PLUNKET BABIES

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21258, 1 September 1934, Page 24

PLUNKET BABIES

♦ ; PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION MORE THAN 600 ENTRIES Babies—6oo of them, from six weeks eld to six years, posed in colour photographs and sepia tones, line the walls of the toy department of the D.1.C., for yesterday was the opening of the exhibition of photographs of Plunket babies. The cnvd of 400 who assembled for the official opening seemed to assure the success of the enterprise. The five classes divide the entries evenly, though one picture of triplets, the only one in the exhibition, has been classed with the twins with an age limit of six years. The other divisions are for photographs of the mostt beautiful child less than six months; more than six months, and less than 12 months; more than 12 months, and less than two years, and ifrom two years to six years. The exhibition has been arranged by a special sub-committee of the Plunket Society, consisting of Mesdames R. R. Masters, W. H. Cooper, D. W. J. Gould, Hallows Wood and yt. K. Lauchland. It will be open from 9 a.m. until C\3o p.m. daily until next Friday, Plunket Day, when it will close at 4.30 p.m. The proceeds of the exhibition wilt go towards payment :for the services of the Plunked nurses in Christchurch. The judging of the winners is done by the public, who are entitled to a vote on giving a 'donation to the funds. Every baby entered must have been at some time under the supervision of a Plunket nurse. Signposts pointing to "Alice in Plunketland" lead the visitor to the exhibition, and figures immortalised by Lewis Carroll and his illustrator. Sir John Tenniel, line the walls and bays. Above the display of photographs, children's toys and garments have been arrunged. The Official Opening The official, opening was performed 3by Mrs John Deans, who was introduced by Mrs .J. Cracroft Wilson, the president of the Christchurch branch. She said that Mrs Deans was a representative of the oldest white family settled in Christchurch. She had always been an excellent supporter of the society, and the building of the mothers' cottage at Karitane was largely due to her generosity. She then presented Mrs Deans with a bouquet. Mrs Deans thanked Mrs Cracroft Wilson for asking her to open the exhibition. The work of the society owed much to the loyalty of the nurses lor whom the- exhibition had been arranged. She had been on the first committee, and had then never imagined that the society would grow to such an extent, as the movement had row radiated from New Zealand throughout the whole world. After the opening. Mrs CracrofllWilson and the committee entertained their guests at afternoon tea. Among those present were the deputy-Mayor, Mr J. K. Archer, and some of the violet growers, who every year have placed their gardens at the disposal of the society for Plunket Day. Mr Archer, in a short address, referred to the exhibition as a remarkable one. As a rule, he hated shows, and he thought that babies were too wonderful to be put on exhibition; it •was an insult to them to put them on show, as they were "the most important people in the world." He said that the future of the next generation depended on the way that the present generation was looked after. "What becomes of the Plunket babies •when they grow up?" he asked. There were thousands in Christchurch and tens of thousands in New Zealand outside the Plunket age, who could not get an ample supply of milk and fresh fruit, he said, and he hoped that the time was soon coming when the children could get, through the whole of their life, treatment equal to the Plunket training. Mrs Cracroft Wilson also contended that milk was essential to the Plunket baby when it had grown up. She said that Mr Archer had always been a good friend of the Plunket Society and Mrs Archer had worked for them without ceasing. She was sorry that Mrs Cecil Wood, who had worked strenuously for the success of the exhibition had done too much and could not be present. To the management of the D.I.C. she also conveyed the thanks of the society for their ready help and co-operation. The violet growers, who were represented by Mr and Mrs Burgess, were the people who made Plunket Day the success that it invariably was she said, and the thanks of the society were certainly due to them. "Before I finish I must thank one of the most strenuous of our many workers. For 21 years now Mrs J. S. Kelly has sold violets at the yards on the Wednesday before Plunket Day. She is there in all weather and has never failed," Mrs Cracroft Wilson concluded. She then presented Mrs Kelly with a bouquet.