Marjorie Lees (nee Marjorie Jane Prendergast Knight) grew up in a wealthy household, the niece of Chief Justice Sir James Prendergast. In 1914 she was a founding pupil of Iona College boarding school in Hawkes Bay. 

When war was declared in August 1914, Lady Liverpool, the wife of New Zealand’s Governor, made an appeal to the women of the country:

“At this moment of our Empire’s needs I desire to appeal to the women of New Zealand to assist me in trying to provide any necessities which may be required for those portions of the citizen army which are now mobilising… My suggestion would be to start a fund in every centre under a small committee of ladies in the larger towns.”[1]

As Marjorie recalls, life for many girls like her was one of long stretches of boredom, punctuated by occasional social occasions such as dances. In the upper classes, fundraising became a fulltime occupation for many women who had a large amount of leisure time. 

The efforts of these patriotic committees were published regularly in local newspapers. Detailed lists of names and the goods they had donated, or the amount of money they had raised, encouraged communities to compete to see who could raise the most funds, and ensured that everyone was seen to be ‘doing their bit’ for the war effort.

In the Hastings Standard newspaper on 30 September 1915, the results of an Iona College fundraising concert were listed. Another ten pounds was raised from the sale of posters for the Wounded Soldiers Fund. Other popular causes were the women and children of Belgium, and after its formation in 1915, the New Zealand Red Cross. Marjorie recalls the Iona girls cutting their butter ration and sending the money they saved to the Red Cross.

[1] Hawera and Normanby Star, 7 August 1914 p.5