During a polio epidemic in 1948, schools closed to prevent the disease spreading. This cartoon shows a busy mother trying to do the housework and mind the baby while supervising her older children’s studies.
While healthy children appreciated time off school, those who caught polio could not enjoy the extended holiday. Listen to this recording of a woman remembering her visit to a school friend with polio who spent most of her time in an iron lung – some polio victims could only breathe with the aid of this machine.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Reference: H-634-016
by James E. Sanders
Sound file from Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. Any re-use of this audio is a breach of copyright. To request a copy of the recording, contact Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision (Health - Polio Epidemic 1947/8/Reference: 8811)
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.