|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Tuakau Women’s Institute celebrated 40 years at their meeting on May 18.
Helena O’Neill met with longstanding member Yvonne Tompsett to chat about the community group for ladies.
What is Women’s Institute (WI)?
WI began in 1921 and has remained relevant for women in town and country communities since then. The idea of Women’s Institutes was first introduced to New Zealand by Anna Elizabeth Jerome Spencer on her return from war work in England, where she had seen the work of the organisation.
What do members of WI do?
Most women join to meet other women. You can become a WI member and be part of an
organisation that takes pride in its local community. Join others to ensure your community is a safe and healthy place to live.
Membership offers a range of opportunities based on friendship and fun. Be involved with choral and drama groups or perhaps a walking group. The WI is well known for the number of talented women in all types of handicrafts within its membership, some of whom compete each year for coveted national honours, but all are willing to share their talent.
Tuakau Women’s Institute celebrated 40 years recently, but the group is much older than that, isn’t it?
Yes, the Tuakau WI was formed in 1929, but went into recess in 1968. Thankfully, it was revived in 1986, with our first meeting on June 23. We’re a very small group now with just seven members so we would love some more ladies to join us. Some live in Tuakau, with others from Mauku, Aka Aka, and Pukekohe too.
How did you become involved with Women’s Institute?
I lived in a small village in England, and there wasn’t anything else. So, I joined the Women’s Institute – it was a big group with between 60 and 70 people. The nearby market town didn’t have its own institute, so they joined ours.
When I first came to New Zealand, my husband was milking cows on a farm near Walton in Waikato. They had an institute there, but we moved to Tuakau a few months later, and the WI wrapped up.
What are the highlights from your time with Women’s Institute?
When we were a larger group, we would enter many competitions. I particularly loved the drama competitions and would often perform a poem. We would also go to other groups and entertain them. Doris Curnow and I would also visit other federations to be judges for their competitions.
I also enjoyed the floral art competitions, especially the pedestal designs.
This year, we entered a table in the home industries section of the Pukekohe Show. We all did a piece. I knitted a scarf, Katrina did the flowers, her sister made the cake, and Loryn did the bag with a tractor on it. It was all transport-themed.
For our 40th birthday, we all pitched in and put on a good spread. Margaret Bovey made a wonderful cake for us, sandwiches, and also rolled the serviettes beautifully.
Why should someone join Women’s Institute?
WI is a great way to meet people, and there’s also plenty of time to prepare for some competitions next year.
We have a range of interests and skills, and we will try to accommodate the interests of new members, too.
What do members of Women’s Institutes do?
- Offer friendship and fun.
- Travel and walking groups.
- Get involved with our local community.
- Encourage leadership.
- Teach and share homemaking skills.
- Provide opportunities for members to be involved in choral, drama, floral art, all types ofhandcrafts, and writing.
- Help others.
There are four WIs left in the South Auckland area
- Ararimu WI- meet at 7pm on the 2nd Wednesday at the Ararimu Community Hall, Corner Steele Road and Ararimu Road, Ararimu.
- Karaka WI – Contact women are co-presidents Judith West via email judewest88@gmail.com or Chris O’Loughlin via email oloughlinchrissy@gmail.com.
- Maraetai WI – meet at 10am on the 1st Monday in St Hilda’s Anglican Church, 104 Maraetai
Drive, Maraetai. - Tuakau WI – meet at 1.30pm on the 3rd Monday at Tuakau Library.
