THE KARITANE

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 54, 5 March 1927, Page 10

THE KARITANE

OPENING, pN MONDAY FEATURES OF THE BUILDING A UNIQUE ESTABLISHMENT One of the most interesting events of the Royal visit to Wellington, in tha* it will leave a permanent record will be the official opening of the Truby King Karitane Hospital at Melrose. This ceremony will be performed at 12.15 p.m. by the Duchess of York, herself an active protagonist of the Piunket system at Home, and the completion of the building coincident ■with her presence is one of the happiest circumstances in the history of the new institution. It is a matter for general regret that the situation of the new hospital provides very little space for the accommodation of such a large number of visitors as naturally desire to attend the ceremony; so restricted is the area that it has been necessary to issue a strictly limited number of ■•'invitations and only holders of these can be admitted. However, there is some room outside the grounds on the ■ approach roads, and no doubt there will be a great number of interested spectators there. In order to enable the members of the Piunket Society (who can only be represented at the ceremony) to see the institution, the committee proposes to entertain them in the hospit- at afternoon tea at an early date, when the work is in full swing. A point of special interest is that the Wellington Karitano Hospital is unique. It is the first "baby hospital" ever built specially for the services which other buildings adapted for the purpose are now affording, and it follows that it contains many features of special interest..

EVERYTHING FOE COMFORT. Nothing which will make for the comfort of baby or mother, nurses, trainees or domestic staff, nor anything which will help m the smooth running of the home has been omitted from the new hospital. From .the moment of entry until the time, of leaving, a tour of inspection unfolds most interesting and attractive details. There is,- for instance, the milk-room, practically an invention of Karitane hospitals," where running water surrounds the milk' bottles and a free current of air blows always over them/ There is Hie supenor ventilation of the fifteen trainees' bedrooms, winch are ranged on either sidfi .of a long corridor in'the only upstairs portion of the building Every wardrobe is specially ventilated, and in the com.-lors ventilators go right through to the roof, while there is a flow of fresh air from window to window across the corridor, the walls of which arc not built right up to the ceiling. The result is perfect fresh air trom end to end; and, indeed, throughout the whole building, fresh air has | been provided for as the most important necessity. Other pleasing details idie the wallpapers and furnishings. lwch_ room has a charming and distinctive paper, and the carpets and furIs"I" 6 H 1 kCCpi"S- ™ «,at there is nothing of the "institutional" atfe°elin )el'C ' '>Ut ™thcr a U'uc "*">*»*" A SUPERB OUTLOOK. . There are three wards for babies facing north-east; with a wash room alongside, and each ward holding eight bab.es. The view from these windows is.^ery fine looking up Evans Bay to' Petonc and the Hutt, but it is equalled and in some cases surpassed from nearly ! every other window in the home. There 18 Rl?°*f« abundance of verandahsl about the building, with access from all rooms by long-sashed windows and an upstairs porch with a fine view Kooms tor mothers comprise bedrooms which open on to a verandah and loggia and a dining-room and sitting-room which open on to the loggia. All are exceptionally sunny and sheltered A. jarrnh floor has been laid in the wide entrance hall, in the nurses' diningroom, and in their sitting-room, and provision h :ls been made for all three to be opened into one for dancing, and tor the dining and sitting rooms to be used as a lecture room. The. kitchen appointments are delightful, in white and harmonising, shades of blue, and the offices und matron's and nurses' rooms are all that could be desired ' An isolation ward has been provided apart trom the main building except for a sheltered way between the two, and adjoining the isolation ward is the laundry on the ground floor and domestic staff rooms above.

One of the most important things to see on a visit to the hospital is the emulsion factory for the manufacture of Plunket emulsion, which is built below the home. The factory has been running just three days, and "is built on four floors. The raw material comes in on the top door and the finished product disappears down the road by lorry from the bottom floor. It is estimated that a girl may pass out 20 to 30 tins a minute, and the tins are exported all over the world'besides supplying New Zealand. A large shed above—2o feet uy 40 feet—is a storeroom for raw material and manufactured emulsion. TREATMENT OF THE GROUNDS. The grounds around the home and the road up to the building have been specially treated. Sir Truby King has arranged for the road to-be widened from 12 to 25 feet at the foot of the entrance steps to allow ears to pass, but besides doing this the 'increased width adds dignity to the approach There are also six- terraces below the loggia, to be .planted with flowering shrubs. Sir Truby obtained some Alpine Tasmanian cider gums from the Agricultural exhibit at the Exhibition and these are growing well, but will ultimately be transplanted to form a shelter belt behind the hospital In their place will be grown ornamental barberries, coral-berried bushes imported from Orleans in France, the leaves of which turn scarlet in the autumn.

The foundation-stone of the building was«laid by Her Excellency Lady Alice Fergusson on 28th July of last year,- and' another stone will be placed opposite it to commemorate the opening. The difference in the dates shows a period of seven months, during which the whole ot the work in erecting the home has been done. SOUVENIR TOR THS DUCHESS. A striking example of the cabinetmaker's and goldsmith's arts is contained in the casket holding' the gold key with which the Duchess of York will open the Karitane Home. Tlie casket has been made from a specially selected piece of rimii, and' measures eight inches long, four inches wide, and three inches deep. Outwardly it is striking for its shape and the beauty of the grain as brought olit by careful staining and polishing. The shaped lid is about an inch in depth, and is surmounted with the Royal Arms richly carved in ISct gold. The key, which rests on a bed of Royal blue velvet in- . side, is six inches long. . The head is carved in scroll and leaf work, in conventional design, and bears a shield and ducal crown. On the reverse appears'the inscription: "Presented to | Her Royal Highness the Duchess of | York on the opening of the Trubv King Karitane Hospital, Wellington, New Zealand, 7th March, 1927." All the fittings of the casket, including the hinges, the lock and key' escutcheon, and the four spherical feet, are gold plated. The casket was made by Mr. S. Ke'an, and the key and other "metal work were carried out by Messrs. Mayer and Keaiij engravers.