On this day in 1972, The Canberra Times was reporting on concerns Canberra police had about the increasing number of children being left unattended in parked cars.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There had been two reports of distressed infants in parked cars that particular week, with one of the cars having to be broken into.
Another report had been received from a mother who had parked her car with a baby in it, and then been unable to find the car as she had forgotten where it was parked.
Concerns had been growing as the weather warmed up and the dangers of leaving children alone in cars were increasing.
The National Council of Women's ACT branch president said it was a matter which had always caused great concern. Several groups in Canberra had been campaigning for the construction of more childcare centres in major shopping areas, so mothers did not feel they had to leave young children unattended.
They said there was a need for a general centre at places like the Woden Plaza or Jamison Centre.
There were only two occasional-care centres in Canberra at the time, one at Manuka and one in Civic, and the demand for their services was so great that they couldn't accept people who wanted to drop their child off simply because they needed to shop.
