£500 BABY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20176, 20 February 1940, Page 6

£SOO BABY

DOMINION CONTEST PICTURES ON SCREEN GISBORNE ORGANISATION LOCAL SECTION ENTRIES A baby contest with prizes for local, district, island and Dominion winners is being organised by the St. John Ambulance Association, and a committee to carry out the Gisborne organisation was elected at a meeting held in the Masonic Hall last night.

An endeavour is being made to secure entries from all parents with eligible babies, and the committee elected will arrange for canvassers to call on parents with a view to securing support for the contest, which provides for the screening of films of the children at picture theatres.

The scheme was explained fully by Mr. M. ,1. Miles, Dominion organising secretary for the contest, who has arranged to visit Ruatoria and Wairoa before he leaves the district.

Mr. Miles said that the object was to raise £50.000 for the St. John Ambulance Association throughout New Zealand. Not only would the commandery benefit, but the different branches would also be aided in their work. No subscriptions would be sought, but the public would be asked only to patronise the cinemas when the pictures were being shown. 70 Picture Theatres The cost to parents entering would be ss. Mr. Miles said, and the parents would each receive 10ft of camera film and the baby's photograph taken by the movie camera. The public woidd be asked to go to the theatres when the films were beina shown and allowed to vole. Every (id paid for admission would entitle a patron to a vote. The £50,000 would come firstly from the entry fee of 5s and secondly from the kindly co-operation from the proprietors of 70 picture theatres in New Zealand.

There was a prize of £SOO for the Dominion winner and a second of £250. There were also local prizes. There was first of all a local contest, with a first prize of £2O and a second of CIO. When the six winning babies were found by public voting, their films would comoetc in a district comoetition. thc’v being seven districts in ♦he North Island and five in the South Island. The district winner would receive £SO. The six winners in the district would compete in the North Island contest, for which the prizemonev had not been allocated yet. The films of those selected for the North Island section would be shown throughout the Island, and those in the Dominion final would likewise be shown throughout New Zealand.

Identification Numbers

Mr. J. J. Macdonald asked if there would be anv identification of the babies when the films were screened.

Mr. Miles replied that there would •;>c no identification whatever, apart from numbers. The scheme was started some time before the war, and, a letter from the Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. Jones, in thanking the Order of St. John for its support, indnuated that the order was wise m lorrying on with the baby contest effort.

To further questions, he said that the local contest would last for nine to 10 weeks, and it would be fol'owed by the district, Island and Dominion contests. Fifty babies would be screened each night, and before Hie whole contest was completed it would extend over four or five months. Babies eligible were those born on or a fter January 1, 1937.

Canvass of Parents

Mr. Miles said that there would be publicity to induce entries, but one of the main efforts would be by personal canvass, a point in whicli the meeting could assist. The association had a list of parents all with eligible babies, and Gisborne could be thoroughly canvassed in about two da vs. The rest of the work fell to Mr. W. B. Keaney, the manager of the' Majestic Theatre, by whom the entry fee would be collected. The canvasser was not. entitled to accept the entrance money.

Mr. Macdonald said that when war broke out, the Government called on the St. John Ambulance Association to train old and young in first aid and home nursing, and it did so, it. migh* appear strange that tire baby campaign was being launched now, but it was designed to secure funds, so that the order could carry on the work, which was most essential in both peace and war

The following central committee was elected:—Mrs. G. Burns, chairnan. Mesdames E. W. McKenzie, W E GofTe. J. Blair, W. Kenney, K. A.’ Woodward, W. S. Allan, Misses W. Lysnar and L. Taylor, and Miss H. H. Humphreys, secretary.