The following is a brief history of the Plunket Society: "The New Zealand Society for the Preservation of the Health of Women and Children, later the Royal New Zeland Society for the Health of Women and Children, later the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society. Founded in 1907 by Dr Frederick Truby King and other concerned citizens of Dunedin the Society became possibly the most influential mother and child society in the country. The Society aimed to educate mothers in the proper feeding and care of their babies through the establishment of Plunket rooms throughout the country staffed by specially trained nurses, and also by the establishment of Karitane Hospitals, specifically for the care of mothers and babies. The Society spread throughout New Zealand and had related organisations around the world."