SIR TRUBY KING

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 162, 5 April 1938, Page 3

SIR TRUBY KING

Tribute By Lord Bledisloe THE PLUNKET SCHEME The following tribute to the late Sir Truby King was paid by Lord Bledisloe, a former Governor-General of Neiy Zealand in a letter to “The Times. Lord Bledisloe said: Six years ago, when addressing a large public gathering in New Zealand, I referred to three men of outstanding achievements as “New Zealand’s greatest sons” —namely, Dr. Leonard Cockayne, the eminent botanist and oecologist, Ernest Rutherford, the illustrious physicist, and Truby King, the enlightened founder of modern mothercraft. All of them within the space of four years have now passed to their rest in the above* order. All of them were possessed of a magnetic personal charm and a sigular modesty and simplicity of life and outlook which endeared them to those who, like myself, had the privilege of their friendship. New Zealand Is indeed bereaved by their passing, but so also is the world, and in a human sense, perhaps, more so by that of Truby King, although he was not so profound a scientist as his two distinguished compatriots. The worldfamed Plunket movement for the prevention of infant mortality owed origin 31 years ago to the research work of this creative genius, initiated in the cow-byres of the Seacliff Mental Hospital in Otago, and its amazing development to his, convinced and infectious enthusiasm which overcame seemingly insuperable obstacles, and produced results comparable, as lasting benefits to humanity, to those which have flowed . from the work of Lister and of Pasteur. In New Zealand in 1905 the annual mortality of infants under 12 months of age was 8 per cent.; by 1912 it had fallen to 5.1 per cent, and in 1934 to 3.16 per cent, while in Dunedin, where the work originated, it fell to 2.1 per cent: Thanks largely to Truby King, and the adoption of his methods, it has fallen markedly in all English-speaking countries in recent years, but in New Zealand it is still half that in Great Britain and the United States, onethird of that in Europe, and one-quarter of that in Italy anti Spain. Apart from bis intense love of flowers and skill in growing them, especially rhododendrons and the floral gems of New Zealand’s native bush, his whole energy was concentrated on the selfimposed mission of his life. His boyish delight at its successful progress he found it always difficult to conceal. He zeal is well illustrated by the following incident. When addressing, in 1933, a g -thering of dairy farmers in an area almost exclusively stocked with Jersey cattle, I urged them—in view of their having an alternative export market for both butter and cheese, and of the relative unsuitability of Jersey milk for the latter, while incomparable for the former —to consider the economic wisdom of keping mixed herds, or alternatively half-bred rather than pure-bred' Jerseys. After reading a newspaper report of this speech Sir Truby hurriedly visited Government House and greeted me with the exclamation, “Bravo, your Excellency! I know nothing about the milk requirements of a good cheese, but I know those of a healthy infant. The big butter-fat globules of Jersey milk ar? killing my babies! Bless you for your campaign,” and he left as hurriedly as he came.