BOPDHB History Whakatāne Hospital History Book | Page 45

Stewart Street view of the Hospital circa 1925. Photo: Whakatāne District Museum & Gallery (928)
From left to right, showing only the Men’s Ward and the Children’s Ward with the toilet block on the near side of the
Children’s Ward.

Included within the Main Building complex were the following:
The Entrance and Administration (1923)
The entrance faced due east at right angles to the three main wings which were north/south
aligned with the northerly ends facing towards Stewart Street. The reception area was inside the
entrance followed by administration offices and, a little further down the corridor was the Medical
Superintendent’s office and the Matron’s office. This ‘front of house’ area was substantially modified
in 1940 when the (then) new Women’s Ward was built parallel to the Men’s and the Children’s Wards
but, in 2011, it is still possible to identify, both from the interior and the exterior, where the original
building begins.

Children’s Ward (Ward 1, 1923)
The Children’s Ward (Ward 1)55 was part of the original building and formed a wing running
northwards (parallel to Ward 2) from the main corridor. Later it terminated in a short connecting link
to a newer Children’s Ward extension built in 1956. On the west side there was a toilet block 19 ft
square connected to the ward. The total length of the Ward 1 wing was approximately 66 ft varying
in width from a maximum of 30 ft at the kitchen to 24 ft in the main ward area, increasing again to
28 ft where it joined the main corridor block. There were no internal partitions. The 1956 Children’s
Ward extension was 104 ft long and 38 ft wide with its axis running east to west. The 1923 portion
was demolished in 1978. Upon the completion of the Dawson Block in 1963, Te Whare Whakarata
Taitamariki - the Children and Young Person’s Ward was relocated onto the ground floor of that
building. In 2007 the 1956 extension was refurbished and became the Eastern Bay Energy Cancer
Centre (Project Hope Building).

Anon, Confidential report on earthquake resistance of Ward 1 (Children’s Ward) and Main
Corridor Area, 19 November 1974, (Bay of Plenty Hospital Board Archive)

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