LIFE ON QUAIL ISLAND.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1027, 17 January 1911, Page 6

LIFE ON QUAIL ISLAND.

STRONG COMPLAINTS. (By Tclcui'ar'li —Scccial CorrceDuridcnt.l Christchurch, January 16. Mr. W. G. Dodds and Mrs. Dodds, vrho arrived recently from China by the steamer Knight of the Garter, and were quarantined on Quail Island, in Lyttelton Harbour, for a fortnight, owing to a case of smallpox on the steamer, were released oil Saturday. They make strong complaints about tho condition of the quarantiuo buildings on the island. They found that tho building placed' at their disposal was a very dilapidated one. A number of the windows were broken, and at night the place was overrun with rats holding high carnival. Their meals were brought to them by tho caretaker, and neither of them had any complaint to make on that score. However, nothing could be said in favour of the beds supplied. They were iron bedsteads of an old type, the ironwork being covered with -sacking, but if the beds were uncomfortable, tho mattresses were beyond description. As. to what they were made of, Mr. Dodds would not hazard an opinion, but , he was emphatic when ha said that it was an impossibility to make them comfortable to sleep on. They used to get up iu tho morning sore and stiff owing to the mattresses. Asked if there were any conveniences. of any kind, Mr. Dodds said that the bath was all right, but there was no shower or hot-water service. Indeed, whenever they wanted a hot bath they had to boil the water in kerosene tins and carry' it to tho bathroom. At night they tried to read by the dim religious light of a candle. The locality of tho quarantine station was a pleasant one, especially when tho tide was in,- but they both' had objections to being, on the same island as lepers. On being spoken to regarding the complaints by Mr. and' Mrs. Dodds as to the accommodation at the Quarantine Station in Lyttelton Harbour, the Hon. :D. Buddo, Minister in charge of the Public Health Department, said to-day. that quarantine work*was carried out in the simplest possible manner, and the buildings "provided, and the beds and bedding supplied, were considered to be suitable for such purposes. He had heard of no previous complaints of . the treatment or the accommodation provided for quarantine passengers, and as far as he knew the conditions prevailing on Quail Island were exactly similar to those existing at other quarantine'- stations. He admitted that they would not. bo up to the standard found in an ordinary private home.'