FLOWERS FOR PAPARUA.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18152, 15 August 1924, Page 11

FLOWERS FOR PAPARUA.

m ths srrros: ct .."rsz sixes " gsol is at best a gaunt pliice, its solid bleak strength - never yet suggested home, even to the most inveterate gaol-bird. - The whole building and its setting convey an unmistakablb impression. -Every concrete block exists for one grim purpose. We can well imagine -how the eight-of each a fortress must strike the average prisoner, on his first arrival, with depression and despair,-if not positive terror. Tb6 new prison at Templeton is no exception to. this. Yet as . you .go through the grounds amid the unfinished buildings, you become v.are that Paparua is going to''be something'more than a prison. An atmosphere, strange to most prisons, seems to pervade the and.the .token--of it is seen in the shrubs and plants, and the prctniso of flowers amjd more than" one laidont garden. The object of the superintendent is to make plants and flowers a feature of the prison and ite surroundings, and to plant them whereever there is a suitable spot. To do this be will require far more seeds, etc.. than at present " are at hi 6 disposal, and if any of .your readers would tare to send, him packets of• seeds, or boxes of bulbs, or plants, or cuttings, or saplings, every single one will be put into the ground, and the donors will have the satisfaction of knowing that they are giving no small help and encouragement to the prison-workers in their arduous task.

Jiowers alone, it is quite true, are not going to reform' hardened.'criminals. There aria men inside prison, as there are many • outside, that are impervious to the influence of flowers—but not all. Among the prisoners there must be a large proportion that are open to their gentle ministry. How eagerly and thankfully they ""receive any flowers sent to them, and place them in the one corner of their cells where they may have" a photo or a keep&tke! And coming as they will do to men whom justice has, for'the time being'banished from the • society of their fellows, who shall say that flowers cannot bring 'them a message of hope, a reminder of higher things, and lead them one step onward? Personally, I look upon flowers' as a powerful hrjudmaiid. to religion, janu that is why I am venturing to mate this appeal. It is not, however, for cut flowers that I am appealing now (though these aro always • most welcome), but for seeds, bulbs, creepers, or even bushes and trees—things that Governments don't usually provide. Those of your readers who, like mvself, arc being brought: constantly into touch with the tragedies underlying the lives of prisoners,' will 'know that it is not oversteppmc .the mark .to.say. that—along with tTle'Tiealing and cleansing influences of religion—flowers will have a. big share in keeping the men human. All boxes, etc,, of plants or seeds should be addressed to the Superintendent, H.M.S. Prison,' .Paparua. —Yours, etc., F. RUTHERFORD RAWLE, , Chaplain. Piebbleton, August 14th, 1921.