MENACE TO HEALTH

Grey River Argus, 16 February 1935, Page 3

MENACE TO HEALTH

At Rewanui INSANITARY CONDITIONS. The State Miners’ Union has had many struggles for the betterment of their conditions, but none has been more vitally necessary than the efforts being made by the officials of the Union at the present time for an improvement in the actual living conditions of the State miners employed at the Liverpool mine, who reside in the township of Rewanui. J Expecting to find, perhaps, a few offences against the laws of cleanliness, an “Argus” reporter on Thursday visited Rewanui, with the object of seeing for himself whether conditions there were really as bad as had been reported. What he did see, and smell, was both surprising and disgusting. The healthful mountain air at Rewanui can be the only reason why an epidemic has not broken out i there during the present abnormally dry summer, for as far as sanitary conveniences are concerned, the people of Rewanui might as well be back in the Middle Ages. They have no water supply, the majority of the tanks are rusty and contaminated, there is no drainage, except along the surface of the ground, and there is no sew erage, most of the conveniences, public and private, being in a disgusting state, principally through the dry weather removing* the natural water supply. In a few isolated cases, the lack of cleanliness is due to residents’ neglect, but the majority arc trying to live in a (dean, healthy way under conditions which make it almost impossible. The first place to be visited by the reporter after arrival at the mine was the surface workers’ latrine. It would be utterly impossible to describe the state of the building. Sufficient it is to say that the majority of the men refuse to enter it, under any conditions. Similarly, the rope-boys’ crib house beggars description. /Although the term may appear extravagant, th? only comparison that suggested itsell was a cattle-truck. Situated at the top of the main rope-road, the crib house is but a draughty shell, equipped with a. fire-place. Only about hall the boards are left, oil the walls, and it obviously, has never been cleaned

out since its erection, as dirt and coal dust lie thick on the walls and floor. A more unhygienic place for the boys to take their food on wet days could hardly be imagined. The men’s crib house is almost as bad, being in a similarly dirty condition. ' The water tank, where the men fill the kettle to make tea for their crib, is rusted almost beyond use. Peering inside, the reporter found that there was about three inches of water in the bottom, over several inches of sediment and decayed leaves, which had come in through the open top. In sharp contrast to the crib houses are the underviewers’ cabin, casualty room, and the new stable that has been erected for the mine horses. All of these buildings are neat and clean, built in concrete. In fact, it is perfectly correct to say that the horses are bet ter housed than the humans The most disgusting thing of the many to be seen in Rewanui was at the mam latrine for over 200 men, just outside the entrance to the mine. The latrine itself is most insanitary, and, although it is hard to believe, the tank for the men to obtain water to drink in the mine, has been placed between the latrine and the stables—less than four feet away from both! The tank has an open top, and swarms of flies pass over it constantly. The reason for placing the tank in such contamin-

ated air is obscure. The latrine at the rear of the single men’s camps has just been rebuilt, but it should never have been left in its present position, for it is only a few yards away from the school, and in weather such as the present it must constitute a nuisance. The single men’s baches themselves form a “street” the like of which could not be seen anywhere else in New’ Zealand. There are eight old huts, each divided into two baches, and two new ones, not yet ready for occupation. The old baches are nine feet by eleven, and arc in the last stages of deterioration. The weather boards are rotten, and falling away in many cases, there is no spouting, and the huts are equipped with only one window, two feet by two feet three inches. They are provided with large open fireplaces for cooking, but a fire turns the whole bach into an oven. The whole tow badly needs pulling down, for it would be useless to try to repair them. There are only two water tanks for all the huts, and although 'water is laid on from the hillside, Jhe men state that it is unsuitable for use in winter owing to the amount of sediment it carries. The drainage system is simple. A box drain carries the drainage from the front of the bach to the back, and there it lies until it soaks into the ground. The two new huts will provide four baches, ten feet by ten feet, with a large open fireplace in each. The baches arc the property «f the Mines Department and the men pay a rental of 9d per week. The second single men’s camp, in Upper Rewanui, consists of a number of very dilapidated baches, eight feet by eight feet. As is the case with the other baches, the weatherhoards are rotten, the floors are draughty, the spouting has long since ceased to exist, and in most cases the water tanks have rusted away. Likewise the latrine tie re, for the use of all the bachers is in an unsanitary condition. At Upper Rewanui also there are the married men’s homes. Generally speaking, these three and four-roomed houses are in a better state than the baches, hut the outhouses certainly are I not. In almost every case it would not be difficult to push the washhouses over, or at least pull the weatherhoarding off by hand. The con veniences cannot possibly he kept sanitary, and drainage is practically nonexistent. The waste water from sink, hath and washtubs, runs just’ across The backvard, forming another prolific breeding place for flies and vermin. Tanks are- relied upon for the water supply, and the majority shoudl be at least cleaned out, or replaced as they have either rusted through or become encrusted with a thick sediment. These houses, like the baches, are the pro perty of the Mines Department, anc the residents pay 3/- to 5/- per weel rental.

The high elevation of Rewanui, and the rocky nature of the soil, makes it practically impossible for the residents to cultivate gardens, and likewise the only { ‘streets” are the ropeways and corduroy tracks. Although the environment is not that of a town, there hoWever, is no reason why the sanitary arrangements should remain so primitive, as they undoubtedly are. A drastic improvement is needed at Rewanui, in the interest of public health.