The eight-bed hospital was opened in 1943, with two single rooms, three double and an antenatal clinic, along with a bed sitting-room for the sister in charge, plus a lounge and three bedrooms for a staff nurse and two aids. Another aid lived out. The hospital also employed a cook and a gardener.
During 1951, I was on leave when additional staff rooms were added, and also a bedroom, shower and hand basin to make my bed-sitting room into a flat. However, no toilet was installed, and when I protested, I was given a very technical reason for the omission.
So instead, a door was put into a wall of my lounge which led through the broom cupboard and gave me access to the staff corridor and facilities, which avoided the hospital foyer.
At a much later date, we were visited by a Wellington Health Department inspector. He made some pertinent comments and then said, "Not good enough! See to it!" It was soon 'seen to' and my flat was complete. I think it was probably a case of 'not on the builder's plan'.
The first sister in charge was Sister Thatcher from Wanganui, who became Mrs Emmanuel when she married. The first cook resigned because of ill-health and the position was filled by Miss Amy Taylor, who continued as cook for 22 years until the hospital closed.
Mr Harry Taylor, the gardener until he retired, was replaced by Mr Eric Newbold, who kept a good vegetable garden where the car park now stands. The lawns and gardens were always well maintained. One onerous job that fell to Mr Taylor was the cleaning of a sump that drained the kitchen sink, which frequently had to be cleared of fat and debris.
On the last hour of duty every two or three weeks, he would close all the windows, roll a big cigarette, and do the job. The introduction of detergent instead of the bar of soap usually used, saved him from the job!
Around 1951, the baby-boomer days, another double room and two staff rooms were added. Another bedroom was added to the bed-sitter belonging to the Sister-in-Charge, to make a flat.
Also about this time, two more aids were taken on and then a housemaid, Doreen Burkitt. Doreen was a treasure as she did much of the laundry work as well as some of the household chores.
Only one bag of dry linen was sent to the New Plymouth laundry weekly, so coping with the rest was a big job, with only a copper, tubs and a Whiteway wringer washing machine.
The drying room was not very big, so there had to be several batches of washing daily and much turning to get it to dry.
After repeated requests for a spin dryer were turned down, we put up 'unofficial' clothes lines in the furnace room.
Finally, a promise was given that all laundry would be taken to Base when extensions were completed in three months. In reality, these took six months, and it was washing wasn't sent there until 18 months prior to closure of the Inglewood Maternity Hospital. But the two or three times a week service was wonderful!
One of the duties of a hospital aid was to relieve the cook on her days off. It was another skill to learn, and the aids did a good job, with help from my Aunt Daisy's Cookbook. When I retired I looked at its worn condition I left it behind - I did not have the heart to take it with me.
The Staff Nurses were sometimes freshly trained from the New Plymouth Maternity Unit, and sometimes they were older nurses who lived in the district. We all shared duties, including the necessary 'on call' at night, though they seemed to enjoy the experience and a number of the younger ones went on for further training.
The Hospital Aids were a happy crowd, too. With no previous training, they were always willing to learn and became very efficient in their aseptic technique and in the care of mothers and babies. We all worked together to keep the little hospital in tip-top order.
Inglewood district had always had a strong interest in sports, and held The Greatest Show on Earth, which attracted a crowd of 10,000.
When the rugby team won the Taranaki Championships and then the Ranfurly Shield, which was held for two years, this provided much interest to the staff. By moving days off forward by one day each week, I evolved a duty roster to allow equal opportunities for all to have time off at weekends so everyone had an equal chance to watch the rugby matches.
Luckily, the Matron-in-Chief approved, so all was well. The system continued until a relieving 'staffie' disapproved but I soon received a request from the girls to return to the 'Ranfurly' system, which continued until the end of my term of office.
Tribute should be paid to the doctors who served Inglewood and its hospital during these years. In 1946, Dr Alexander (Sam) Rutherford was the only doctor in town, but it was not long before Dr Robert Watson set up practice in his house in Brook St.
He and Dr Rutherford shared care of the people of the district for many years, until a stroke caused him to retire.
In 1950, Dr Rutherford left to take advanced study and qualifications in England and after that a senior position at Hutt Hospital. His practice was taken over by Dr Greig for several years, until he died from a freak accident on a country road, after a wandering horse jumped down a bank onto his car.
Dr Harry Whittle then took over the practice until beyond the closure of the hospital.
Drs Greig, Whittle and Rutherford lived and practiced in the house that is now Roseneath Rest Home. All four gave great service to the district and were especially helpful to us at the hospital.
A regular antenatal clinic was held at the hospital and seemed very valuable, as patients, doctor and myself were able to get to know each other and become familiar with any problems.
A radio played in the staff lounge, and our favourite program was Dr Paul, a serial that aired at 10am daily, and woe betide the junior who did not have the morning tea ready on time!
When the television era arrived, a request to the board for TV set for the staff brought forth the reply that we must raise half the cost ourselves, so we set to work and knitted toys, novelties and booties.
We set up a trading table in the foyer and visitors cooperated by buying our goods, and we soon had our own TV.
On another occasion, we decided that individual teapots would be nice on the patient's trays instead of pouring on the rounds from a big teapot.
So another trading table was set up and the house manager procured wholesale a dozen teapots. Another pleasing off-duty thing the girls did was to embroider nursery designs on the cot quilts.
These were never sent to the laundry. I often wonder where they went on closure - though I know where one of them, and a teapot, went!
Christmas was a happy time for us all.
The board donated money for decorations and gifts, and a big Christmas tree was put up in the foyer, and a smaller one in the nursery.
This last one was planted and dug up several times, until we decided to plant it permanently on the hillside, and start again with another small one for the nursery. Both of these have since been removed.
A long-remembered part of our Christmas was the time and effort by the girls to paint a nativity scene or Christmas motif on each ward window.
They were beautifully done and enjoyed by many Inglewood folk as well as our 'guests' at the time.
We always had a nativity scene set up in the foyer, using a little stable made for us by Eric the gardner, and my little set of nativity figures.
I would also like to play tribute to the nurse aids employed over the years. Some went on to Nursing Training courses, some stayed till they married, while others gave faithful service for a number of years. They made my time as Charge Sister a happy time.
I also, at one time, re-organised the duty list to suit me! The Queen was in Wellington to open Parliament, on her first visit to New Zealand since her coronation, and I was keen to see her.
But because I was unable to get an extra day's leave, I worked it to suit, by doing a morning duty before catching the Flyer, the afternoon train from New Plymouth to Wanganui.
From there, my cousin and her 10-year old daughter, and a friend drove us to Wellington. We were seated on the grounds in front of the Parliament steps at 6am the following day.
After the opening ceremony in the afternoon, the Queen came out to greet herpeople. It was a great occasion to see her in tiara and lovely gown, standing to wave to us all.
We waited to see the Royal party arrive for the State dinner at the Town Hall, then drove back to Wanganui. After a short sleep, I caught the Dominion car at 4am and was back in Inglewood, ready for duty at 8am. All quite legal and I'd seen the Queen in her coronation gown.
While hospital board rules forbade children from being in the wards, there was no ban on chatting to mum through the windows. I think this may have helped to bond the new baby into the family and the little ones to accept that mum hadn't just gone away and deserted them while she was in the home two whole weeks.
Mention has been made of the Christmas trees and another tree is worthy of note. As part of the opening ceremony in 1943, Mrs Brown, wife of the Mayor of Inglewood, planted a cheery blossom on the lawn by the main door.
That little tree was later destroyed in a storm and Mrs Brown donated and planted another in its place. This one survived and is now a lovely tree.
But to our happy hospital, came a shock. The staff were appalled to read in the evening paper, the Taranaki Herald, that the hospital board had decided at the meeting that morning, to close Opunake and Inglewood maternity hospitals down, and to transfer all maternity care to New Plymouth's Base Hospital.
Despite a very well attended public meeting, where Inglewood and district residents protested strongly, all patients were discharged and the hospital closed in October, 1967. A sad little notice appeared in Inglewood's local paper.
VALE
In loving memory of the Inglewood Maternity Hospital. Passed away as a result of amalgamationitis, a form of bureaucratic poisoning, October 1967, after a lingering illness. Fondly remembered by hundreds of mothers and the Inglewood Action Group.
No flowers by request
A register of all staff employed over the years was made available and as many as possible contacted, with a goodly number attending a farewell reunion luncheon.
The building remained empty for more than three years, until five enterprising town businessmen set up a trust and leased the property for a peppercorn rental.
They proceeded to transform it into Marinoto, the house of rest for the elderly. It opened on April Fools Day, 1971, and over the years has gradually grown to a comfortable, 22 bed home, which bodes well for the elderly folk in the district, some of them the mothers who laboured there in the past.
I have visited the home a number of times and have been treated by the staff to morning tea, and given a guided tour of the facilities, which include a wonderful kitchen with all mod cons, a laundry with ample machines and a great dryer, and many improvements and extensions.
It is good to see such progress but perhaps it's inevitable that some of us find ourselves nostalgic for the happy days we spent there in times past.
1943 - 1967