GALA DAY ON NIUE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18189, 7 September 1922, Page 9

GALA DAY ON NIUE.

OPENING A HOSPITAL. A DREAM REALISED. Friday, August 18, 1922, will be a day ever remembered upon Nine. It saw tho completion of a work long needed, long conceived, and long (through various unforeseen conditions) in tho realisation. But every difficulty was finally overcome, and for weeks all Niue was in preparation for the great event. No gathering of the natives would be complete without the accompanying feast and dances, and this time Niue had resolved to outdo itself. The day broke fine and clear, with a healthy breeze to keep all cool, and right early the natives began trooping into the little capital from every other village. The hospital itself lies a full mile beyond Alofi, just off the main highway that rings the island, and adjoining the Government school at Tufukia. Close to, there is the nurses' home, where Sister Peers holds sway as matron, assisted by one Samoan and one Niue nurse, the be-

ginnings of a regular school to feed both hospital and island.

By 10 a.m. all was ready, and the grounds were crowded with a happy and excited throng. The programme was a lengthy one, for each village had to have its spokesman, and several of the white folk must needs find place thereon. It was a picturesque scene when Dr. Ellison, the acting-resident commissioner, took the chair upon the wide front verandah. Flags adorned that front, and before him, piled in bursting baskets all along the road fence, was food for the multitude. And there was much needed, for there were many. It was a gathering in size seldom seen upon the island, and augured well for the success of the institution. The crowd was everywhere, trooping hither and thither, despite the speaking, curious to see and invading every corner not locked fast. First came the dedication ceremony, led through by the missionary, Rev. C. Beharell, with native hymns and prayer and a short address.

Dr. Ellison, who has been the medical officer till the John Williams brought the new one, Dr. Collins, in July, then gave the history of the building, and with proper formal ceremony opened the large main entry doors, and" Niue's dream was at last realised. Not that all welcomed the idea at first, and even yet there are those that must be won. Sheer ignorance of what a hospital is will soon disappear now that its great blessing will be evident to everyone. That it will help save the race there is no doubt.

Dr. Collins followed on the programme and with telling force pointed out the work that lay before the hospital and both his hopes and needs. Pastor Giblett pressed home the blesj.ing that day, added to the many, that J»ew Zealand had brought to the island; while Mr. Bolton, teacher at Hakupu. minced not matters, but attacked the unworthy fear that kept so many away from the benefits awaiting, and appealed to the white folk to stand by doctor and nurses in their arduous but noble work.

Now came speeches from the patus— a dozen of them—each interesting because of the points of view advanced, but one note running through every one—a note of affection and gratitude for the departing doctor. It promises well for the ne,w one who has to help him, so delightful a handmaiden in the Liverpool Hospital. The Government school children sang verv sweetly as a break in the flow of oratory, and everything was concluded with a right royal outburst when the chairman called for the National Anthem. None worked harder for the success of the meeting than one whose name did not appear, but without whom several of the white speakers would have had to have held silence. In Mrs. Alan Head Niuc possesses a skilled interpreter, and sho cave of that skill without stint, despite the labour. Now all dispersed to look around and admire and congratulate not alone the professional element in their careful preparations for the sick, but in chief to the foreman of public works. Mr. Fitzgerald, to whose genius and indomitable perseverance the hospital owes so much. Adjournment then was made for lunch provided by the native police on spotless linened tables, with delicacies thereon that those at home might well envy, and to which justice was fully done. The afternoon was filled with song and dance till everyone had had enough, and trooped off singly, or in pairs, or droves, to make their way home; some shortly, others days upon the road. The day had gone, but that day will surely be a day never to be forgtoten upon Niuc. ___„