High rate of child drownings deplored
PA Dunedin' The International Year of! the Child has had a bad start in New Zealand with one child drowning almost every day. The first international aquatic conference to be held in New Zealand was told this in Dunedin yesterday by the Governor-General (Sir Keith Holyoake), who deplored the high rate of drownings. “After road accidents, drowning is the highest cause of death for children under the age of four,” he said. More than one-third of all drownings in New Zealand involved children.
Many drownings in older age-groups were the result of stupidity bordering on the suicidal. “Swimming in jeans often drags the swimmer down to his death,” Sir Keith said. Some people treated a boat as if it were) a motor-car. They did not, realise that they could not' park and call for help. “Regulations for safetyare there, but are often ignored,” he said. A member of the New Zealand Water Safety Council, Mr N. Frolich, said the council received a grant of $240,000 from the Lottery Board this year. This figure was 20 per cent higher than last year.
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Press, 9 May 1979, Page 3
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187High rate of child drownings deplored Press, 9 May 1979, Page 3
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