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“Birthday Celebrations For Community Centre”

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Image

Description: This image was published in the April 30th, 1978, edition of the Tribune weekly newspaper with the caption “Mr Ben Brown”

An excerpt from the article read: “New Zealand's first community centre – in Feilding – celebrates its 40th birthday next week (May 12-19). The centre, which was also the "home" of New Zealand's first Playcentre, is booming. according to its chief executive officer, Mr Ben Brown. Last year, for example, there were more than 26,000 visits to the centre. (Mr Brown said a "visit" referred to someone coming to the centre for a definite purpose, like a club member who "visited" his or her club once a month, for a year. The term "visit" did not apply to the hundreds of other people who just come in and have a look around, he said.) Feilding's Community Centre was started largely by the efforts of Mr H. C. D. Somerset in association with the Department of Education - and attending the celebrations will be his wife, Mrs Gwen Somerset, She went on to develop the Playcentre concept, also using Feilding as the starting point for the nation-wide movement.”

This image forms part of the Manawatū Evening Standard Negative Collection. Unfortunately, only negatives between April and December 1978 are held.