THAT THE MOTHER MAY LIVE

Chronicle (Levin), 7 March 1946, Page 4

THAT THE MOTHER MAY LIVE

THE O. AND G. CAMPAIGN LOCAL COMMITTEE SET UP Keen interest was displayed by ! the audience present in tne Century j Hall last evening to hear about the ©ominion-wide campaign to endow , a chair of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Auckland Hospital for! Women. The attendance comprised i mainly representatives of the prin- i cipal women's organisations of the j town and" district, and was presid- i ed over by Mr. F. H. Hudson, pre- ; sident of the Levin Rotary Club, by j whom the meeting was convened. j He apologised for the unavoidable absence oi' His Worship the Mayor, Mr. H. B. Burdekin. In extending a weleome to the speakers, Dr. T. F. Corkill, of Wellington, and Mr. James Oliver, honorary Dominion organiser, the chairman said that he felt all present were conscious of the vital importanc'e of the subject to be discussed! Ple said that it was well, even in the light of the deep appreciation that existed of the work of the Plunket Society, that everything possible should be done for maternal welfare in the Dominion. Dr. Corkill, who was accorded an enthusiastic reception, prefaced his remarks with a tribute to the work of Sir Truby King and the Plunket Society in bringing about a greatly redueed infant mortality in the Dominion. Regard was now being given to a corresponding achievement in respect of maternal mortality. The maternal mortality figures for the past 20 years had shown an encouraging decline due ito increasing- attempts to reduce the death rate amongst mochers, and in this direction the work oi the medical profession had been very materialiy aided by organised public effort. As a* consequence of one major campaign on the part of the women of the Dominion, the Government had in reeent years opened the Queeii 'Mary Maternity Hospital as an adjunct to the medical school in Dunedin, and this had given added practieal facilities for students to pursue their study of obstetrics and gynaecology. It was ; felt, however, that such was not i sufficient, and that there was an jurgent necessity for . the inauguraiticn of a scheme whereby qualified | doctors, especially from country i districts, might have the opportunjity of pursuing a post-gradtiate ! course in these subjects. Up to the j present time doctors desiring this i post-graduate study had been comjpelled to travel abroad to ayail | themselves of facilities to do so, but those facilities had been restricted during the war period, and would continue so for an indefinite period. It was felt, therefore, by an increasing .body of responsible public opinion, continued Dr. Corkill, that facilities for such study must be provided within the Dominion. An influential business -men's committee in Auckland, seized Of the urgency of the matter, had set it'self the o'bjective of endowing a ; professorial chair in the post- ; graduate. school of obstetrics and ! gynaecology, to be attached to the : Auckland Hospital for Women, ! which the Government was buildjing, and to appoint thereto a pro'fessor of outstanding ability to j direct leetures and research in these suujects. It was claimed that such jan under oaking would not only jserve the women of the Auckland ! district through the beneflt accrui ing therefrom to the house surgeons jof the hospital, but would uitimJ ately beneflt the women of the Doj minion generaliy through the facilities it oft'ered every doctor privi(ieged to undertake post-graduate jstudies in the 'school. ; In concluding, Dr. Corkill said j that it was aimed to raise the surn jof £100,000 for the obj.ect he had { enumerated, and he added that in i view of the tremendous importance ! attaching to maternal welfare he ; felt confident the amount would be j forthcoming. I In a brief supplementary address, jMr. Oliver said that the proposal j outlined by Dr. Corkill was one in j which every citizen should be interjested. The business-men of Auckland had initiated the movement from a realisation that the time had ! arrived when something i-pore than ! v/as being done had to be done for ,the unborn generations and their! mothers. The movement was the j outgrowth of an address to the j Auckland Rotary Club by Dr. Doris Gordon, who had pointed out that in the North Island of New Zealand, at Wallaceville, Ruakura and Palmerston North, there had been buiit buildings with excellent laboratories, efficiently if not lavishly staffed, and each headed by a university professor, for the study of the health and fertility of animals, but not one single building of any kind existed for the study of the health and fertility of womankind. Realising that such" a position was untenable, the committee had decided upon an appeal for funds to remedy jthe defect. The building of the- hospital was entirely for the Government, and the committee was concerned solely with the endowment of the professorial chair. Q. and G., the letters by Which the movement had been- designated, meant doing everything possible to further the cause of the Women of New Zealand, and the speaker claimed that no more important appeal had ever been launched.

. ^ Mr. Oliver said that a gratifying response, to the extent of over £52,000, had resulted from the appeal in Auckland and, altogether : over £60,000 ;was now in sight as the : resuit of the additional campaigns which had been conducted elsewhere. He said that-he felt confident of ultimate success, and invited the full eo-operation of the residents of Levin and district. Committee Appointed Following upon the addresses, it was resolved that Joeal support be given to the proposal, and a general,

committee comprising all present was constituted to further the project. An executive committee, comprising the "Mayoress, Mrs. H. B. Burde-r kin (convener)) Mesdames W. Davie, J. S. Moir and* C. Bartholomew, Messrs E. R. Winkler and F. H. Hudson and Dr. S. J. Thompson, Was further appointed to make afrangements for inaugurating the appeal.