Institute

Before I was married I joined the Gordonton Country Women’s Institute, and enjoyed the meetings, the fellowship, and the opportunity to learn new things.  While staying with Mrs. Riddington at Ohauiti I had gone with her to the dedication of a rest cottage, rented by the Tauranga Federation, for the benefit of their members needing an affordable holiday.  It was relinquished after the war.  So one of the first things I did after arrival in Tauranga was to join the Ohauiti Country Women’s Institute.

In 1965 the Dominion Council meeting was held in Tauranga, and 300 members from all over our country attended.  It was a thrill to be one of them.  Ours was a small Institute, but all were interested and keen to help in any project the Federation mooted.  Mrs. Taylor was our President.  Country Women’s Institute constitution rules said that positions could be held for only four years so when her time was up I became President then came my most embarrassing moment.  We had nominated Mrs. Taylor for the Good Service badge.  The Council attended to the presenting, etc, but I had been informed that the members’ own Institute also gave flowers.  Not having been at one of those meetings before, I duly prepared a shoulder spray, but when the time came I was dismayed to find that all the other Country Women’s Institutes had huge bouquets for their members.   

When my term was up, no one else would take my place, so rather than see us go into recess Council reluctantly gave us permission to extend the time. For a while we had only six members, and when we had more children than adults we held our meetings in the evenings until some of the children started school. 

In 1966 I was asked to represent our Country Women’s Institute at the Dominion Conference in Wellington.  Diana was then 4 years old, and Esther had her own car and a holiday due from the hospital so she took us there. We stayed with Aunt Maggie and while I went by bus to the meetings in the town hall, she took her little sister to the zoo and various places of interest.  It was a great time for us all.  To add to the interest, the countryside, when we went down was almost in summer garb, when we returned a week later snow had fallen and everything was glistening white.  At home Diana’s special playmate was our cat ‘Snowy’ and Dad was sure she would be glad of some peace, but no, when we returned Dad said she had not ceased looking for her playmate, and was glad to see her back and to be put in the doll’s pram, and to be cuddled.

 

Two years later I was again a delegate, but this time I went on a bus with the Federation President, Mrs. Bickers, and the delegates from Fed and sister Institutes, and also some from Rotorua – a bus full of women – what a chatter. We were all booked into the same hotel so no one was alone, and the bus took us to the meetings and also to the top of Mt Victoria to enjoy the lights of the city.  That year the competition was drama and the actresses really excelled themselves. 

Many years later, though not a delegate to the Council meeting, I went on the bus with those who were and stayed with Wendy and Ray and their parents in Whangarei.  Wendy took me to many places of interest and it was good to get to know her children, Amy and Shaun.