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BETTER LIVING
Winter
Pamper
Escape
Celebrating 95 years of forming Friendships
Treat yourself
with an indulgent
Winter treat
One of Marlborough's oldest women’s networking groups are embracing change and opening
their doors to welcome new and younger members to joi n their community-minded fellowship.
Breaking away from tradition, which
has stood strong for 95 years, the
members of the Marlborough Women’s
Club wish to recruit a new wave of
women wanting to forge friendship
and fellowship within their community.
In more recent years, the network of
women has focused on giving back to
the community they have grown up
and raised their families in for almost
a century.
I spoke with President, Judith Bruce,
who has lead the group for the past
18 months, to find out what the goal
of the women's network is.
Judith explains, “The aim is to continue
the club where like-minded ladies
can meet on a Friday afternoon for
fellowship and entertainment. This has
always been the aim; however, we need
to get more members to sustain the
club into the future.”
Many of the members are over
60 and some are even in their 90s
muses Judith. "It has been a very
traditional group for a long time, which
originally started out as a elite group
for rural wives to give them a place
to congregate when they came in to
town with their children to complete
the weekly errands. The rural lifestyle
could be very lonely, so the group
was also a place where we could join
in with activities such as drama or
singing groups. We had luncheons and
Christmas parties, and a Mah Jong club,
which is still just as popular today as it
was back then," says Judith.
The cottage next door to the
Marlborough Club came up for
sale in 1923, and this is where the
Marlborough Women's Club was
formed. With a NO MEN ALLOWED
notice and a waiting area for the men
if they were invited to the odd occasion,
or to collect their ladies (strictly after
5pm), it was clearly women-only
territory. To this day, a "STRANGERS
ROOM" sign can still be seen above
the door in what is now the library.
To really understand some of the
history, Judith introduced me to
a couple of life members, Yvonne
Thomson and Nanette Clunes Ross.
The two let me in on a few club
insights over some delightful cream
scones and tea. Yvonne reminisces that there was a
strict formal dress code which included
long skirts and gloves with the finest
attire. A smile spreads across her face
when she recalls a time when a woman
turned up in jeans and was quickly
told that was inappropriate dress for
a member to wear. Suffice it to say,
the woman never returned.
Nanette explains that the club was a
place where the women could gather as
they were not allowed into the men's
club next door. Nanette also explains that to become
a member back in those days, you
had to be invited to join. Your name
was then put up on the board
STORY BY SUMMA MACDONALD |
for a whole month to allow other
members the chance to object to
the membership. As you can
imagine, it was very much a Who's
Who and you did have to be part
of the elite to even be considered
for an invitation. Nanette does admit
that the process did keep the group
very respectable and honoured
amongst distinguished members of
the community.
Luckily for us, times have changed
and the Marlborough Women’s Club
now acknowledges the importance
of being accessible to everyone within
the region who want to connect with
others and the community they live in.
The group also acknowledges that to
keep the club together, recruitment is
vital, so they welcome new members.
As the majority are over 60, they are
also encouraging younger women to
become interested and form another
arm of the collective that caters for the
needs of the next generation.
SUSIE WILLIAMS
Judith and her committee are working
hard to raise awareness of the
Women's Club in the community
by personally volunteering, and as
a group, supporting community
organisations such as The Food
Bank, Women's Refuge and Breast
Cancer awareness. Not only does the
group want to focus more on giving
back, but they also want to encourage
women to join the network for
companionship and fellowship.
The network is an opportunity for
like-minded women to get together
and enjoy the many activities, events
and social occasions organised by
the group. It’s a chance to share
experiences and support each other
and unite our community more
firmly, ensuring that the Marlborough
Women’s Club continues bringing
women together for another century.
If you are interested in joining the club,
contact Judith on 03 578 4194 or email
[email protected].
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