BRYANT, DORRIS LOFT (QSM)

 

Dorris Bryant was born in Kent, England on the 22 October 1891, the daughter of Stephen James and Mary Isabel Bryant nee Loft.� She came to Hawera with her parents at the age of 20.� Her first job was a shop assistant at Bennett and Sutton Ltd, Hardware Merchants of High Street (now Harding�s).� Dorris then worked for many years as a receptionist for Hawera dentist Walter Bright until his retirement.� Although Dorris was close to retirement age herself then, she continued to work part-time at the TAB.

 

Dorris first joined the Hawera branch of the British Red Cross in 1929, being one of the founding members.� She was president of the Hawera sub-branch for 30 years, and president of the NZ Red Cross South Taranaki Centre for 11 years.� On her retirement from that position she was unanimously elected patron.� During World War Two, she formed a Red Cross transport detachment in the town and served as commandant for the duration.� In 1967, she was awarded the highest award in the Red Cross movement, and became Councillor of Honour.� Dorris also held medallions for home-nursing, first-aid, sanitation and hygiene, subjects in which she qualified with honours as a member of the Women�s Voluntary Aid Detachment (a nursing group which helped at the Hawera Hospital) formed in Taranaki in 1933.

 

Drama was another interest for Dorris, and in 1936 she formed a Red Cross drama group.� The artists traveled around the district giving concerts and raising funds for Red Cross.� She was also a member of the Hawera Repertory Society.� During the 1930s she became active in the Foundation for the Blind visiting the South Taranaki blind and helping with transport to foundation events.� Civil defence was another interest; she was appointed liaison officer for Hawera and district in 1966.

 

While overseas during the early 1950s, Dorris had experience of the Meals on Wheels service in London.� At a public meeting called by the Hawera Hospital Board to establish the service in Hawera, Dorris was elected organizer and was involved in the service for more than 25 years.� When she was unable to get around so easily, she used the telephone to make up lists of drivers for the service.

 

In her younger days, she was a keen swimmer and helped teach the sport in her lunch hours as a member, and later secretary of the Hawera Swimming Club.� In later years she took up golf with the Hawera Ladies Golf Club.� Described as a woman of incredible energy, Dorris�s work in the community was recognized in 1979 with a Queen�s Service Medal.� Dorris Bryant died on the 28 August 1987, aged 96 years and is buried in the Hawera cemetery.

 

SOURCES

Obituaries "Taranaki Daily News" and

"Taranaki Herald" 31 August 1987.