to procure and place galvanised wire rubbish receptacles at various points in the city, principally along the tramway routes. It is hoped that the public will make use of these receptacles for depositing tram tickets, waste paper, etc and so help to keep the city streets tidy and clean. There is a provision in the bylaws making it an offence to throw waste matter onto any public way, and it is intended to make that fact known as widely as possible as soon as the baskets shall have been erected.

An enterprising pioneer

A very old and familiar resident of Cromwell, Mrs Susan Stuart, died on Friday evening, aged 83 years. The deceased, who was born in London, came to Australia when quite young and arrived in New Zealand early in 1863 with her late husband. She conducted a store on the Clyde-Cromwell road and later went to Bannockburn in the hotel business. In 1874 she took possession of the Victoria Hotel, Cromwell, and conducted it for many years. The deceased was a woman of sterling character, upright, enterprising and energetic, and was held in high esteem throughout the whole district. — ODT,13.9.1920