FORTY-FIVE THOUSAND BABIES

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 345, 28 January 1937, Page 2

FORTY-FIVE THOUSAND BABIES

HISTORIC DAY AT VICTORIAN RAILWAY NURSERY. CHILDREN CARED FOR WHILE MOTHERS CARRY OUT SHOPPING PROGRAMME.

History was made at the Railways Nursery in Flinders Street, | Melbourne, recently when the fortyfive thousandth baby was left by his mother in the care of the sister and nurses to while away happy hours In the playground while she carried out a programme of sale-time shopping. His name was inscribed on I the page in the little blue book, j marked with the number 45,000! | And so a new milestone was reached In the history of the nurseryunique, as far as it is known, in being the only institution of the kind conducted by a Government railway department in the world. "Hallowed Ground.” To enter the nursery is to tread on ground hallowed by the benedictions of innumerable mothers who, unable to afford hired help, have deposited their children in these charming surroundings, under supervised care, with a thankful sigh of relief (says | a Melbourne paper). Here, not quiet- | ness reigns, but peace!—a peace ‘ which persists through the crying. ! which is inevitable when as many as | 50 small folk are gathered together | within the space of three or four rooms. The kindly sisters —all of them trained as mothercraft nurses — dearly love children and understand well how to keep them contented and happy. Tiny babies, some of them not more than 10 days or two weeks old, are wheeled gently backwards and forwards in the large dormitory at the far end of the passage. where 20 or more neat little blue cots are ranged about the walls. The rubber wheels of the cots move ■ smoothly and silently over the polished floor surface. Lulled and soothed by the movement, baby forgets his sorrow, and chuckl'S softly to himself. Even the cries of the other infants fail to wake him. He has retired into a world of his own again, and his eyes are shut in sleep Toys to Distract. . It is not difficult .to find a cure for the older children when they are fractious, for the walls and cupboards of the playrooms are literally lined and packed with all the toys in the j

world. When any become worn out or broken, Father Christmas is always ready to hand with something new. There are two playrooms. The indoor one is out of use during the summer except on rainy days or windy days, and just now it bears a deserted look. Even the rocking horses appear a little forlorn as they are lined up in a row, six or eight of them, against the w r all —for all the world as though they were starting for’ the Melbourne Cup. The cardboard animals which form such an attractive frieze appear to enjoy their solitude, however, and continue gaily with their quaint antics. Elephants smile broadly as they amble gracefully along on their hind legs, and cows, following the traditional custom, jump over the moon. And sometimes a small girl will quietly leave her playmates and tiptoe to the tiny bed in the far corner, which has a fascination for creche habitue A. They spend many hours happily, the sister will tell you, in-making and remaking the small four-poster. It ie a great treat for one of them to be permitted to enjoy an afternoon forty winks in it, especially if it is pulled out into the open air. Open-air Playground. The open-air playground is a recent addition to the creche. It was opened less than a year ago, and so carefully wir d in that, although it is on the roof top, the small folk are as safe in it as behind iron bars. Toddlers have a special department Ln the centre. They may roam at will from on • boundary to the . other —but escape they cannot! Safety swings, into which they are strapped snugly, see-saws variety of soft and woolly animals are there for their diversion, and if they become bore* they may watch the great world outside, where the elder children are at play. This senior playground rather resembles a speed track. Everyone appropriates a vehicle in .which, or on which, to savour the thrill of speed and movement. Scooters, tricycles, motor-cars, in a constant stream of traffic, are circumnavigated round and round, and round again, until muscles are tired

and throats a little husky from happy cries. 'Only a few of the girls are still sufficiently mid-Victorian. to want to play with prams! Efficient Organisation. Of the organisation of the creche—baby may sleep there and rest there as he would at home. Before parents leave they are asked what should be served in th,e way of nourishment, and nothing else is given to the children save what has been ordered. Two-course meals are sent up at midday, from the railway refreshment services for the small cost of lOd per head, and orangje juice or milk and biscuits is always at hand, cool from the refrigerator! The nursery kitchen, by the way, would fill the heart of any housewife with envy. It gleams with tilts and metal, and possesses every modern device fpr cooling and beating. The colour scheme, as in other parts of the creche, is cream and blue. The increasing patronage at the nursery indicates the wide appreciation which it is meeting from mothers. The record attendance for one day occurred during the week before Christmas, when there were 189 clients, and another day 188 were recorded. During the week ended Deoemlber 19, 688 children were looked after —an average of 114 a day. Over the entire holiday period, for the four weeks ended January 2, 2174 children were received, compared with 1954 during the cqrresponding period in the previous year. This increase of 40 per cent, indicates the growing popularity of the children’s nursery, and there are other figures, too, which speak for the success of this enterprise. Forty-five thousand children —and, what is more, 45,000 mothers, some of them inter-State visitors, and a large proportion of them from the country—have derived the benefit of the nursery since it was established less than three years ago. Staff has been increased, rooms have been added, and in the near future furtbier expansion is anticipated. The charming blue nursery in Flinders Street is becoming widely known as a place where children play happily with each other, and babies sleep tile sleep of the just, as only babies can.

Mr. and Mrs. A. H. R. Amess and the Misses Amess have returned from an enjoyable motor tour of the North Island. They came back via Hastings.

Mrs. D. Glasgow, who has been staying with her brother Mr. Hogg, in Wellington for the past two weeks, returned last night and is staying with Mr. W. J. Spence, Olivia Street, prior to going to her home at Huinga.