“I am so grateful that someone
saw in me the potential”
I have recently finished taking womens keepfit classes, at age 73yrs in what has been a life time involvement here in the Hutt Valley and surrounds, with the
YMCA and YWCA.
A chance remark in 1948 by my Epuni School headmaster, who came out one lunch time and said to me as a 7yr old - “have you ever thought of joining a gym
class” - he said, “tell your mother that there are YMCA gym classes over in Waterloo” - the headmaster used to see me do cartwheels for the full length of the
playing field! Looking back now - I am so grateful that someone saw in me the potential to be a gymnast. The rest is history.
I commenced with YMCA Lower Hutt under the Youth Leadership programme as a school girl in 1953 at Birch Street Waterloo where they had very big successful
school girls gym classes. Everybody went to a gym class in those days.
I was a school girl gymnastic champion in 1954 and 1955 and taught my first class of 5yr old girls at Petone YMCA, Cuba St. Biking down after HVHS classes,
along the stop bank of Hutt River, I was just 14yrs old. I have a photo of this class.
Later, I was one of a group of school girls that were first to be taught rhythmical gymnastics (nothing like today), by the Danish women’s team who visited NZ
and gave demonstrations at the Hutt Rec - by two very qualified gym tutors hired by Hutt YMCA, through Chris Van Dam (Dutch) then later Lotti Fischer (Vienna)
- we gave demonstrations at yearly YM gym festivals in Lower Hutt Town Hall - that was a huge public yearly event by the A Hutt YMCA, mid 1950s.
After overseas travel, early 1960s, I was employed by the YWCA up until 73yrs old - at Treadwell Street, Naenae - taking all classes from preschool to womens
keepfit into the community and also into rest homes, where I also taught chair dance and International Folk Dance. I also did the office typing.
I have done this since 1983, over 30 yrs. When YWCA closed down in Naenae they gave me their blessing to keep going under my own steam. I took on even
more classses and lots of ‘one offs’.
During this time the YMCA asked me to take preschool classes in 1991 at Park Avenue, Lower Hutt. So I was employed by both YMCA and YWCA at one stage. I
was in my element and loved it all.
The Hutt City Council were very sorry to see me finish classes, as I had been around for so long but it was untenable with rising costs. I may yet decide to start
up again as women are phoning me to re-start my classes.
I am so grateful to the ‘Y’s over my life time, they have made me who I am today, all those years ago as a 7yr old joining my first YMCA gym class in Waterloo,
school girls gym champion for two years, the Youth Leadership programme, then tutoring gym classes, and rest home chairdance, with the YWCA.
Attending Leadership conferences, YMCA dances, YMCA camps and tournaments and Upper Hutt AMP shows, showing my gym skills as a teenager - thank you,
thank you, thank you.
For years I travelled to Silverstream and took keepfit and folk dance to the Over 60’s Movement. After their monthly meetings and morning teas they would all
(over 55 men and women) trot into the hall in their high heels and suits and ties and they loved it all. Being a lover of travel I would often finish with a talk about
a recent trip, this all went on for years, super. They loved it and so did I.
Also during this time on a Wednesday, I took chairdance into 7 rest homes all in one day , 3 in the morning, 2 in afternoon all in Upper Hutt, then travelled back
to Hutt and did 2 more late afternoon, Woburn Presbyterian and Woburn Masonic, both in the same street. This went on for years with YW. I left them with
smiles and they left me with smiles.
With heartfelt thanks to the Y for making me who I am today, one very contented retired lady and the bonus is that its kept me FIT! I would have taught
hundreds and hundreds of kiddies in the Valley to do a cartwheel, a hand spring ,a neat head stand and vault over the horse and walk nicely along a beam smiles on their faces that they could actually ‘do it’ and it made me smile too.
Over the years, things for me with the Y just sort of evolved into one thing, then another - it was never planned and I am
so pleased that I just kept going, and grateful that the Y saw it fit to ask me. At one stage they asked me to go on their
Board. I have women who have been with me in my YW classes for those 30 yrs, to this day.
I have even stayed at the Y’s in Earles Court, Perth and Adelaide, and Auckland. Helped at camps in Nydia Bay,
Sounds - the list goes on and on.
In a ‘nutshell’ YMCA before OE London, YWCA after OE. From a 7yr old to age 73yrs young. Thank you to both ‘Ys”.
My sister in Wanganui sent me a newspaper booklet that shows photos of the YMCA school children in various
activities, how lucky they are for such programmes. I found that all very interesting. The Y is alive and well in NZ.