Plunket saved my mental health

On Tuesday, Aussie will grind to a halt as the nation gathers around their TV sets and radios. But it will have nothing to do with Covid-19 and everything to do with something possibly more important, the Melbourne Cup.

It is one of the few things that Kiwis and Aussies can agree on. Our worlds stop at 5pm on the first Tuesday of November to watch horses race.

Horses are not my thing. Many of my socially conscious friends hate the cup because of the animal rights concerns. I’d like to say that was first and foremost at the core of my disinterest, but mine is just horses in general. They don’t like me. It’s not a fear thing. They just think I’m a d...

They’d not be wrong either.

However, this Melbourne Cup I am MCing a fundraising event for Plunket. More specifically the Whirihia programme, which will do much to support the integration of traditional Ma¯ori birthing with the promotion of safe sleep, breastfeeding and the fundamentals of Plunket.

Reading all about Plunket and Whirihia has taken me on quite the journey. A journey I feel I should have taken years ago. It actually makes sense that Plunket was the ‘‘baby’’ of two Ma¯ori women – Big Mary and Mrs Chicken – and one staunch feminist, Lady Victoria Plunket.

Oh sure, Truby King was in the mix but had it not been for Mere, Ria and Charlotte, the world’s finest programme for mothers and babies would never have existed.

Big Mary [Mere Harper] was a healer, midwife, Wa¯hine Toa from the town of Karita¯ne. Another piece of the Plunket puzzle. I remember my Mum talking about Karita¯ne hospitals where mothers would stay with their newborns for several weeks, to learn how to care for their babies and to rest.

That must have been back when the Government gave a s...

Big Mary was a Wa¯hine Toa who not only took ailing babies to Dr King but also was known for her mighty strength, once carrying three gold-diggers with swags from a surf boat to the beach.

One under each arm and one on her back. She was hugely respected as a midwife and healer in her Karita¯ne community.

Mrs Chicken – Ria Tikini – was 95 when, along with Mere, she took an ailing baby to Dr King. Both these women were respected as the midwives and women in their community, whom new mums turned to when they had trouble breastfeeding, and with other health issues with their babies. Ria at 95 helped deliver Thomas Rangiwahia Ellison, then took him to friend and neighbour Dr King to stay for several months when he became ill. His elder brother had died in infancy, and Big Mary and Mrs Chicken were determined this would not again happen. Tommy was the first official Plunket baby.

Enter the third of the trio of Wa¯hine Toa – Victoria Plunket. This beautiful aristocrat, mother-of-eight, god-daughter of Queen Victoria and wife of the governor-general was behind the idea of training Karita¯ne nurses, or ‘‘Lady Plunket’’ nurses, who promoted healthy food, good hygiene, fresh air and especially breastfeeding. In 1908, at five months pregnant with her umpteenth child, she travelled the country with this message.

‘‘Up to now mothers have been left to untangle for themselves the great difficulty of rearing their babies, and over and over again little ones have had to suffer through want of knowledge as to the best food to give them under their changing circumstances. All mothers, rich and poor, should have the benefit and supervision of a woman who is specially trained and fully qualified to help mothers.’’

So move over Truby King. Thank you, but at the heart of Plunket there were three Wa¯hine Toa.

Do you know what bothers me? As a nation we do not fully fund Plunket. Nowhere near it. To survive, the best mother and child care service globally relies on private fundraising. Thank God for the kind benefactors and tireless event planners, but who are we if we are not providing the most important service we can for mothers and babies of this country? I will proudly host this event to raise money for Plunket.

I would have had a mental breakdown had it not been for my Plunket nurse, but by God I’d like to see this Labour Government show mothers in this country just how important they and their babies are.

Of course it was strong Wa¯hine Toa who started Plunket. Of course it was.

I would have had a mental breakdown had it not been for my Plunket nurse.