CHILD WELFARE IN AUSTRALIA

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 260, 30 July 1929, Page 11

CHILD WELFARE IN AUSTRALIA

OBSERVATIONS OF SIR TRUBY KING PROGRESS OF PLUNKET MOVEMENT Dominion Special Service. Auckland, July 29. Having spent about a month in Australia in his crusade against infantile and maternal mortality, Sir Truby King has returned to New Zealand by the Aorangi. There was a genuine desire in the Commonwealth to help mothers and babies, he said, and Australians were willing to learn any lessons that New Zealand could teach them. “The rate of maternal and infant mortality in Australia is unduly high at present,” Sir Truby King said. “It is g rally agreed that there is no reason for higher infantile death rates in Australia as compared with those in New Zealand. Some people have said that the Australian climate is responsible for the larger figures, but this should not be so. The fact that Australia is now fully alive to modern requirements should see a rapid reduction.” A comparison between the rates of infantile mortality in New Zealand and Australia was very much in favour of the Dominion, Sir Truby King continued. Altogether the New Zealand rate was only about two-thirds of the Australian rate, while for babies from one month to one year the New Zealand rate was only about half the Australian. New Zealand, too, had made greater progress in fighting various infantile scourges, and the rate of mortality in the Dominion from these causes was only a quarter of the Australian rate. Dr. Purdy, who had been Chief Health Officer at Auckland for many years, was now Chief Health Officer at Sydney, Sir Truby said. He was doing much good work toward reducing the rates of infantile and maternal mortality, and was strenuously advocating the adoption in Australia of the voluntary educational system of the Plunket Society in place of the State system, which was proving very costly in New South Wales. Dr. Purdy was doing much for the Plunket movement in Australia.

“I addressed several organisations in Sydney and Melbourne,” Sir Truby said. “Among them was the Mothercraft Society of New South Wales, the members of which take great Interest in what we in New Zealand are doing along the lines of child welfare. They seem very eager to follow New Zealand’s lead. I also investigated the operations of a recently-established factory which manufactures goods for Karitane Hospitals in Australia. Good work is being done in this direction.” Sir Truby said he also bad the pleasure of addressing the newly-formed New Zealanders’ Association in Sydney. Dr. Purdy was president of the association, and he had mentioned that there were no fewer than 32,000 New Zealanders in New South Wales. “The figures certainly surprised me,” Sir Truby said, “but they seem to augur well for the success of the new association.”