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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts]

Charitable Institutions

Charitable Institutions.

The Greymouth Hospital and Charitable Aid Board is managed by a committee, composed of the Mayor of Greymouth, and four members of the Greymouth Borough Council; the Chairman and six members of the Grey County Council; and the Mayor of Brunnerton, and one member of the Brunnerton Borough Council. Meetings are held at the Grey Council Chambers, on the same day as the County Council meeting. The contributions for the year 1905 were: £577 from the Grey County Council; £757 from the Greymouth Borough Council; and £147 from the Brunnerton Borough Council; total, £1,481. These moneys carry a subsidy of pound for pound from the Government. In addition to providing funds for the Grey River Hospital, the Board dispenses charitable aid, and grants subscriptions, amounting to £570 a year, to various industrial schools and orphanages. The Grey River Hospital receives about £1500 a year, the Greymouth Benevolent Society £349; £350 is expended on outdoor relief; and salaries and incidentals amount to about £100 per annum. In the year 1905 Mr. J. McLean was chairman of the Board, and Mr. M. Phillips, secretary.

Mr. Joseph McLean , Chairman of the Grey Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, is also a member of the Greymouth Borough Council.

The Grey River Hospital originally stood on the site now occupied by the Greymouth Post Office, but it was removed in the year 1875, to a site of three acres, about two miles from the centre of the borough, near the seashore. The Hospital consists of two brick wings, and a number of wooden buildings, but it is hoped that the whole of the wooden portions will be replaced in the near future. The Jubilee wing was erected with funds raised at the carnival held during Queen Victoria's Jubilee year, and contains twelve beds. In 1905 a second wing was erected, at a cost of £3,500. The accommodation includes twelve beds in the medical ward, twelve beds in the surgical ward, ten beds in the female ward, and nine beds for old men; and in the wing erected in the year 1905 there is an operating theatre, and twelve beds. The private ward contains nine beds, a kitchen, and a padded cell. There are three reading rooms and a laundry, which is fitted up with the latest appliances for drying by means of steam pipes. About sixty or seventy patients annually pass through the hospital. Accommodation is provided for the nurses in a cottage, which contains four rooms. Good gardens surround the hospital, and some very pretty page 559 natural bush. There is also a vegetable garden, where all the vegetables required, excepting potatoes, are produced, and a sufficient number of poultry are kept to provide the hospital with eggs. The staff consists of three nurses, three probationers, a wardsman, and wardsmaid, a cook, and assistant, a laundress and assistant, and a gardener. Drs. McBrearty, Millington, and McKay constituted the medical staff in 1905. Board of Trustees for 1905; Messrs D. Sheedy (chairman); J. Petrie, M. Hannan, J. McCarthy, R. Russell, R. Alison, W. R. Kettle, J. Gieseking, and E. J. Smith, Mr. M. Phillips is secretary.

Mr. Daniel Sheedy , Chairman of the Grey River Hospital Board, is further referred to as a member of the Greymouth Borough Council, and as the proprietor of the Brian Boru Hotel, Greymouth.

Miss Margaret Elsie Fothergill, Matron of the Grey River Hospital, was born in Dunedin, and educated at the Napier High School. She was trained for her profession at the Wellington Hospital, where she served successively as probationer, staff nurse, and sister for four years. Miss Fothergill was appointed to her present position in the year 1902.

Mr. Peter Massey became warder of the Grey River Hospital in the year 1883. He was born in the year 1839, in Manchester, England, where he was educated, and learned the
Ring, photo.Mr. P. Massey.

Ring, photo.
Mr. P. Massey.

trade of a calico printer. Mr. Massey went to Australia in 1861, and in the following year was attracted to New Zealand by the Gabriel's Gully rush. He afterwards removed to the West Coast, and followed goldmining at Ross, Waimea, and Greenstone, for a number of years. Mr. Massey was then employed as a driver on the tramway between Hokitika and Stafford, and in 1871 removed to Greymouth, where he had a small dairy farm for several years. He was appointed to his present position on the 1st of May, 1883. Mr. Massey married a daughter of the late Mr. William Ashworth, of Mancchester, in the year 1860, but she died in 1861, leaving one daughter.

Miss Jane Knight, formerly Matron of the Grey River Hospital, was appointed to the position in February, 1896. Miss Knight is a native of Lancashire, England. She came out to New Zealand in 1886, and was first engaged at the Christchurch Hospital. Whilst in Canterbury, Miss Knight received a thorough training in the art of nursing, and successfully passed her examinations. She holds several certificates of competency and several testimonials from members of the medical profession. Miss Knight resigned her position in 1898, and now (1906) resides in Christchurch.

Miss Marion Hunter Macandrew was formerly a nurse at the
Miss M. H. Macandrew.

Miss M. H. Macandrew.

Grey River Hospital. She was born in Dunedin, trained at the Wellington Hospital for nearly two years, and gained her certificates. Miss Macandrew was then appointed head nurse in Dunedin Hospital, and held the position for four years. Her next appointment was as matron of the Kumara Hospital, where she remained also for nearly four years. Miss Macandrew is now (1906) matron of the Ashburton Hospital.

The Greymouth Benevolent Society is supported by contributions from the various local bodies and voluntary subscriptions, which are augmented by a Government subsidy. It grants out-door relief when necessary, and has done much good work amongst the poorer classes of the district. The Trustees in charge of the Society are changed annually, two members being appointed by the Greymouth Borough Council, and the other members by the Grey County Council, and the Brunner Borough Council, respectively. Miss E. Smith was acting secretary for the year 1905.