New Plymouth's Barrett St Hospital was once a thriving health hub. People could drive through the grounds and enjoy the beautiful gardens. Now the gate is locked and the gardens are gone forever. Helen Harvey reports.
The million-dollar views are still there, but the once beautiful gardens have gone. The buildings haven't seen a paintbrush for decades and are in a state of disrepair. Only plaques and signwriting on faded walls give clues to the past - "Mortuary" on an old building hidden in bush, "Taranaki Hospital Board" in bold letters above old wooden garage doors that sit below broken windows.
The old Barrett St Hospital has seen better days. Since it was replaced by Taranaki Base Hospital in Westown, the buildings have been left to their fate, which one New Plymouth doctor thinks is a tragedy.
"It's like a grand old lady that is slowly dying. It's not just that it's an eyesore . . . it's a sad reflection on indecision and vandalism combined," Matthew Allen says.
The nurses' home, in particular, has been the victim of vandals and looters, who, before the arrival of the Taranaki Music Education Centre in 2003, stripped the old home of wooden doors, windows, the wooden hand rails on the stairs and marble benchtops.
Dr Allen wants to see a decision made on what to do with the site. But that is not likely to happen any time soon. The 7.6272 hectare site is owned by the Crown and held in the Office of Treaty Settlement's landbank to be used in the settlement of historic Treaty of Waitangi claims.
Te Atiawa is looking to sign an agreement in principle (a broad agreement as to what will make up the settlement) with the Crown in March next year, but the iwi hasn't decided whether it wants the Barrett St properties as part of its settlement or, if it did, what it would do with it.
A major problem with the old hospital is the asbestos in the buildings, which would be expensive to clear. That expense would have to be taken into consideration when making a decision, Te Atiawa Iwi Authority chairwoman Wikitoria Keenan says.
In 1996 Taranaki Healthcare put the estimated cost of removing asbestos at $500,000 and demolishing buildings at $700,000.
At the time Valuation New Zealand put the government valuation for the land at $1.1 million, based on a hypothetical residential subdivision.
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The site, along with the former Patea Hospital, was sold to the Government for $1m in September 1996. The Barrett St portion of the sale was worked out at $111,000 a hectare. As at September 1, 2010, Quotable Value put the capital value of the property at $3.9m and valued the land at $3.775m.
If the land is not needed for the settlement of Treaty claims it will be sold on the open market.
In the meantime the Office of Treaty Settlements maintains and tenants the buildings. "In total there are 13 leases in place on the property, managed by Darroch Ltd. The leases are with private individuals and a range of organisations, with varied usage as one might expect from a set of commercial leasing arrangements," says Office of Treaty Settlements director Peter Galvin.
He would not elaborate on how many people live on the site or what type of accommodation is available.
Ms Keenan says having people live there isn't the best.
"But I suppose with people living there at least it's being occupied, because otherwise there would be a vast area that's empty. And the Crown's not too keen to put much money in for maintenance. At least with people living there, they are up there and they keep an eye on the site."
Te Atiawa can purchase the property or some of it as part of its settlement, she says. "But we haven't made a decision on that yet. We'll be considering it. That's as far as we've got, yet. We need to work through a couple of things."
And the iwi hasn't decided what it would do with the land, if it did receive it as part of the settlement.
"Some people have said they'd like to see a marae there . . . just because some people want to see a marae there doesn't mean it's going to happen."
The whole hospital block is culturally significant because it's on an old pa site, she says.
"It used to go right across to what they now call Western Park. It was quite a big pa site. If you look at the landscape you'd understand why."
Back then it was called Otumaikuku and may have been part of 1400ha of land sold to the Plymouth Company.
"Carrington identified it quite early on as a good hospital site, because that is what they did way back in those days, put hospitals on a hill."
F rederick Alonzo Carrington picked out the hill in 1842, according to a book by A B Scanlan on the history of the hospital. But it wasn't until 1867 that a hospital occupied the site. The original plan was to move the colonial hospital from beside the Henui River, but instead buildings were removed from St Germain's Square (later the site of the Army Hall and the Agricultural Society's hall in Gill St).
Building of the second hospital started in 1887. It had soaring angles of the Gothic style popular in government buildings and schools at the time, Mr Scanlan wrote. Builders used 61,000 metres of timber, the floors were matai or kauri and there were 70 windows. The plumbing alone cost [PndStlg]200. The hospital officially moved in on January 23, 1888. One hundred years later Dr Matthew Allen helped pull down the remaining 1887 buildings after a fire and used the timber to build his house.
His family has had a long association with the hospital. Father Dennis was a pathologist and uncles Chalmers and Peter were radiologists. An aunt, Barbara Allen, was in accident and emergency.
"So, when I was a boy I used to go up and see my father at the laboratory there, which was right next to the ambulance entrance."
He used to pinch barley sugars from drawers and wander around the wards.
"Everything was immaculate and beautifully kept and clean."
In those days, the 1960s, TB testing still relied on using guinea pigs to test whether patients had TB or not, Dr Allen says. The patient's serum would be injected into the guinea pig and the patient's name attached. There was a little house in a gully full of guinea pigs with names on them.
"Unfortunately they were killed at the end. But there were hundreds of guinea pigs down there to play with."
Another thing to have changed since then is the reusing of needles. Needles used to be made of stainless steel and Dr Allen remembers an orderly having the job of sharpening and sterilising the needles.
"And, of course, in those days there was no emergency department. It was called out-patients and was in a little shed opposite the main hospital. Actually patients who presented with acute illnesses would go to their family doctor first."
Dr Allen was a house surgeon at the hospital in the early 1980s, when the mental health unit and long stage geriatrics were the only units still operating at the hospital.
"Even then we had a proper morning tea service, with white linen and silver cutlery. And a served lunch. It was all very proper."
The nurses' home was bright pink and the nurses wore pink and white outfits, he says.
"Single nurses had to live in. That was the rule. The nurses' home was just a beautiful facility with its sprung dance floor and beautifully carved balustrades."
The dance floor is still there, but the balustrades are long gone. Upstairs the different eras, representing the different additions to the home, are clearly seen in the joinery in what were the nurses' bedrooms.
In the 19th century the matron and nurses lived in the hospital. The first nurses' home was built in 1900, Mr Scanlan says in his book.
Later a cottage known as Tariki was built behind the hospital, later known as the isolation block. It was eventually moved lower down the hospital grounds. In 1905 a second story was added.
In July 1916 nurses petitioned the hospital board for better conditions and pay. The new nurses' home designed by architect Frank Messenger, opened on March 14, 1922, and was known as "The Palace".
Additions, also designed by Frank Messenger, were built in 1928, 1936 and 1945. Five years after Mr Messenger's death another was added and others followed regularly from 1867, when the first buildings were moved onto the hill.
In 1872 an addition was completed for a women's ward and for what was then called a "lunatic asylum".
In March 1916 the hospital was opened and within a month or two there were 83 occupied beds, a record. The medical supervisor's house opened in 1926, followed by the Taranaki Health Board office in 1927. A new children's ward opened in June 1923 and was named after George Tabor who died in 1914 aged 38. His mother, Rebecca Tabor, an owner of White Hart Hotel, donated [PndStlg]6000 to hospital board in 1928.
But things started to wind down at Barrett St Hospital from the 1960s when services began moving to Taranaki Base Hospital.
In 1972 Governor-General Sir Denis Blundell opened Taranaki Base Hospital, which then assumed the role of charge hospital for the province. In later years Barrett St was used for mental health patients, long-term geriatric patients, district nursing services headquarters and board offices. The Tabor Unit provided care to intellectually and physically disabled young people from 1976 to 1995.
References:
Hospital on the Hill: A B Scanlan.
Frank Messenger Architect: Ian Pritchard.
New Plymouth School of Nursing Old Girls' Association inc. Silver Jubilee 1957-82.
- Taranaki Daily News
HELEN HARVEY
Last updated 11:30 30/05/2011
Sunday, June 5
Bakery woes threaten philanthropist's legacy
The financial turmoil at Yarrows looks set to claim another victim: Noel Yarrow's legacy.
The philanthropist and his wife Melva donated millions of dollars to Taranaki students and organisations through the Noel and Melva Yarrow Charitable Trust. But the trust is under serious threat after its major source of income, Yarrows the Bakers, was placed in receivership earlier this week.
The Taranaki Daily News understands the trust is well down the pecking order for receivers, behind the IRD, employees and the Westpac bank, which is believed to be owed a significant amount.
Trustee Peter Tennent said the trust was inextricably linked to the bakery.
"The most significant asset of the trust is the investment in the bakery operation. It always has been – and my hope is it always will be – and that would be in the tune of eight figures.
"Having said that, the trust has other assets but most of its income comes from the bakery."
The charitable trust was formed in 2004 to celebrate Mr Yarrow's 80th birthday.
Since then it has given large contributions to the ITU World Cup triathlon, the Rhododendron Festival and the Taranaki Cycle Challenge. Dozens of students and the schools they represented also benefited.
Mr Tennent said the trustees were hopeful receivers could trade out of the difficult situation.
"The trustees, like anyone in Taranaki, are pretty upset about the situation. It's been no secret there's been potential problems for some time. The trustees have been working with a number of parties to avoid exactly what is happening now."
He said the trust would continue to support the region but at a significantly reduced level of funding. "It will continue to do exactly what it was set up by Noel and Melva to do, which is to make a positive difference in the Taranaki community."
Husband of Rosemary (nee Yarrow), Mr Tennent said he could not speak for the whole family but there were concerns for staff, suppliers and the community at large.
"The family have worked incredibly hard, they are community-minded people, to make a positive difference."
Also as part of the trust a scholarship scheme was set up for Taranaki secondary school leavers as well as for funding towards information and food technology facilities at all Taranaki schools.
Taranaki Secondary Schools Principals Association spokesman Mark Bowden said they were unsure how it would affect them in the future.
"The vision that Noel had for young people and Taranaki I guess is at risk. It's dreadfully sad.
"We are such a fortunate province to have had the Yarrows Trust."
- Taranaki Daily News
LAIRD HARPER
Last updated 05:00 03/06/2011
On Thursday the Taranaki Daily News went to Manaia to find out what the locals thought would happen to the bakery, community and town after Yarrows went into receivership on Tuesday.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/5094505/Bakery-woes-threaten-philanthropists-legacy
The philanthropist and his wife Melva donated millions of dollars to Taranaki students and organisations through the Noel and Melva Yarrow Charitable Trust. But the trust is under serious threat after its major source of income, Yarrows the Bakers, was placed in receivership earlier this week.
The Taranaki Daily News understands the trust is well down the pecking order for receivers, behind the IRD, employees and the Westpac bank, which is believed to be owed a significant amount.
Trustee Peter Tennent said the trust was inextricably linked to the bakery.
"The most significant asset of the trust is the investment in the bakery operation. It always has been – and my hope is it always will be – and that would be in the tune of eight figures.
"Having said that, the trust has other assets but most of its income comes from the bakery."
The charitable trust was formed in 2004 to celebrate Mr Yarrow's 80th birthday.
Since then it has given large contributions to the ITU World Cup triathlon, the Rhododendron Festival and the Taranaki Cycle Challenge. Dozens of students and the schools they represented also benefited.
Mr Tennent said the trustees were hopeful receivers could trade out of the difficult situation.
"The trustees, like anyone in Taranaki, are pretty upset about the situation. It's been no secret there's been potential problems for some time. The trustees have been working with a number of parties to avoid exactly what is happening now."
He said the trust would continue to support the region but at a significantly reduced level of funding. "It will continue to do exactly what it was set up by Noel and Melva to do, which is to make a positive difference in the Taranaki community."
Husband of Rosemary (nee Yarrow), Mr Tennent said he could not speak for the whole family but there were concerns for staff, suppliers and the community at large.
"The family have worked incredibly hard, they are community-minded people, to make a positive difference."
Also as part of the trust a scholarship scheme was set up for Taranaki secondary school leavers as well as for funding towards information and food technology facilities at all Taranaki schools.
Taranaki Secondary Schools Principals Association spokesman Mark Bowden said they were unsure how it would affect them in the future.
"The vision that Noel had for young people and Taranaki I guess is at risk. It's dreadfully sad.
"We are such a fortunate province to have had the Yarrows Trust."
- Taranaki Daily News
LAIRD HARPER
Last updated 05:00 03/06/2011
On Thursday the Taranaki Daily News went to Manaia to find out what the locals thought would happen to the bakery, community and town after Yarrows went into receivership on Tuesday.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/5094505/Bakery-woes-threaten-philanthropists-legacy
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