| Brief Description |
This black and white photograph taken in 1939 shows children from the Crippled Children Society with samples of their work. Four children and three women are seen in a room with windows along the back and right walls. They are working on floral arrangements and other work at tables. This image shows crippled children at Wanganui Hospital being taught flower work by the Wanganui Gardening Circle.
The Crippled Children Society, now known as CCS Disability Action, was founded in 1935 as a result of the 1916 and 1924-25 polio epidemics which left many children with disabilities. Dr Alexander Gillies spoke to the Rotary Club about the needs of these children, and after much lobbying, they launched the New Zealand Crippled Children Society. The intention was to ensure that every crippled child had the earliest possible treatment and continuous care where required, and part of this was vocational training where children under 21 were taught crafts and skills which would enable them to find employment. Girls were taught dressmaking, millinery, shorthand and typing, domestic work and clerical work while boys were taught lathe-work, electrical work, accountancy and wickerwork.
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