The MAORI DROWNING RATE is 4 TIMES higher than the PAKEHA!

Te Ao Hou, December 1956, Page 66

The MAORI DROWNING RATE is 4 TIMES higher than the PAKEHA! Twenty-four Maoris died by drowning last summer. More than a third were children under 15. But the total number of drownings—Maori and Pakeha—was 87. This means that the Maori rate, on a basis of population, was four times higher than the Pakeha. This should not be so! Any drowning is bad. But to have a rate four times higher than the Pakeha must give the Maori race serious misgivings. Let us, therefore, do all in our power to reduce death by drowning this summer. **Take no foolish chances in the water and discourage others from doing so. **Teach your children to swim as early as possible. But also teach them to temper this fine healthy sport with caution. **Never let little children play near water unaccompanied. A child can drawn in three inches of water. LEARN TO SWIM LEARN WATER WISDOM Issued by the National Water Safety Council on behalf of the Internal Affairs Department