Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1933. THE PLUNKET SOCIETY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 286, 14 September 1933, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1933. THE PLUNKET SOCIETY.

To-morrow the public of Ashburton will have the opportunity of showing ir. tangible form their appreciation of the great service' the Plunket Society is'rendering the Dominion. The Society owes its existence in the first place to Sir- Frederick Truby King, and its name to the fact that Lady Plunket, wife of a former Governor of New Zealand, became its godmother, for whom it was named. Dr. King, as he then was, became greatly concerned at the heavy infant mortality in the Dominion, and gave much thought to the subject of preventing it, or at least reducing it greatly. To "save the babies" became one of his great objects in life, and to that end he organised a society whose aim should be to disseminate knowledge as to the proper treatment and care of infants. Developing from a'very small beginning in Dunedin, the Society jiow has branches and sub-branches throughout the length and breadth of the Dominion, arid its fame has spread to Australia, Great Britain, Canada, the United States, and other countries, whose attention has been attracted by the fact that the infant death rate is now lower in New Zealand than anywhere else. Ashburton possesses one of the most active and most successful branches, whose work is of untold benefit, as will be gathered from the reports submitted to the monthly and annual meetings. The local branch — and the same remark applies also to its sub-branches—has an energetic and enthusiastic executive committee and, what is of equal importance, a generous public to whom it never appeals in vain. It has rooms where during stated hours mothers and babies are received and advised. It has its nurses, who are practically at all times at the service of those who seek advice and assistance. If it were necessary, overwhelming testimony to the great volume of these services could be produced. But it is not necessary; the work is very well known and speaks for itself. The Society relies to a great extent upon voluntary subscriptions and donations to enable it to carry on its work, this being especi'ally the case since the Government, in pursuance of its policy of retrenchment, has reduced the subsidy paid by it. Without public support the Plunket Society could never have made jnuch headway, and to the public it should be able to look for an increasing rather than a diminishing measure of assistance. Those who have benefited by its activities are in the best position to appreciate the value of its humanitarian labours, and the Society should be able to look to them for such financial aid as it is jn their power to give, but it seems desirable to" impress upon the community as a whole the merits of the Society's appeal for practical assistance.