Part 2

Spinning is such an old handicraft that most modern Australian girls grew up with the idea that spinning belonged more to the time of fairy tales than to a period within even living memory. They all knew the story of the princess who was spinning when her wicked godmother cast a spell and transformed her into a sleeping beauty. Old legends of the homeland told of the women who spun, and one knew that in Highland cottages, with grandfather clocks, deep, wide fireplaces and inglewoods, there were spinning wheels hidden away in some forgotten corner.

But to-day in Brisbane there are hundreds of spinners spinning wool to make socks for the soldiers. Owing to the scarcity and price of wool a Brisbane Wool Spinning Guild was started in Brisbane over a year ago by a small band of enthusiasts, one object being to provide wool to soldiers’ relatives at less than the shop prices.

There are now over 100 spinning wheels belonging to the guild, the wheels being made from bicycle wheels donated to the guild, and manufactured by the Railway Department free of charge. The majority of these are hired out to Brisbane members at the rate of 5s. for six months. Wheels may also be bought from £2. 10s., and numbers have been sold to country members. In some sheep stations the wool is grown, dipped, spun, carded and made into socks on the homestead, the complete article being a product of that one station.

So far, all the wool used by the guild has been donated by the squatters of Queensland, and since all the work is voluntary it is possible to sell the spun and carded wool at less than the ordinary cost price. The carding is either hand-carded at the rooms, or it is done at the mills through the courtesy of the mill-owners.

The rooms are open every Tuesday and Friday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., third floor, Courier Building. And what a busy and picturesque scene is presented on these days. On each side of the long room are women sitting at the spinning wheels, about 20 wheels all moving at the same time. It is here that beginners are taught, and experienced spinners work industriously. Members are allowed to buy the carded wool, but all wool spun at home on the hired machine is returned to the guild, where it is weighed and examined by the committee. A small book of instruction was compiled and issued last year so that women in the country have every facility to learn. The guild has been of inestimable value to women who have a number of relatives at the war, and who found the price of wool a severe tax on slender means. The movement has steadily grown throughout Queensland in the last year, and no better testimony of the work could be shown than the splendid exhibitions of wool displayed by amateur spinners at the Brisbane Show, both this year and last year, and at the recent Toowoomba Show. The renewal of spinning shows the determination of women to use every means possible to alleviate the hardships of war.

McDonnell & East’s Values

are without a Peer --in all Brisbane--

And we are splendidly ready in every imaginable way to show or send to you just what you like to wear in

FROCKS BLOUSES SKIRTS UNDERCLOTHING MILLINERY KNITTING WOOLS, Etc.

Our prices are notably moderate, and our varieties broad and unstinted. This is the ideal stock for the economical--and who is not economical these days?

Our Fancy Goods are Superb!

McDONNELL & EAST LTD.

“The White Store,” George Street, Brisbane.

Queensland Soldiers’ Comforts Fund.

FOR MEN IN THE TRENCHES.

The thought of the severe strain of trench life, whether in the deserts of Egypt or the blood-stained fields of France, has always struck a chord of compassion in the hearts of women. It seemed so terrible that, in addition to risking their lives, the soldiers should be faced with daily discomfort; and when the Queensland Division of the Australian Soldiers’ Comforts Fund was established in Brisbane, in September, 1915, there was a big response to the appeal for help. It was felt that no one here in the comfort of ordinary life could do too much to alleviate that discomfort, and all over Queensland women set to work to provide what they knew was required by the men in the trenches. The local branch became headquarters, and to-day there are over 40 branches throughout the State, with the central headquarters situated in the basement of Parbury House.

This general fund provides comforts for all Queensland soldiers irrespective of the unit to which they belong. Over £5,000 has been donated by the people of Queensland, and this money is used to buy the materials for garments and socks, to provide groceries and sundries required by the men, while a certain amount of money is sent monthly to the commissioners abroad to provide coffee stalls, entertainments (picture and variety shows) and musical instruments for men right in the trenches and firing lines. Honorary commissions have been appointed by the Commonwealth Government, and it is they who acquaint the Australian governing bodies of what the men require. When Mr. Budden (late Chief Hon. Commissioner for Australian comforts) was in Brisbane he said that in one month alone they had provided 81,960 socks to men in the front trenches. The colossal task undertaken by the women may be imagined when this was quoted as one item. At another time, 25,000 tooth brushes and 25,000 tins of tooth powder were provided. To all these requirements the Queensland Division contributed her share. In the first year the hundreds of consignments sent abroad included among the comforts 5,830 shirts, 11,607 pairs of socks, 1,232 tins of milk, 763 tins of fruit and jam, 5,000 packets and tins of cigarettes, 1,250 tins of fish, and a list of articles too lengthy to enumerate. And in no way has the work slackened since that month of September, 1915.

The headquarters at Parbury House are the scene of many busy hours. The room is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Saturday, when it closes at midday, and one of the honorary secretaries is on duty daily. The workers are occupied continually with sewing or cutting out, distributing material or wool to be used up, arranging the goods for various consignments, packing cases to be forwarded abroad, or unpacking the contributions from one of the 40 country branches. There are ten sewing machines in the room, and when they are all being used, and the various other sections of the organization are centres of busy women, the room seems one hive of activity. The honorary secretary’s table, with a telephone, is in the centre, while to the left is a circulating library, initiated by the Girls’ Sub-committee to augment the funds. This committee has also made considerable sums through the sale of cakes and home-made sweets, while individual members make and sell home-made jams to swell the funds. All work is voluntary, and no effort is spared to increase the comforts for the soldiers, and the committees are continually improving their methods and means of attending to the wants of the men who are in the trenches. The movement is essentially alive, and if the men could see how earnestly and unselfishly the women were considering their wants, they would feel cheered indeed. As it is, the letters that pour in from all sources show the deep appreciation of the men. The wonderful part is their gratitude--they do not seem to realise the tremendous sacrifices they themselves are making. Time and again the commissioners report that the soldiers will say quietly, “You are too good to us,” and when coffee is served near the firing line or soup made, the soldiers seem to take it as a message from home. All gifts are bought or made in Australia, if possible, and a “comforts” badge or message put on the articles. The fact that they come direct from Australia increases their value a hundredfold in the eyes of the men. General Birdwood voiced the thought of the Australians when he sent the following message to those in charge of the Comforts’ Funds: “All members of the A.I.F. send our most grateful thanks to the kind wishers in Australia, who have done so much to help the Australian soldiers through times of difficulty and discomfort in the field. What that help has meant none but those who have seen it on the spot can possibly realise.”

If you are interested in a soldier call or write for our New List of

Gifts for Soldiers

It includes Suggestions for Presents for Soldiers at “Send-offs.” Suggestions for Presents for the Soldier at the front. A list of useful parcels for posting, including Cigarettes and Chocolates, or Useful Articles of Clothing. The Parcels range in price from 5s. upwards. There are a hundred to select from.

All Colours in Battalion Brooches kept in stock.

=Rothwells Ltd.=, Edward Street, BRISBANE.

VERDUN.

We think of love, of garden plots and song, We dream our dreams to be--and gone-- While hell let loose, men speak and done Defend Verdun.

A glint of red, a glow of crimson flowers Uplift their heads to meet the morning hours, A glint of red--in battlefield the Hun Awaits Verdun.

O! Frailty of man who only knows When stormy wind across his garden blows! For glints of red a-shining in the sun Reflect Verdun.

Chocolate!

AUSTRALIAN CHOCOLATE FOR AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS

Nothing so sustaining for winter conditions as GRIFFITHS’ Pure Chocolate. Packed in specially sealed tins ready for posting to the Front. Also in Solid Blocks. Post a Block with your next pair of socks.

Have you seen our SOLDIER’S HAMPER Lists? Write or ring us up (’Phone 3496) and we will post you one.

Griffiths Bros. Prop. Ltd.

530 Queen Street, Petrie’s Bight, Brisbane.

Large Blocks of Chocolate also obtainable at Finney Isles & Co. Ltd., Allan & Stark Ltd., Etc.

Comforts!!!

What could be more comforting to our boys in the trenches than PHOTOGRAPHS of their “Ain Folk” from time to time.

Make an appointment with--

Thos. Mathewson & Co., 184 Queen Street (next Finney Isles & Co.) Brisbane,

And secure a PORTRAIT to send in time for Christmas.

’Phone 614.

Soldiers in the Field.

INDIVIDUAL COMFORTS FUNDS.

In addition to the General Comforts Funds, many individual funds have sprung up in the last twenty months for various units. Fêtes have been organised, entertainments given, arts and crafts sold, and business ventures started and continued with success to augment the funds of battalions and units for which different committees are exerting individual effort. It was felt that the soldiers would appreciate gifts all the more if they knew they were especially sent for their own particular unit, and regimental flags are made and sent overseas, comforts provided, and any special requests of the commanding officers are attended to wherever possible.

Money is sent when specially asked for, and expended at the discretion of the commanding officers, while the continual upkeep of consignments to the different battalions means an unfailing interest on the part of the women. When the men know that the cases have arrived from Queensland and are consigned to their own particular battalion, a special value is attached to them. The very fact that they have been thought of individually is a pleasure, and from all accounts the cases assume the proportion of Santa Claus to a small boy.

Some idea of the magnitude of the work performed in Queensland, to send comforts to soldiers in the field, is realised when it is known that, in addition to the Queensland Soldiers’ Comforts Fund, the following comforts funds are also in existence in Brisbane:--

2nd Light Horse 5th Light Horse 11th Light Horse 9th and 49th Battalions 15th Battalion 25th Battalion 26th Battalion 31st Battalion 41st and 42nd Battalions 47th Battalion 3rd Pioneers 4th Pioneers 9th Field Artillery Miners and Engineers

A Letter from France.

FRANCE, 3/2/17.

Dear Mrs. S---- and Miss W----

Our Colonel has to-day handed me your most magnificent parcel for distribution to friendless men of my company. The parcel, which was sent by Messrs. T. C. Beirne & Co., arrived in good order, and was greatly appreciated by the men. It really was one of the best parcels I have yet seen. Everything it contained was just what we find it difficult to get here.

(Signed) W. M. Davis, Major, 25th Batt., A.I.F.

And that’s only one of the many appreciative letters for Beirne’s Soldier Boy Hampers that we have seen.

Every Mail for the Front sees hundreds of BEIRNE HAMPERS going to make the recipients happy.

Can we send one for you? No trouble! Just give us your order. We do everything else.

Prices run:--10/-, 15/-, 20/-, 25/-

And that means THE POSTAGE PAID BY US.

T. C. BEIRNE & Co.,

“The House of the People.”

The VALLEY, : : : BRISBANE.

Anzac Club.

CHURCH OF ENGLAND SOLDIERS’ HELP SOCIETY.

In a quiet obscure street leading from the main thoroughfares of the city, there is a sign hung out from the building of an old church, “Anzac Club.” A rest home is here provided for returned soldiers in particular, but all soldiers, whether recruits or men who have come through action, are welcome. It is the outcome of the efforts of the women of the Church of England Help Society, but no questions of religion are asked, and the club is open to men of all denominations and creeds.

The management is in the hands of men, and personal attention is given to individual soldiers in an open, broadminded way. For instance, if an intoxicated man comes into the club, he is not turned out, but taken to the rest room upstairs and given a couch to sleep off his intemperance. Everything possible is done to encourage the men to use the club. There are three rooms for their occupation. A large reading and lounge hall in the basement with a piano, gramaphone, easy chairs, small tables and a restaurant. The stage of this hall has been turned into a billiard room, and at all times of the day there are men using the privileges of the club. Upstairs there is a reading, writing and rest room, where notepaper, envelopes and a library are provided free of charge. No entrance fee or subscription is asked, and the only time a soldier has to put his hand in his pocket is when he requires refreshments. These are provided at the lowest cost possible, and it is obvious that some return is necessary to keep the restaurant in financial order. Letters are received and remain in the care of the manager until called for, the manager being in attendance every day and night, and the club open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Different societies, and Protestant churches in and around Brisbane, provide a fortnightly social, and no offer is ever refused to entertain the men. The members of the Church of England Help Society hold a “tea” every Sunday and provide all provisions. This function is extremely popular, and the attendance averages 270 soldiers. These forms of entertaining returned men have had a wonderful influence among men of previous uncertain character. They have wandered in, in the first instance, out of curiosity, but the kindness of the girls and women and the happy atmosphere of the club have attracted them again and again. Seeing that a certain respectability is expected of them, they have taken care to come sober and remain sober. The numbers of men who were apparently “lost” characters and who have reformed under the influence of the club is amazing. The women who worked up this movement, and who continue to give strenuous attention to the welfare of the club, are the source of more influence for good than they are yet aware. But the Anzac Club was not instituted as a house of reformation, nor is it run on any such lines. It is a rest home for the men who have done “their bit,” or who are going forth to fight for their country.

Remember the Men in the Trenches.

HOW WOMEN MAY HELP AND ENCOURAGE.

There is an ever-increasing demand for comforts for the men in the trenches. The Queensland Soldiers’ Comforts Depot in Parbury House has an army of women throughout Queensland working daily to supply those wants. But these women are in need of re-inforcements just as the soldiers in the trenches are in need of re-inforcements of men to-day. Those women who have immediate ties with men in the firing line have learnt of the soldiers’ delight in receiving additional comforts--they have also heard of the long hours spent midst wind, rain, mud and snow, when the soldiers’ only food was military rations, their only clothes--military equipment. Sufficient comforts have not been sent to the men. Additional socks, mufflers, mittens, Cardigan jackets, Balaclava caps, shirts, games, musical instruments, books, tinned fruits and milk are urgently needed. Surely the women of Queensland will not fail to make further and greater efforts to bring some gladness to the men fighting for us in France and Egypt.

The Anzacs who have returned from facing the hourly risk of death have a strange look in their eyes, and many, when sitting quietly smoking or resting, seem to be listening. One soldier was questioned: “You look as if you were listening all the time to something we can’t hear.” “Yes,” he said, “when I sit quietly I seem to hear the chaps in the trenches calling for me to come back.” The Anzac in question was well enough to do light military duty, but he felt that even he, after his strenuous work and severe wounds, should return and give the men a helping hand.

Can’t you hear, women of Queensland, the men in the trenches calling for extra comforts? Can’t you hear them saying, “If we had a few more pairs of socks and some extra warm clothing things wouldn’t be so bad. I wonder why the women don’t send us more things?” Those who have their women folk working here are unbounded in their gratitude for individual parcels. They also receive goods from the Soldiers’ Comforts Fund. But think of the men who have no friends or relations to work for them! They depend entirely on extra comforts to the Comforts Fund--and if there are not enough to go round there must be many a bitter thought.

But not so bitter as the thought of no reinforcements of men. Nor so bitter as the thought of extra risks, extra hours of suffering because the country they are fighting for refuses to assist them in their hour of need. Every extra man in the trenches lessens the casualty lists. Every extra comfort gives not only a glow of pleasure and hours of comparative ease, but encouragement. Writing from the trenches men say that when parcels arrive excitement is intense. It seems a voice from home, and for the nonce war and death are brushed aside. But the lonely soldier who receives no remembrances, not even slight acknowledgment of his sacrifices, must sometimes wonder if his country and countrymen and women are worth risking death for.

Imperial Service Club.

THE HOME OF THE RECRUIT IN 1914-1916.

Although this club is now closed it will always live in the memory of the soldier who was a recruit during 1914-16. It provided a place of rest and amusement to thousands and thousands of soldiers, and the energetic band of women and men, who put their untiring energies into the club, are deserving of unstinted praise.

It was open every day, including Sunday, and there were always certain members of the women’s committees in attendance during the day, while both men and women were on duty at night, the club closing at 10 o’clock. The scheme was carried out on an extensive scale, and everything possible was done to make the club a comfortable rendezvous for the soldiers. The billiard tables were a great attraction, and stationery and other necessaries were supplied free of cost. A restaurant provided light refreshment, and all sorts of amusements were arranged to attract and interest the soldiers. Over a hundred letters were often received in one day for the men, and the reading and writing-rooms were a boon to the lonely country recruit. Many men left their personal belongings in the care of the committee, and these are stored ready for the owners to claim them on their return from the war. Socials, dances and entertainments were continually being held, and several musical instruments were always at the disposal of the men in the large lounge at the basement of the building. The White City, other attractions for the soldiers, and the fact that there were so few recruits in camp at the end of 1916, occasioned the closing of the club, and the women who worked so enthusiastically for the movement have since turned their energy into other patriotic channels.

RECRUITING READY-RECKONER FOR MARRIED MEN PREPARED TO JOIN THE A.I.F. “FOR HOME AND EMPIRE.”

=============================+===========+===========+===========+==============+=========== RATES FOR A SOLDIER. | Total |Fortnightly| TOTAL |Fortnightly |Fortnightly |Fortnightly| Patriotic |fortnightly| Pension |Pension if | Pay. | Fund | Income. | if husband | husband | | allowance | | totally | killed. | | (if | |incapacitated.| | |necessary).| | | ----------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+--------------+----------- With a WIFE and no children |=£4 9 10= |=------= |=4 9 10= |=4 10 0= |=2 0 0= With a WIFE and 1 child |=£4 15 1= |=0 12 6= |=5 7 7= |=5 10 0= |=3 0 0= With a WIFE and 2 children |=£5 0 4= |=0 17 6= |=5 17 10= |=6 5 0= |=3 15 0= With a WIFE and 3 children |=£5 5 7= |=0 17 6= |=6 3 1= |=6 15 0= |=4 5 0= With a WIFE and 4 children |=£5 10 10= |=0 17 6= |=6 8 4= |=7 5 0= |=4 15 0= ============================+===========+===========+===========+==============+===========

In addition to the above there is 1/- per day deferred pay, amounting to £18/5/- per year, which the soldier draws in a lump sum on his return.

Then, again, a man has to remember that he is fed and clothed while in the A.I.F., which is, of course, a big item to consider.

Don’t forget, too, that the rates quoted above are for the PRIVATE.

Such a big proportion of the men enlisting in Queensland to-day are married men, that we thought it would be a good plan to state all the rates of pay and pensions clearly for their information.

There is no doubt that the single men are not coming forward as they should, and many married men are coming to the conclusion that there is only one thing to do--take up the sword themselves.

HOW TO ENLIST.

=In Brisbane=--Go to Adelaide Street Enlisting Depot (next to State School).

=In the Country=--Go to the nearest Town Clerk, or Shire Clerk, or Local Recruiting Committee, who will give you all the necessary instructions.

STATE RECRUITING COMMITTEE OF QUEENSLAND,

_Vice-Chairman_: Col. Hon. A. J. THYNNE, V.D., M.L.C. G. M. DASH, _Captain_, _State Organizing Secretary_.

Red Cross Workshop.

FOR SOLDIERS AT KANGAROO POINT.

The small theatre at the Kangaroo Point Military Hospital has been removed to near the Recreation Hall at the gates, and converted into a workshop for the soldiers. A section of the sub-committee of hospitals took the matter in hand a few months ago, and a start was then made to teach convalescent men wood-carving, basket-making, toy-making, and other branches of handicraft. Some of the soldiers in Sydney, where a similar scheme has been in operation for some time, made from £2 a week upwards, and it is hoped that the movement will be of the same benefit to the men in Brisbane.