COMP CLOSED | Book Giveaway | Violet’s Scarf

• The extraordinary World War 1 true story of two New Zealand siblings and a scarf.
• In 1915 Violet is eight years old, living in Southland, when a Red Cross worker asks her class to contribute something for the soldiers serving overseas.
• Violet knits a scarf.
• The scarf is wrapped and the parcel has a tag with Violet’s name on it.
• The parcel joins 250,000 others sent to New Zealand soldiers in France in1916.
• The journey takes more than a year and when the Red Cross parcels are thrown randomly to the soldiers, Violet’s scarf is caught by her brother George serving near the frontline.
• George kept the scarf safe throughout the rest of the war and brought it and Violet’s tag home to New Zealand. The tag is now in Dunedin’s Hocken Library.

Colleen Brown heard about this story when visiting Southland with cousins to see where their family had lived at the turn of the last century. They visited the stunning Te Hikoi Museum in Riverton where she watched a video of early settlers speak about their lives in the 1900s. One of the speakers was a woman called Violet Craig, nee Cloughley. Violet talked about this episode in her life and even though Colleen has told the story many times now, it still gives her goosebumps. She undertook a huge amount of research, including working closely with Violet’s and George’s descendants to get the book as factually correct as she could.

Colleen Brown is well known in South Auckland as a local body politician, and community advocate, serving on Manukau City Council for nine years and for 15 years as a Counties Manukau representative on the DHB. She lives with her family in Hillpark, one of the last remaining urban forests in Auckland City. Her background is as an educationist and disability advocate. She was awarded the MNZM in 2000 for her contributions to the education, and community sectors. She chairs Disability Connect, a regional disability organisation in Auckland, sits on the Board of Neighbourhood Support NZ, and Chairs Counties Manukau Neighbourhood Support. Colleen also writes for The Listener using her networks to make sure that voices from the South Auckland community are heard on important issues such as health, disability and poverty.

Click here to read an exclusive article for GrownUps, written by Colleen Brown.

Terms and conditions

1. 1. 1. You must be a GrownUps member and receive our newsletter to be eligible to win.
      2. Competition closes on the 2nd May 2023, winners will be notified via email by 4th May 2023.
      3. It is your responsibility to ensure you correctly enter a New Zealand postal address where the prize can be couriered. GrownUps will not take responsibility for prizes sent to incorrect addresses.
      4. Winners are drawn at random by the GrownUps administration team.
      5. GrownUps employees and family are not eligible to enter.
      6. By entering the giveaway, you approve for GrownUps to use your name on social media as winner of the competition.
      7. One entry per household.
      8. Prize is non transferrable.
      9. You must reside in New Zealand – the prize will only be posted within New Zealand.
      10. You must be over 50 years of age to enter, check your details are correct in your membership dashboard.