AUCKLAND’S NEW HOSPITAL

New Zealand Tablet, 4 October 1917, Page 34

AUCKLAND’S NEW HOSPITAL

/ S FINE WORK OF THE SISTERS OF MERCY. /A' new addition to that fine institution, the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, in Mountain road, Auckland — /o splendidly controlled by the Sisters of Mercy—is in course of erection on the beautiful site in the grounds alongside the present building. On Sunday afternoon, September 23, thyere was a gathering of several hundred /people-to witness the laying of the foundation stone of the new ( building by the Right Rev. Mgr. Mahoney, V.G., Diocesan Administrator. Amongst the guests, who were welcomed by the Sisters, were the Rev. Father Ainsworth, S.M., of Wellington, a number of Auckland parish priests, medical men, numerous adherents of the Catholic Church, and ex-patients of all denominations. On the specially erected platform were, '. in addition to the selected speakers, the architect (Mr. D. B. Patterson) and builder (Mr. C. A. James). Apowere received from Archbishops Redwood and O'Shea, Bishop Brodie, Hon. A. M. Myers, the mayor (Mr. J. H. Gunson), and others. » '.-* H * *- Addressing the assemblage, Monsignor Mahoney said s it "would be 90 years ago next day when Katherine Macauley, a lady of good family and considerable - private means, started the Order of the Sisters of , Mercy. She saw there was scope in her native city of Dublin for an Order which would be able to take charge of the sick, and especially young children, besides caring/for, the sick' poor. So she obtained the sanction of the then Archbishop of Dublin/and received also the approval of the Holy Father. Amongst the chief activities of the Order thus started was nursing, though, of course, they included all corporal and spiritual works. With the outbreak of the Crimean War women, happily, were first employed as nurses for the troops. This was only a few years after Florence Nightingale had created such a stir as the result of her visits to hospitals in England. When the war broke out Lord Herbert, Minister of War, asked Miss Nightingale to go to the front and report on the state of the hospitals there. This she did, finding a great need for competent female nurses. She obtained as many as she could from England, but there were very few available, and, being -insufficient for her requirements, Miss Nightingale reported the fact to the War Office. Lord Herbert did not know exactly where to turn in this emergency, so he applied to Bishop Grant, of Southwark, who knew a lot about military matters. The Bishop recommended the Sisters of Mercy, a large number of whom"were then in the Bermondsey Convent. The whole community, in response to Lord Herbert's appeal, wanted to go. Only those with hospital experience we're sent, however. These Sisters did magnificent work : at'the front. Miss Nightingale was never tired, of eulogising them, many of them working with her at Scutari and Constantinople. That was the beginning of the hospital work of the Sisters of Mercy, as known to the public. Ever since they had been known for their skilled nursing, and wherever the Order "existed it had a hospital attached. Amongst % those 'who went to the Crimea from the Bermondsey Convent was one who afterwards lived in Auckland, namely the late Mother Mary Bernard, who died 22 -years ago. She was a daughter of Major-General Dixon. '.-..' '/•■- "About 20 years ago the Rev. Mother Ignatius, who is happily with 1 us still," continued Monsignor Mahoiney,'! "thought it was time the Auckland Sisters went j? in/for hospital work. She saw an opening and a need for it here. She had two or three Sisters who had evinced a desire to enter upon such work, so they were sent to St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, where * they were trained, and acquired a thorough clinical knowledge. When' they came back /they were quite competent to carry on the good work they and others 1 of the Order, similarly trained, ; have been carrying on ever* since. In order that those first trained might get* f public experience of nursings the Rev. Mother decided they w should have* some hospital work. It happened

? a J txze Coromandel Hospital; at ' the time, . was ' short u staffed, and ; the services - of the ' Sisters being l offered free were gladly accepted by the hospital authorities! A year or two later—about 18 years ago—the Sisters of Mercy established the Mater Misericordiae—of Mercy or Compassion—. Since then they have done magnificent work here.; (Applause.) ; >' The proof of that is that the Sisters are constantly receiving applications from patients for whom there is scarcely room enough in the present building. This new building is being put up in order that they may cope*'with this large demand from the public. The efforts of the Sisters are principally directed towards nursing the sick and the poor. They would have liked to have had in the old buildings, and certainly will have in the new one, a number of beds for the sick poor who cannot afford to pay hospital fees. (Applause.) This kind of accommodation must, of course, be limited, because of the expense of upkeep. It is hoped, however, that, in a few years, the institution will be self-supporting,:, with its debt cleared off. At present the Sisters have! to rely upon public subscriptions as well as patients' i fees." "' In conclusion, Mgr. Mahoney paid the highest tribute possible to the medical staff of the hospital, who, he said, had been so good to the Sisters ever since the hospital was opened. They had been most kind and considerate in every way, helping the Sisters by their experience, and advising them to the best advantage on every possible occasion. The doctors were all connected with the hospital in an honorary capacity, and the Sisters were deeply grateful to them. (Applause.) The Hon. J. A. Tole, K.C., said it was not for him to give a testimonial to the Sisters, but he had always held a great respect for them. His first acquaintance with the Order went back over fifty years.'-. He related an amusing story of how the Sisters, in those' far-away days, had rescued him as a lad from a fierce dog which had set upon him and masticated some of his attire. From that time until now, he declared, the friendship thus begun had been uninterrupted. The Order was founded, he reminded them, just two years before the Catholics were emancipated from the disabilities of their religion. Since then the Order had spread all over the globe, and had houses everywhere.' The Sisters' duties were of a public character, and they were known to everybody. They were conducting hospitals, educating girls, protecting women and children, visiting prisoners, and tending the sick and dying. Could any record of work be finer than that? (Applause.) The Sisters went about performing these duties amongst the public, and there was no secrecy, about them. In New Zealand and elsewhere they had educated the daughters of all classes and creeds. They were doing the'whole of that educative work here for 30 years before there was any State education. (Applause.) There were in Auckland now ; citizens holding some of the highest positions who gloried in the. fact / that they were educated by the nuns at St. Mary's Convent. (Applause.) \ " _'._•'''■ "'[ '/"'...*"'""; "The Sisters.of Mercy are respected and esteemed by every respectable citizen," continued Mr. Tole, with emphasis on the word "respectable," noting which.?" his auditors applauded loudly. "I mention these facts., because the long life of their Order and their unsullied reputation have recently been befouled by the vilest' ' aspersions on the character of these religious, selfsacrificing, and benevolent ladies. (Applause.) But/'' like' chickens, these curses and calumnies have come home to roost. It is good to know that the few intolerant bigots who gave voice to them have been dis- */.■ graced and discredited both inside and outside parlia- J ■' ment." (Applause.) The prompting came to them as Catholics, he ] added, 'in words of . Shakespeare, to' / "lash the rascals through the world." Their faith , x however, taught them charity, and .^ was by deeds like /the erection of hospitals, etc.,, that they gave the best ■' answer to such aspersions as he had referred to. ". Such 1 works would vanquish all bigotry prejudice. (Applause.) heroic work of the Sisters of ; Mercy was

not properly appreciated. , They did their , work quietly, and in their hospital duties they were facing every kind of risk and danger, and this without individual payment/or reward. (Applause.) It was enough for the Sisters to see human suffering alleviated and lives made brighter. “Our duty is to co-operate with the Auckland Sisters in every possible way, and, by moral and material support, aid them to complete their grand and benevolent work,” concluded Mr. Tole, “enabling them to make' the Mater Hospital worthy of . their great zeal and humanity. ’ (Applause.) Dr. George De Clive Lowe, a member of the hon. medical staff, said that during the past 16 or 17 years tie had been very closely connected with the work of the Sisters of Mercy at the hospital. He referred in an amusing way to the surprise he had experienced when he sent his first patient there, on finding that the Sisters did not require him to enter with bowed head, and reverent demeanour, but greeted him with the utmost naturalness and geniality. His first patient had declared the hospital to be ‘‘lovely,” and as for himself he had said, “If this is Catholic nursing, give me Catholic nursing.” (Applause.) Since then he had asked the majority of his patients requiring hospital treatment to go to the Mater Misericordiae Hospital. (Applause.) The erection of the new building was ' only the thin end of the wedge, said Dr. Lowe. The need for an additional building had been felt years ago, and, -at last, by worrying and “nagging,” they had got a beginning. They hoped eventually to have a big hospital, filling up the whole grounds, where many beds could be put aside for the sick poor who could not pay fees but wanted the best nursing in the world. (Applause.) No -medical man would send his patients to an institution where the nursing was not good. Why was the Mater Hospital always full ? Because the patients got the best of attention there. The doctors had to chase the patients —they would not go! (Laughter and applause.) Dr. Lowe closed with a reference to the urgent need of subscriptions for the hospital, and a wish for every success for the Sisters’ work and God’s blessing upon it. (Applause.) Dr. E. H. Milsom, also a member of the hon. medical staff, added his meed of praise for the nursing qualifications of the Sisters. His observations had, he said, filled him with amazement at their devotion to duty. He had also been much impressed by the fact that they neither sought, nor received, personal gain, but did their work because they loved it, (Applause.) He wished them all the success and support they so richly deserved. ‘ The Rev. Father Ainsworth said the greatest tribute that could be paid to the Sisters of Mercy had been paid by Drs. Lowe and Milsom. Neither was of the Catholic faith, yet they both spoke in the highest terms of the nursing work of the Sisters, and they could all be proud of such a tribute. The name of the Sisters of Mercy was respected throughout the world—by all respectable peopleas Mr. Tole had remarked. (Laughter and applause). In the slums of London or the Continent, amongst no matter what class of roughs they went, they were always greeted with .as much respect as the Queen. (Applause.) This was not only because of the excellent work they , did but, because they loved that work and the doing of it. There were in New Zealand many of these devoted women spending at any rate the earlier portion of their lives in devotion to the sick. “Nurses are angels of mercy,” said Father Ainsworth. “How much more so can we call those angels of mercy who, like the Sisters, give up absolutely everything for their work? (Applause.) Why, even their very names are hidden. They may be of- distinguished family or merely the daughters of peasants. / They do their work from a spirit of duty. They | are taught/ to see' in each patient the person of Jesus Christ Himself. The, only qualifications necessary for ; entering their institutions—and this will /be especially .the case when this new building 1 is finished—are/poverty or ; sickness. These are v sufficient to command the entire attention of the ladies known as the

• Sisters/ of Mercy. ?. We are; very ■ proud of the members§ of our Catholic Sisterhood. , u We look upon them as - noble women, and you might as well > touch j our mothers ' and our sisters as malign them.'.' We' feel very keenly i a word said against their honor."/ (Loud applause.)' if , Proceeding, Father Ainsworth said the foundation* stone to be laid that day was hot big, but it was strong in hope—the hop© that the institution would ■., become % a veritable home for the sick and poor, and that thousands of cases of human suffering might find alleviation ' there. When they came to die—-as die they must—it would be grand to know that it would be with a Sister of Mercy tending them and praying at . their bedside. The Sisters extended the same kindness and charity to, all. When the new building was up, it, would be lowed by another addition, and there would be wards H where the poor would receive exactly the same treat- r ment as the rich. (Applause.) That was Catholic, or universal, charity—given on all sides and to all„people. Might the new hospital be looked upon as ."a! haven of f. rest and peace. (Applause.) ' ," >;.,;V Mr. M. J. Sheahan said his first introduction to school life, and many of his youthful impressions, were, gained in the schools of. the Sisters of Mercy. - : The pious teachings and examples there inculcated had been with him, and many others, in their journey through/ life. The Sisters had played a prominent part in themoulding of their characters, in both the spiritual - and temporal spheres. To them the religious communities r were indispensable. The spirit of the Sisters pervaded the habits and homes of those who had been their pupils, and had created a healthy atmosphere. The* Sisters shared in their joys and in their, sorrows. They! tenderly nursed and cared for them in affliction and' suffering. As harbingers of peace and consolation the Sisters were to be met on their rounds in . ©very part of the city. The speaker here quoted from the late Dr. Martin's (of Palmerston North) book, A Surgeon) in Khaki, an appreciative reference to the work of the; Sisters in the war zone. The great institution under % the show of which they were that day. gathered, was t served by the self same "gentle-voiced and simple-robed Sisters." ', ■;:';;. ■• • On behalf of the Sisters, Mr. E. Casey returned i thanks to the speakers, especially appreciating the tributes of the medical men. He also eulogised the ungrudging services of the architect. Mr. \ Patterson. The cost of the new buildings, furnished, would, he'v said, be £SOOO, and though it was not intended to make - a direct appeal to those present for financial aid, he; felt sure such an appeal would not be necessary. The . new building would be a monument to. the' wonderful nursing and devotion to duty of the good Sisters. &$£ The formal part of the ceremony was : then performed by Mgr. Mahoney, who laid the foundation stone with a silver trowel presented to him ;by the architect. The numerous guests subsequently enjoyed the hospitality of the Sisters, who provided afternoon tea. Mr. J. H. Egan gave a devotional rendering ofia "The Lord is My Light," accompanied by Mr. Leo Whitaker, A.T.C.L., L.A.B. '..-,...;. .. r^.^[ The new buildings, when completed, will comprise '% the first section of a hospital block eventually to be t% erected. This first section, which is : being built in brick, will contain, 17 single rooms for v patients, ah|| up-to-date operating room, X-ray room, surgeons' retiring room, anaesthetic chamber, and sanitary iff tower. As a result of a collection taken up on Sundays afternoon, together with donations received during the year, the Sisters were placed in possession of over .£500,,. towards* the cost of the building. They already had", a substantial sum in hand. ' . .'. ,• "i'. ; *