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

The Westland Hospital

The Westland Hospital was erected about the year 1865 on the south side of the Hokitika river, by voluntary subscriptions, upon which the institution also largely depended for its maintenance. About 1877 the present buildings were erected, at a cost of £3,500, on the Hospital reserve, which lies on the main north road, about two miles from town. The site is a fine one, on a terrace, overlooking the port, and many miles of the West Coast beach. The main building is of wood and iron, and contains three wards, two of which are set aside for male patients, and the other for female patients, and there are also several separate rooms; fifty beds in all are available. The number of inmates in April, 1905, was twenty-four males, and nine females. The Old Men's Home, in the same building, contains two wards and a smoking-room, and had six inmates in the year 1905. The grounds include a large vegetable garden, and a few pigs are kept. In the year 1904 the cost of maintaining the hospital was £2,610, of which £1210 was obtained by levies for charitable aid upon the local bodies. In this, as in other West Coast districts, the miners personally contribute liberally to the hospital, and about £400 a year is given in this manner. The matron, Miss E. M. Griffiths, is assisted by four nurses and a warder.