Plunket Society
Encyclopedia
The Royal New Zealand Plunket Society is an incorporated society
in New Zealand
which provides a range of health services to healthy babies and young children. The Plunket Society mission is "to ensure that New Zealand children are among the healthiest in the world".
The society is most commonly referred to in the community as "Plunket".
diet, and therefore reduce child mortality
rates. He also believed that this would improve adult health as the children got older.
Originally called the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children, Plunket got its name from an early patron of the Society, Victoria Alexandrina Plunket mother of eight and wife of then Governor of New Zealand, William Plunket, 5th Baron Plunket.
Within a year, the society had first opened The Karitane
Home For Babies in Dunedin
, and then opened centres in Auckland
, Wellington
, and Christchurch
.
The society laboured for many years under the perception that it was set up cater only for European
women and their babies, this impression was reinforced by the fact that the Department of Health
operated a Native Health Nurse Service specifically for Maori in rural areas.
In 1912, King made a lecture tour on the Plunket Society. In these tours he was highly successful in attracting support for the society, partly because he exaggerated the effect on infant mortality rates. As a result of his tour, 60 new centres opened around New Zealand, each employing a nurse. The centres were badged as Plunket Rooms, however they are now referred to as Plunket Clinics.
In 2005 Keith Paroa Curry
became the first male Plunket nurse.
Incorporated society
in New Zealand an incorporated society is defined as being a group of at least 15 people who have applied for registration under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908....
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
which provides a range of health services to healthy babies and young children. The Plunket Society mission is "to ensure that New Zealand children are among the healthiest in the world".
The society is most commonly referred to in the community as "Plunket".
History
The meeting which led to the foundation of the society was held on 14 May 1907 by Dr Frederic Truby King. King was a medical superintendent and lecturer in mental diseases. He believed that by providing support services to parents, the society could ensure children were fed on a nutritiousNutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
diet, and therefore reduce child mortality
Child mortality
Child mortality, also known as under-5 mortality, refers to the death of infants and children under the age of five. In 2010, 7.6 million children under five died , down from 8.1 million in 2009, 8.8 million in 2008, and 12.4 million in 1990. About half of child deaths occur in Africa....
rates. He also believed that this would improve adult health as the children got older.
Originally called the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children, Plunket got its name from an early patron of the Society, Victoria Alexandrina Plunket mother of eight and wife of then Governor of New Zealand, William Plunket, 5th Baron Plunket.
Within a year, the society had first opened The Karitane
Karitane
The seaside settlement of Karitane is located within the limits of the city of Dunedin in New Zealand, 35 kilometres to the north of the city centre....
Home For Babies in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, and then opened centres in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, and Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
.
The society laboured for many years under the perception that it was set up cater only for European
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
women and their babies, this impression was reinforced by the fact that the Department of Health
New Zealand Ministry of Health
The Ministry of Health , formerly the Department of Health from 1903 to 1993, is a department of the New Zealand government. This is the channel through which the government channels its funding for health services, VOTE: Health.The ministry is overseen by the Minister of Health in the New Zealand...
operated a Native Health Nurse Service specifically for Maori in rural areas.
In 1912, King made a lecture tour on the Plunket Society. In these tours he was highly successful in attracting support for the society, partly because he exaggerated the effect on infant mortality rates. As a result of his tour, 60 new centres opened around New Zealand, each employing a nurse. The centres were badged as Plunket Rooms, however they are now referred to as Plunket Clinics.
In 2005 Keith Paroa Curry
Keith Paroa Curry
Keith Paroa Curry is notable as the first male nurse in New Zealand's Plunket service. On May 23, 2005 the Northland Polytechnic-trained bilingual nurse with 10 years nursing experience started work at the Plunket Society, New Zealand's century-old maternal health organisation.In May 2010 Curry...
became the first male Plunket nurse.