THE CENTENNIAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23338, 5 May 1939, Page 12

THE CENTENNIAL

COMBINED MEMORIAL KARITANE HOSPITAL SCHEME NEW BLOCK AT MOUNT ALBERT DETAILS OF THE PROPOSAL One of the three schemes which are to be submitted to the interested local bodies for selection and approval as a combined metropolitan Centennial memorial for Auckland is a proposal to erect a modern Karitane Hospital on the property of the I'lunket Society at Mount Albert, Tentative plans for the proposed new hospital and alternations to the existing buildings have been prepared by the society's architects, Messrs. Ch i 1 well and Trevithick, and show a new twostorey hospital with nurses' quarters on the ground floor and the hospital wards on the first floor. The fall of the ground will permit tlie first floor of the new block to connect with the ground floor of the existing buildings by a corridor. It is also proposed to erect a new kitchen between the Mothereraft Cottage and the existing main building in such a manner as to. permit of service to both buildings. Remodelling Present Building In view of the fire risk it is proposed to cut away entirely the attic portion 1 of the existing building and to re-roof it in order to harmonise as much as possible, with the now block. The present hospital wards would be remodelled into bedrooms for the nurses and staff. This plan would accommodate the whole of the nurses and staff and it is therefore proposed to demolish the Nurses' Annex buildings. It is estimated that the total expenditure on this scheme would be about £20,000. It is pointed out on behalf of the society that the building scheme could not be financed except by outside public assistance, as the society has only certain endowment funds available for the purpose. It is stated that the society's services are available to the whole community and that 8-1 per cent' of the children born in this district come under the care of the Plunket nurses. Increase in Public Demand Public demand for the service has grown so much that the existing buildings must now be replaced. The Karitaue Hospital at Mount Albert is tho solo hospital of this type in the Auckland Province and serves as a training centre for Kafitane nurses and is the only hospital treating premature babies. The scheme for the establishment of tho new hospital was submitted to the Combined Metropolitan Memorial Executive by the president of the Plunket Society, Mrs. J. C. Allan, who urged that the establishment of a modern Karitane Hospital as a Centennial memorial would meet with great favour by the community because of the wellknown work of the Plunket Society and the practical nature of such a memorial.

MAORI MEMORIAL OXE TREE KILL SUMMIT COMMENCEMENT OF WORK OBELISK AND STATUE A contract for the erection of the 100 ft. obelisk which is to be pbced on the summit of One Tree Hill as a .memorial to the Maori race lias been lot to Mr. T. Clements, of Otahubu, by the trustees of the late Sir John Logan Campbell, and a beginning has been made with excavation for the foundations. The term of the contract extends to December 31 next, and it is expected that the monument will be complete before the intended date of unveiling. January 28, 1040. The ceremony will be one of a series of Maori Centennial gatherings arranged for a period of nearly a week at the end of January and the beginning of February, including pageants and canoe races on the harbour. Many hundreds of Maoris from all parts of the North Island will take part. Sir John Logan Campbell, who died in 1912, set apart £oooo for the memorial project, and his trustees sub- ; soquently obtained authority from Parliament to expend an additional £IO.OOO-from the general funds of the estate. The obelisk will be of reinforced concrete, the base being faced witli rusticated bluestone and the shaft with unpolished Coromandel grey granite. , A large bronze statue of a Maori chief in a voluminous mat will stand on the north side of the base, overlooking Sir John's grave. The making of the statue has been entrusted to the wellknown Auckland sculptor, Mr. P. O. Gross, and it will be cast in England. Four largo bronze tablets with appropriate inscriptions are to be fastened to the base. The scheme provides for enclosing the top of the hill on three sides with stone retaining walls, and the whole space within will be made level. Acoess will be bv two stairways. The architect is Mr. IL Atkinson Abbott.