PLUNKET SOCIETY

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19972, 5 July 1930, Page 24

PLUNKET SOCIETY

THE ANNUAL MEETING. ADDRESS ON PREVENTIVE MEDICINE. A large audience of women at the Jclikoe Hall last evening congratulated, Tvilh its applause, the Canterbury branch of the Plunket Society on another year's successful work. Addresses by Dr. G. M. L. Lester and Mr Eenfrew White. F.K.C.S. (Dunedin), were v. aruily appreciated, and hearty votes of fh;;nks were returned to these lecturers. 'J'iic .Mayor (Mr J. K. Archer) presided. The report and balance-sheet, which torn put before the meeting, indicated iniothcr year of marked progress in the Society's work. Dealing with the exfusion of the work, however, the re-j.-irt states: —■

"ll in a matter of deep regret to ti.t executive committee that this rej iTt records progress which could have been much greater but for the fact that limited and unsuitable central ri'oms have prevented expansion. Of course, the scope of the work is wide, niid the numbers increase in spite of drawbacks, but Sir Truby King has said that a Plunket nurse is doing her best work when she is seeing fewest babies, and the large numbers seen by the nurses in the suburbs tell a tale of a staff needing reinforcements to deal adequately with the increase. The committee, conscious of the implied rebuke, looks forward to adding to the nursing staff as soon as possible.

"Once we can get into our new rooms wo expect to employ a special nurse to take charge of the pre-school children, who will come to be weighed and measured at intervals, and who will automatically pass under. her supervision when they reach two years of age." This branch of the work is being attended to in Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin, but the Christchurch l-ranch is unable to deal with it at present as a special department. "With the co-operation of the Creche and Kindergarten Association, our nurses obtained the heights and weights of the children attending the kindergartens in Christchurch, in order that statistics of New Zealand children might be compared with those of other countries.

Sub-Branches Formed. "The Lincoln sub-branch was reestablished an a result of a meeting of residents convened by Mrs E. M. Morten and attended by tho president and secretary of the Christchiirch branch. A sub-branch was formed in the Hornby-Islington district, and subsequently included Templeton. In October the president and honorary secretary attended the interim conference and meeting of the Central Council in Wellington, when matters of interest to the Society were discussed, and the report and balance-sheet of the Central Council were adopted. "Each year the support given to the annual appeal on Violet Day is a source of satisfaction, and this year's effort resulted in the sum of £Bl6 8s 31d being collected, from "which expenses had to be deducted. Again the violet-growers in the suburbs gave us their flowers in masses, and many private gardens were placed at our .disposal also. Schoolgirl friends arrived at she depot and picked and bunched violets with enthusiasm, and the Girl Guides, as usual, helped all day. "This year the cabaret organised by Mrs Frank Graham and' her committee In August was, as usual, an outstanding success, and realised the sum of £270 4s fid. Again we have to offer our warmest thanks to Mr and Mrs Graham end their committee, to whose hard work and powers of organisation the sueeess is due. "As our last balance-sheet showed a itoflfH, the Sydenham-Cashmere subbraneh sent a cheque for £lO towards its liquidation, for which we were very grateful. Faced with the furnishing of premises much larger than our present rooms, we were extremely grateful for tho present of £25 generously given by Mrs W. if. Sym<a towards the furnishfatir of the new office for the honorary secretary and the honorary treasurer.

ZrfMMB from Committee. 'following a suggestion made at the fruit biennial conference in Wellington, a iocs] conference' was held in the JCavy League Ha]] In, Noyember last, and almost two hundred delegates were present frpm districts u far, sooth as Ashburton and as far north as Waikari, and even included representatives from the West Coast, whom we were delighted to welcome. "We are happy to report that Mrs B. W. Anderson, on resigning from the tiydenham-Cashmere Committee, allowed her name to be to the Honorary Committee, and also agreed to continue the interest she has always itbown in the Karitane Hospital by acting on the Garden Committee. The committee also asked Mrs F. H. Pyne, ■who will be remembered as a past president of this" branch, to act on the Honorary Committee rather than sever her connexion with the branch by resigning. It is with real concern that your committee watches these earlier members resigning from active participation in the work, " They carry away with them the experience of the iftruggles of the early days of the Society, which gave to .their counsel ana advice a value impossible to replace by electing new members. <«Y<ju will all agree that on the whole the report is extremely eatisfactory and gratifting,?' said Mr Archer in moving the adoption of the report and balancesheet. "Ae far as I can discover, the work done by the local branch is larger than ever in the past, and I think I am right in spying that the Income 11 also larger than before. Not only the work, but the generosity of the Society's supporters has increased.' I must congratulate you on the efficiency of ypur staff.. ThePlunket Society is one of the few organisations X. never' bear any criticism about. Yon will be pleased to aee that the work at the sub-stations is just as good as that done in the centres."

Mr D. E. Wanklyn, who seconded the motion, congratulated the Society upon its work, and alto the executive which had carried out that Work. The report was unanimously adopted. IJlection of Officers. Officers for the year were elected #s follows:—-President, Mrs J. Cracroft Wilson; vice-presidents, Mesdames E. Garland, F. Graham, and A. B. Bloxamj active members of committee, Mesdamea H. D. Acland, J. K. Archer„Geo. Aitkwn, E. Boulton. K. Ballantyne, A, Buna, H. J. Ballin, L. Banks, X. Olark, B. J. Cordner, 0. Chilton, 6, M, Lester, J. McCombs, A. McKillop, J. 8. Novillp, C. M. Ollivier, J. Studholme, J. Steven' son, H. E. Smith, H. T. J. Thacker, V, Turnbull, J. Taifc L, Wilson, Hallows Wood, E. Wanklyn, P. Wilding, Algar Williams, A. F. Wright, H. Mcintosh, A. W. Beaven, E. Harris, P. Thomoon, W. J. Bheat, O. Bennie, B, M. Morten, Adjutant Nairn, and Misses B. Muir, Doneiford, Ward, and Trotter; country members, Mesdamee B. L. Blunden, B. Jtt. Gilmonr, N. McGillivray, H. A. Knight, and M. A. Lane: honorary memben, Mtsdames B. W. Anderson, J, < Dean*, F. H. Pyne, G. Bhodes, and Miss 7 Tabartt hon. secretary, Mrs Cecil \ A; hon! treasurer, MwM, ET. Godby; advisory board, Messrs HTD. Acland,' A. H. Brlsted, W. H. Clark, G. L. Donaldson, M. H. Godby, and H, A, Knight; hon. physicians to tl the Christchurch |&pritan« Baby Hospital Dr. P. B.

Allison, Dr. L. Averill, Dr. G. M. Lester, Dr. A. C. Sandston, Dr. H. T. D. Aeland, Dr. F. V. Bevan-Brown, Dr. B. H. Gilmour, Dr. H. I/. Widdows'on, and Dr. W. H. Glasgow. Blse of Preventive Medicine. In spite of a worthy citizen's denunciation of slogans and catchwords, he would take as the subject of his address, "It is better to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to provide an ambulance at the bottom," said Dr. Lester. He wished to focus attention on the Society as part of the great scientific movement known as preventive medicine. Since the 17th century, which saw the beginnings of modern science, modern man's outlook toward material things had been in the main scientific. This change had greatly affected medical science, now looked upon as one of the most advanced sciences of the day. In the pre-scientific age, the object of medical science was the cure of disease or the alleviation of pain. With the birth of that science, curiosity became a virtue instead of a crime, for its first task was to discover what it was dealing with. Then the classification and description of disease yielded to research into its original nature. At the beginning of the last century research was the chief aim of medical scienee. The last development was the use of the results of research to prevent disease. Born only 100 years ago, it had gone from triumph to triumph, and was destined to be the sole medical science of the future. The segregation of lepers in the 17th century was the first application of the great principle of quarantine which had so limited the incidence of infectious diseases. It was part of history how smallpox had been conquered by medicine. The conquest of yellow fever at the Panama Canal and of malarial fever In the East was one of the great romances of the science.

Science and the Mother. The Plunket work 1-7 as only a branch of preventive science. If for each child there could be secured the normal conditions that every child should have in the first few years, then that child should be protected from disease. The Plunket Society was the medium between preventive medical science and the mother. Its function was to add year by year some little knowledge of the years of childhood to the common stock that was the heritage of every mother. The re-elected president (Mrs Cracroft Wilson) returned thanks to the Mayor, tho speakers, the honorary medical staff, all helpers on Violet Day, the Society's honorary solicitor (Mr M. H. Godby), and many others. She said she waß pleased thai the year had been one of progress. The purchase of a car would enable the Society greatly to extend the sphere of its work, although an increase in staff was urgently needed.

NEW ROOMS NEARLY READY. The Plunket Society would soon be in the new rooms now under construction in the old Chester street Fire Station was' the statement made by the Mayor (Mr J. K.. Archer) at the annual meeting of the Canterbury branch of the Society last evening. "Good as the Society's work has been, it has been seriously handicapped by the premises in which it has had to be named on," he said. "You will all know and rejoice that this is the last fling you will have to put up with your cramped premises, for within few weeks you will be in the new building, and when you get there you will be delighted. "The situation is ideal, with the river and the green grass round about it. The location is perfect. I have looked through the building, and I think you will have in it all you can desire. There is one fly in the ointment. Because of the opposition encountered, you have only a 15 years' lease, but I think you will be pretty safe in 15 years, for by then no one will have the courage nor the cowardice to take it away from you." When the Mayor was talking of the new premises, he did not say how much the Society owed to him for getting such an extremely difficult and prickly deal through, remarked Dr. G. M. L. Lester, in the course of his address. The president (Mrs J. Cracroft Wilson) also returned thanks to the Mayor, the City Councillors, Mr H. T. Armstrong, MJ»., the late Dr. Charles Chilton. and the secretary (Mrs Cecil Wood) for their valuable work in securing the old fire statfbn for the Society's premises. "T.hope that his Excellency will aoon opon the new" rooms," said Mrs Cracroft Wilson. "They are very attractive, and will enable the Society to deal with the pre-school child, thereby extending considerably its work." The Society's pleasure at the acquisition of the new . rooms is expressed in the annual report, which, after outlining the progress of negotiations, ended: —"Our anxiety to occupy the rooms increases as the months go by, and the Plunket nurses, the committee, and the hundreds of mothers who visit regularly are looking forward eagerly to the great day when the new rooms are opened."