Seaport News

Newborn babies in Africa are wearing beanies knitted by Picton women in a wave of activity that’s sweeping the country.

In AIDS ravaged Africa the poor are taking newborn babies home from maternity hospitals wrapped in newspaper, which led to the term ‘fish and chip’ babies. Babies lose much of their heat through their headsand so many of these tiny babies were not surviving their first winter.

When this situation came to light, an Auckland woman, Louise Allnutt, leapt into action and set up a publicity strategy and collection point for donations of these tiny knitted garments.
The goal set by Louise of 400 beanies in the second half of 2009 was exceeded, and with 2060 already completed in 2010, this year’s goal of 3000 looks to be well within reach.
Picton woman Erica Anker met and talked with Louise on the West Coast while holidaying. On reaching home, she started knitting and produced a collection of beanies.
The needles really started clicking in Picton when Erica displayed her garments at a Garden Club meeting at Marina Cove in Waikawa Road. Her stories of the plight of the “fish and chip” babies captured people’s imagination.
One of those at the meeting, Erica McMillan, says that “word of mouth” is largely the catalyst for the spread of knitters. “People knit at home using scraps of wool and it’s no big deal,” she says. “It makes you feel good and creates goodwill too.” She says that older people enjoy doing it because it keeps hands supple and arthritis at bay.
Groups have increased their range to include singlets, booties and dolls, and also the areas which benefit from their efforts. Duella Devlin heard of a need for similar consignments of beanies for premature babies in India. Much closer to home, South Auckland babies are receiving them also.
The Resource Centre in Picton’s Mariners Mall has patterns for beanies and singlets and is also the drop off point for any donations of 4 or 8 ply wool.
The call is always out for travellers to India, Africa or other areas in which there is a need, to carry a small bag of beanies when they go. Contact Erica Anker on 573 7106 if you think you could help.

– Allison Belgrave

The Seaport News is a non-profit community newspaper, founded to give the communities in Picton and the Marlborough Sounds their own voice. It aims to provide local organisations and groups with an outlet for news and information and to champion local causes.

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The Seaport News came to fruition back in 1998, when discussions were held at a Picton Foreshore Trust meeting, after the demise of the then Sounds Gazette.

The Trust felt the community needed its own identity, and therefore its own local paper. This has involved a lot of planning and organisation by the Trust, and continues to be an ongoing project.
Incorporated in the first issue, to establish its identity, the logo was chosen as its masthead – ‘Picton: Seaport of the Sounds’. This gives a maritime theme to the format of the paper. The project began as a fundraiser to set up the PowerHouse Reserve, but it quickly became its own entity which now entails a lot of hard work from a dedicated team as it grows from year to year.

Originally the paper could be purchased with a 50 cent donation, but as more pages have been added, and with printing costs escalating, something had to change. A survey was compiled and sent to every household in Picton and the Sounds – some 2,200. After an enthusiastic response which encouraged the team to continue production, the cost of purchase rose to $1. Later the price was increased to $2 because of escalating costs and more pages were added to each issue. As from late last year the paper purchased a brand new colour photocopier and we are now producing the paper with colour however we needed to increase the price of the paper to three dollars to offset costs. The new colour paper is proving to be very popular.

At present 500 copies are printed by us at our Mariners Mall office. Of these 120-plus are posted to subscribers both nationally and internationally; and the rest are delivered to display stands at many local outlets. All photographs taken and produced in the paper can be purchased from the office.

The Seaport News is in the true sense of the word a “community” paper. It is funded and supported by the whole community through advertising and the purchase of each issue. The dedication of the contributors, writers, workers ( we are now able to employ 5 part timers ) and staff produces a great asset for Picton and the Sounds. Without their support the paper would not be possible. Collation of the paper is carried out by a willing group of volunteers, who come into the office every fortnight to label the papers ready for delivery and postage to subscribers. One of the highlights in 2009 was that we were nominated for the Trustpower Community Awards and we came runner-up in the Environment and Heritage Awards.

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Site last updated: 10 August 2010

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