Crippled Children's Society Deserves Fullest Support

This is John. He is suffering from knee trouble. He can only just walk unaided.

On her busy rounds, Mrs Dickson, Field Officer for the Society, spends a few minutes with young Theodore, a Gisborne boy with hip trouble.

Committee members of the Crippled Children's Society meet. From left to right they are Mrs W. H. Giles, Mr C. V. Harre, Mrs R. G. Witters, Mrs D. C. Morice, Mrs S. S. Hardman, Mr Michael Chrisp, Mrs J. A. Dickson (Field Officer), Mrs M. W. Howe, Mr A. J. Bartlett (secretary), and Mr F. W. Nolan (president). Mr Nolan has been president for 26 years, since the inception of the local branch of the Society.

In a fortnight's time, an appeal will be launched for new members for the Gisborne, Wairoa and East Coast branch of the New Zealand Crippled Children's Society. The aim of the appeal is to give, by increased membership of the Society, the financial and moral support of the community to the very deserving work being done among the 300 children in the Society's care in this district.

Many of these children spend months, some of them years, in bed, or wearing reformative appliances, cut off by their deformities from the active life of their more fortunate brothers and sisters. The Society through its field officer, Mrs J. A. Dickson, keeps in touch with all these children, ensuring that they are well cared for and receive the appropriate medical care. Direct assistance is given where required and in some cases it is necessary to provide such appliances as specially-built perambulators. In others grants are made to enable bed-bound patients to develop useful talents...for example, one boy was provided with a watch-making kit with which he was able to undertake work in this line.

For its work, which covers the extensive district from Hicks Bay in the north to a point only 36 miles from Napier, the Society is dependent on an annual street appeal, donations, voluntary fund-raising efforts, and the subscriptions of members at £1 a year. It is in this latter field that the appeal is being made...for more citizens to join the Society, thus showing their interest in a deserving cause, and assisting the good work with their subscriptions.

At Cook Hospital, Staff Nurse Williams keeps steadying hands on little Faith, who has a big smile for the camera in spite of her disability.
About 10% of the children attended by the Society are Hospital patients, and another 10% attend at the Hospital for intermittent treatment.

"Teddy" has spinal trouble and spends long periods in special harness.

The pictures on this page were taken in the children's ward at Cook Hospital, and show a few of the patients there. The children have a good friend in Sister Girling-Butcher, sister in charge of the ward, seen above with "John" in the balcony devoted to crippled children.

"Willy", a hip case, takes his misfortune philosophically.

Little "Leigh", not yet three years old, will spend many long months in bed like this.

Mrs Dickson, the Society's Field Officer, must be one of the district's busiest women, with a "family" of 300 children to look after, scattered over an area nearly 200 miles in extent.

In a hospital ward, Mrs Dickson pauses to see how "Phyl" is getting on with her correspondence lessons.

Setting out for a visit up the East Coast.

Conferring with the foreman splint maker at Cook Hospital, Mr D. H. McLeod. On the table are a number of plastic, leather and steel aids constructed in the splint department for special cases.

Meeting a young out-patient, Barry Coulter, arriving at the hospital for treatment.

The Society has its headquarters in this house in lower Ormond Road opposite rear entrance to Council Chambers. Here Miss M. Lindsey, in charge of the premises, greets a visitor, Mrs Margaret Ensor and her baby daughter, Heather.

Previous article Issue contents Next article

The Gisborne Photo News

No 85 : July, 13, 1961

Crippled Children's Society Deserves Fullest Support