PLUNKET BRANCH'S YEAR

Chronicle (Levin), 6 July 1948, Page 4

PLUNKET BRANCH'S YEAR

liighlights Of Work 1ft Levin The past year had proved a'Wery' busy one for the Pxunket Society's brahch in LeVih, accordhig td tlle report pi'esented last night at the dnnual mee'tmg held iii the Ceiltury Hall. Tt\e hr'ahch" has noW completed 2i .years of usefur Sefvice to the community biit in her fepbrt the presideht, Mfs, L.. J. Hunter, sai'd that she thought thefe was no fexcuse fbr celebration until 25 years had. been completed. •Th'e work of the branch hati been steadily lhounting, as also had the pufaiic's response • to the ahnual ■ appeM for funds to keep pace with it. This, she said, was a practical : •deriiohstration of the public's faith •in Plunket work. TWo of the highlights of theyedr had been reeognition by the I>ominibh Couhcii df the ldhg yfears ■ of servic'e bh the Levin coriimittee given by two retiring members, Mesdames L. M. Park and C% Ba'rfhblomew, continUed Mrs. Hunter: Tlifese two women had been granted 'thb long: §brVice cei'tifi'cate, wliibh Was awarde'd for outstanding wbtk .bvfer a period of not. less than 18 years; The branch was very pfoud ithat twd Qf its members had. qualiihed for this honour, adde'd Mrs. Hiinter-. irbe other highlight Was the achievement -df the sub-braiich kt Manakau in completing -the building of their own Plbnk'et fooms. The robriis had beeh visited by the committee and were Corisi'dered everythin'g that Pliiiiket fooms Shbuld be. "They have done all this entirely by them,selves and thbugh they Were involved in more bxpenditure than they anticipate'd, thby have cbm'e. through;. alihbst fentirely free of debt." . Shahnbn, anbther sub-branch had equaliy gobd rooms built by themselves. The Levin bfanch had high hopes of the Levin Bordugh Couneil assisting it in obtaining new fooms, and a splendi'd ofier df assistance had been received from the Levin Junior Chambef of CoiiiT rnerce. Unfortunateiy,. coritinued Mrs. Huntef, the branch had b'een junable to obtain a suitable .area .of land on WliiCh-td .buil'd. TAe site would require to be near the town land yet not ih a pbsition likeiy tb jbe required for the development of Ithe shopping area. It would appfear ■as if the branch would now have tb wait until a sympathetic property owner made available some suitable land for purchase. Meahwhile, ^ it Was to be hoped that the Junior Chamber would . -be patient and cohtinue its offer of -assistance. The • Bl'unket 'Nurse; . Miss . Hight, Wouid be leavingt on-£ retiremenfe .at the ,end tof. Apgush^rid Apth; her WbUm gb the sihcere ^hdriks-bf ithb comiriiftee idf her excellent -wbrk; iaid Mrs. Hunter. Thanks .were also du'e to the many persdns ih the district Who did not figure on Ithfe coinmittee, but who so nobiy asgisted ih the , anniial -cQllections, to Mrs. HUason, df the, Regent Theatre Whb, .bvbr thd.yedrs, had so generoiiSly helped with adveftising, the Levin Bonough Copncil, florpwhenua County Council and the ■Levin Ddiry Cbmpafiy fbr anhua! subscriptlohs and th'e trustfees of the . Macarthy Trust - for their financial support. . Also worfhy of the braneh's thanks were Messrs. Capper and Son, "The Chronicie" and the honorary auditor, Mr. •J. S. Moir. In conclusion, Mrs. Hunter said that as retiring president she would like to thank the treasurer, Mrs. A. Sutton, who had carried out these duties ndW fof 14 years, the secretary, Mrs. H. S. Walkley, and the committee for their loyal support rduring her two years' in office. Prior to the election of ofncers for the ensuing year, the chairman, Mr. H. B. Bui'dekin, congrafulated Mrs. Hunter on her work during the past two years and also those others .Whb had carried out the work of administef ing the braneh's affairs during the year. The work the Plunket Socibty was doing was not always appreciated, said Mr. Burdekih. It was only when one heafQ r'eports froni other eoiintries that one realised how fortunate our* children were. The thanks of .the Dominion • were due Sir Truby King and those many others who carried bh Plunket Work. It was well-known that New Zealand led the world in the care of its infants. As Mayor of Levin he wouid say that bb'th he and the council Md always received the loyal support of the Levin and district Plunket, for which they were very appreciative. in conclusion, Mr. Burdekin paid a tribute to the work of the

three priiicip&l dfflefefs of the branch. Officers Elected I The following officers were# then elected for the year: — Patron : Mrs, H. B. Burdekin; president: Mrs. W; / ! amaill; vice-prCMdents: Mesdames L. J. Hunter, W. Lett, J. S.Moir, W. 'Long and P. Stewart; secretary: jMrs. H. S. Walkiiy; tf|'dStifer:.Mrs. A; Siit'fdii ; dU'ditb,f ; Mf . J, S# ;Mdir; ! cpinipittee : Mesdamgs L. Batche1 Ipr., /B./D. Chaine^. J-. Cpff^ jl. A. •;Clidpman, p. CientWbf-thj 'Kt E-. iAxderson,\Br Greenaway, W. Davie, . L. Hair, A. Haiey, W. H. Hockihg; B: Harvey, Juhr., H. J. Lancaster; J. H. Holdaway, w.. O. Neas, . W. C, ;$tannard,, Tilley,, J, Tbcicl, F. ('P. Wilsdfi, J. W. Rbgers; C. S, KeedWbil; j. S. Slehkhofh; A. W. hafton, E. F. Trotihah; j». Cdmpibii; 'Sutcliffe and Bastpn. j Thb bal&nfcb shedt, whibh, was ipresbhted""by "the trbasUrer, Mrs. A. Sutton,- shpwed a. cash.,balanc'e pf £753 16s id in the P.O.S.I2. ' and ,Bank of New Zealand aceounts. ! Niifs'e's Report : In submitting , her *25th annual repdrt, the Fiuhkei niirs'e, Miss fe. L. Hight, expressed her gratitude tq tlle comffiittee fot its loyal ahd helpful support dufirig the ,ybdr. She intimated that this .Wduld Be her iast report beford retiririg. "Looking back qyer the ..years; one - can pee cie'afly the great progfess the Plunket system has made. Sir Truby King; said when he launched his great Work : 'Plunket rHrfcds will not be needed m a few years. Mothers and ybuhg Womfeii Will Bd educat'ed to my gfeat idbal, ahd every one Will nufse and nufture her children as natiire intended her td do.' Tiiat ideal positidn has Hbt yet been realised. The ,peed for •: Plunket sisters is gredtbr .than ever, jand the wdrk has spiifad ttf fevef^ jcbfher of NeW Zedldhd "dhd riiahy ^ other parts of the World. • "If breast-f'efedihg givfes a child greater resistanee- to disease, Ishould not the mother's ambition ;be to successfully nurse her baBy. IWb recognise that aftihdiai fbeding jhas bdbome vefy scientific and good. :If a mother through hb fault of her jown cannot successfuiiy riiifs'e hbr baby, she knows she can use artiIficial feeding With a godd medsure lof subcess. "Mothers, you have the greatest work in the world! Nothing is so far reaching as the workof a good mother in traming. her family tb.be strong, ,happy; useful citizfens. This . is hard work and so worthwhile. Ther'e is fiothing WOfthWhiib that is not striven for. The joy of life,.. is ^triVihg iahd bvefcbming diffijj culties. Mothers,, make happif" hornes for ybur children to develdp naturally the influence of love aha trust. Give your best; and be proud of your honie and fdrhily ih thb service to mankind: I have loved my life as a Plurikei .Sister _ and ' it is with regret that I leave it. I hope- the mothers will all give their neW Plunket, Sister thfeir bonfidence ahd lielp. Tlie fefeult tif her wofS ' depends on the mother's co-ordina-tion' I thank the mothers for theit confidence in me as their nurse," Said Nurse Hight in conclusion. Tne tbtal. affibiihf 6f Work at Levin, Shannon and. Manakau during, the year wds given by Nursb Hight as follows: — Ndmber, of visits to homes, 1008; number df yiSits to pre-s'chool childr'eh-, 30; nhhibei' of visits tb bffieb, babibs 4038; preSchool children . 266; .adhlts . 4220; total,, 9568; number of he,w baBies, 207; baBies bredSt-ffed Wheh first seen, 136; babies breast'-ffed and complemented, 40; babies artifi.ciaiiy fed, 31; car iftileiige, 3299. There Were 33 more neW ' babies than last year and 1264 more visits to the office than during thdt period.