TUBERCULAR SOLDIERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19698, 26 July 1927, Page 11

TUBERCULAR SOLDIERS.

SHELTERS AT THE DOMAIN.

THE QUESTION OF REMOVAL.

NEIGHBOURING SITE SUGGESTED

A possible solution of the difficulty of finding a suitable new site for the T.B. shelters at present provided for exsoldier patients at the Domain was offered at a conference convened by the Returned Soldiers' Association yesterday. The patients expressed objections to being removed to Epsom, and an alternative that they should be accommodated on the Waitakere Ranges was deemed unsuitable from a health point of view. A suggestion was made by Mr. E. J. Phelan, however, that the City Council might be persuaded to grant the use of portion of its property overlooking Grafton Road and adjoining the hospital grounds and the Domain. The suggestion was regarded as a valuable one, and a committee was appointed to investigate the position. Power was. also given to report upon any other suitable site. Mr. W. Wallace, chairman of the Auckland Hospital Board, who presided, said the board wanted to do all it could for the men. The suggestion that the shelters might be moved to the hospital grounds was out of the question, as the buildings could not be placed in the contagious diseases area, and the position suggested was exposed to the cold southwsst wind. The only alternative seemed to be Epsom. The men objected to that because they preferred to have single cubicles instead of four men being placed in each building as proposed. The men contended the restrictions at Epsom would be greater, but Mr. Wallace pointed out that they must expect to be amenable to a certain amount of discipline. Separate Home Desired. "We want to evolve some scheme which will satisfy the men," said Mr. Wallace. "Epsom is the only place to which the board can send them, and, to iny mind, the conditions there will be much better than at the Domain." A letter from the 11 patients concerned suggested that if they were moved it should be to an institution like the Evelyn Firth Horn?. "We strongly protest against being mixed up with civilian patients," stated the letter. "We are war veterans, and should be treated as such." Various objections to the Epsom proposal were enumerated. "If we find we have to send the men to Epsom, I am sure we will all agree that single cubicles should be provided," said Mr. A. G. Lunn, representing the Patriotic Society. The point that individual shelters were essential was also emphasised by Mr. S. C. Reid, president of the Returned Soldiers' Association. "We have had no explanation as to the reason lor shifting the inen," said Mr. G. Rothery, of the Returned Soldiers' Association. The Mayor, Mr. G. Baildon, said the reason for the removal came about owing to the fact that several citizens had subscribed £9500 to extend the winter garden, and the work would extend toward the shelters, necessitating the removal of at least some of them. It might be possible for the shelters to be placed somewhere else in the Domain, but that was not for him to say. The City Council had allowed the Defence Department and the Hospital Board to place the shelters there as a temporary expi l ent during the pleasure of the council.

Committee 4o Investigate. Mr. Baildon said he did not think the Domain was a suitable place for the purpose. All the City Council wanted was to make room for the development at the Domain. The men had his sympathy, and he would like to see them accommodated to their satisfaction. The suggestion that the City Council's property adjoining the hospital grounds might be secured was then made by Mr. Phelan. The proposal that the men might be sent to the YVaitakeres was condemned by the Hon. G. Fowlds. Mr. Wallace: Experts advise against that. Mi* Phelan's suggestion was adopted, and a committee comprising the Mayor, Mr. Wallace, Mr. Reid, Mr. Lunn, and Mrs. Smith, representing the Red Cross Society, was set up to investigate the proposal and report on the suggested site or any other site considered suitable.