Church hostel for girls mooted
The Anglican Church in this city has latterly been taking up much more social work than it has ever done before. A good many people are under the impression that the church’s idea for a girls’ hostel would deprive them of domestic service. A more ludicrous mistake could not possibly be made. Domestic service in the past has been made hateful by the fact that it means work which was never done; and until it is made quite clear to girls that domestic service is much more attractive than factory life, we shall never see domestic service as it used to be — and good thing, too, in many cases. The hostel is intended for girls who are not even remotely likely to be in service, but who come to Dunedin without any knowledge whatever of the city; who are likely to drift into undesirable lodging houses and in many cases to get into serious trouble and suffer loss of character from sheer ignorance and youth. The British Government is inaugurating a large scheme of emigration for young girls. As a preliminary step two women were despatched to the dominion to inspect and report on the capabilities of the various colonial cities for receiving these girls; and on their return it was emphatically decided that in no circumstances would any large number of girls be sent to any city where there were no hostels — so that those excellent people who desire to avoid subscribing to a hostel, on the plea that it will take away their servants, are in reality doing their best to perform the ‘‘happy despatch’’ on their hopes of ever getting a servant again. — ODT, 14.5.1920.