CHILDREN’S REST HOME

Evening Star, Issue 20483, 14 May 1930, Page 13

CHILDREN’S REST HOME

ANNUAL MEETING FUTURE WORK OUTLINED The annual meeting of the Children’s Rest Home was held in the Council Chamber of the Town Hall yesterday afternoon, when Bishop Richards presided. In opening the meeting, the Chairman said that the past year had been a most successful one, and they now had to consider the future of the movement With the gift ol a sue. th© scope of the work would bo enlarged, and they would want to have buildings on the site in Roslyu which would be not only a rest home but a convalescent home as well as to carry out the wishes of Mr and ’S Hill-Jack., In moving the adoption of the annual report and balance-sheet, the Mayor (Mr R. S. Black) said bo had much pleasure in doing so. Great credit was due to Mr Dunkley for the sympathy he was showing and the work h© was doing, and to the committee for its work. He would also like to mention the nurses and doctor, too, for their kindness. I here was no work done that gave so much pleasure, and gave a quicker return than work don© for children and the Children’s Rest Home was one of the assets of the city. The motion was seconded by the Rev. S. J. Cooper, who said that he knew something of the work that had been done during the past year. Many children had been cared for in the home, and in the private houses in which the children were boarded cut when the home was full. Without the. care the society had been able to give, many of those children would have been left to run wild at a time when a mother’s care was withdrawn for a period. He would like to utter a word of appreciation to the- merchants of Dunedin. During the past few months he had been more than pleased and sometimes surprised to find how generous merchants and citizens of the city of Dunedin were. The society was sorry that there should bo the need for relief works that had come into existence during the past few years, and the society claimed that the work that it was doing for the children helped to prevent the growth of slums in the city. As they looked around the city they found that the homes provided by the church people and by the citizens were built, not in the poorest parts of the town, but in the very finest suburbs. The report was adopted. OFFICE-BEARERS. ,On the motion of Archdeacon Cur-zon-Siggers the following committee was appointed;—The Bishop (ex officio), Rev. S. J. Cooper, Messrs S. Dunkley, A. Goodley, R. S. Galbraith. F. W. Kniglt, W. R. Brinsley, Miss Hill-Jack, Mrs F. H. King, and the mover. The Archdeacon said that in their secretary and manager they had two men who had done a great deal of work. The secretary (Mr Cooper) seemed to have found his life’s work in what he was doing in regard to the children in the orphanages of the diocese, and as secretary of that undenominational institution he was doing great work. It would be very hard indeed to beat the work that Mr Dunkley had done, but they must be careful that he did not overwork himself, as he was a man who could not be spared, Mr C. Russell Smith was reappointed auditor, and was accorded a vote of thanks for his work in the past. FUTURE OF THE MOVEMENT. The Bishop said he would like to refer again to the greatness of the gift of the Hill-Jack family. It was a most valuable gift, and as a children’s rest home was a unique institution in New Zealand it was the only one ot its kind, and the value of the work of the society would be largely increased by the valuable gift that had been made to it. He wished to add his tribute to the work of Dr Dunkley, and he was not saying too much when he expressed his feelings in saying that he regarded Mr Dunkley as one ot God’s great gifts to the city of Dunedin. There was no one who had worked with such real love for the children as Mr Dunkley had done. His work was really beyond all praise. His Lordship then asked Mr Dunkley to say something of the future ot the home.

Mr Dunkley returned thanks for what had been said about him. He wished to thank those people who had subscribed during the past twelve years, and said that although they were hard up against it at times, when the need became known money seemed to come from somewhere. The gift of the Hill-Jack property had been made in November of last year, but since then it had been found impracticable to carry out the wishes of the donors to provide a home for incurable childnn. The superintendent of child welfare had stated that it was practically impossible to do so, and the society decided to do some work that would carry out the idea of the donors as near as possible, and they were asked to formulate a scheme whereby that could be done. Miss Hill-Jack hold “ Romanoff ” on a charitable trust declared by her mother, but ft was impracticable and inexpedient to carry out the work 01 the trust. It was decided therefore that the property should be made over to the Children's Rest Home. To carry that into effect a scheme had to be drawn up and approved by the At-torney-General and finally sanctioned by a judge of the Supremo Court. The scheme had been drawn up and approved by the Attorney-General, and the necessary papers for bringing the matter before the court were being prepared. It would be some little time, however, before the matter could come before the court, as the scheme had to be extensively advertised first of all. No tender could be let for the building until that matter had been settled, and the property duly transferred to the society. The society hoped that it would be able to go on and give the children the very best home that could be procured. When the building was completed it would be the best home in New Zealand, n not in the world. That was the opinion of the Child Welfare Superintendent, and everybody would realise that he had his heart and soul in his work. The policy as carried out by the Children’s Rest Home was practically the same policy that was carried out by the Government in that where it was expedient or where a child was to be held for a lengthy period, it was hoarded out in licensed homes, and all children under six had to be in licensed homes supervised by child welfare officials. That policy bad always proved successful, and when the new ma ternity home io be built in Dunedin was established the society would come more into its own than it had in the past, for the reason that provision would he made for children when their mothers had to go into the maternity home, and that was going to be a very big part of the society’s work. Mr Camming, who was unable to be present, said he very much appreciated the work of the Rost Home. He (Mr Gumming) could take the mothers into his home, but many of them could not go there if it were not that the

society cared lor their children while they were away. Mr Dunkley added that the home was going to mean a* great deal to country people who could not otherwise make provision for their children during times of sickness. After those present had examined the plans of the new home the meeting terminated.