Newspaper Article 1946 – “Trippies” Are Self-Help Girls

“Trippies” Are Self-Help Girls

Milkmaids For Their Bicycle Fund

IT doesn’t seem very long to J. C. Anderson, of Hastings, since he found his family increased from four to seven overnight, but it’s already nine and a-half years since Mrs. J. C. Anderson commemorated Coronation Day of King George and Queen Elizabeth with her Coronation triplets, Mary, Rose and Elizabeth. The bonny babes are now three healthy girleens, still replicas with those big blue-grey eyes, pink cheeks, wavy brown hair (“thank goodness, no prospect of having to pay for three perms!” laughs Father), freckled noses and cheerful grins.

Health-troubles have never been much worry to their sensible mother who keeps them to a strict routine of good meals, fresh air and bed at 7 p.m., but first days in Standard II at Parkvale School did produce rather a crop of measles, mumps and chicken-pox. Their previous schooling had been “Correspondence” on the farm at Kahuranaki where germs didn’t have a chance to appear, but the family is now settled on a farm just out of Hastings. Mrs. Anderson has always kept a half-yearly check on their height and weight, and it is rather interesting to note that the present slight difference – Mary is 4st. 12lb., Elizabeth 5st. 1lb. and Rose 5st. – corresponds to their relative weights at birth.

“Triplets do rather keep you busy, but we love it”; and certainly smiling Mr. and Mrs. Anderson seem very undismayed at having to produce three of everything where most parents just have to cope with one. Latest interest is the bicycle fund. “We want to get them good bikes, so it will cost about £60. That’s rather a lot of money, so every little saving goes into the bicycle fund,” said Mother. “The ‘trippies’ help with it themselves. Real farm girls, we just couldn’t […]  them helping with the [rest of article missing]

Photo caption – REPLICAS IN TRIPLICATE STILL the “Coronation Triplets,” (from left) Mary Elizabeth and Rose Anderson, bear English royal names in salute to the coincidence of their birth. The Queen Mother and the young Princesses have bonny and loyal Hawke’s Bay namesakes, as this snapshot shows.