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Remember Mrs.
Heyden on every
Mother's Day ...
The name of the late
Mrs. Janet Heyden is not
widely known — but her
work lives on.
You see, in 1923 Mrs.
Heyden was a pioneer of
Australian Mother's Days.
Her daughter, Mrs.
Thelma Little, who lives in
the Sydney suburb of Peter-
sham (her mother did, too),
told us the story.
CAMPAIGNING
It seems that Mrs. Hey-
den's concern over lonely,
forgotten aged mothers in
Sydney's Newington State
Hospital, where she visited
an old friend regularly,
started a campaign through-
out the city for donations to
buy presents for these old
ladies.
Newspapers carried her
appeals, while she made per-
sonal requests to many of
Sydney's leading business
houses.
none Help
Mrs. Heyden
The response amounted to
a ton of donations, which
were stored in the Sydney
Feminist Club.
They ranged from talcum
powder and soap to knitted
scarves and mittens.
Confectionery manufactur-
ers, leading firms, and the
Sydney Fruit Market all
contributed toward Mrs.
Heyden's gifts for "her"
lonely mothers.
Mrs. Heyden also visited
many Sydney schools, asking
the pupils for help.
"I want 10in. x 12in. bags
with double draw-strings,"
were her instructions, and
the pupils from some of
these schools made more
than 200 of them — and
filled every one for her.
Although her original
idea was directed toward
mothers, Mrs. Heyden's sym-
pathy extended to old and
neglected fathers, too.
With surplus bags she was
also a pioneer of Father's
Day.
Her appeals continued
regularly during the follow-
ing years, while the show
windows of retail stores all
over the nation took up the idea.
A LONG JOB
Ever since her first appeal
in 1923, she visited the lonely
and forgotten mothers in
Newington, until her death
in 1960.
Her daughter said Mrs.
Heyden was disappointed by
the commercialism of
Mother's Day and the loss
of its original meaning, but
she, nevertheless, considered
that this commercialism
would do more good than
harm — because commercial
interest provided publicity
which reminded people of
the occasion.
Among the recognition she
received for her work were
letters from King George
VI, Queen Elizabeth II, the
Duchess of Gloucester, Lady
Mountbatten, Mr. P. Hills
(when he was Lord Mayor
of Sydney), and Gracie
Fields.
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