Page image
Page image

H.—2

20

Pump-room. —The other function is to provide something equivalent to the British " Pumpm," or the continental Casino or Ivursaal —a building which practically answers the purpose of a club for all .visitors —where there are shelter in bad weather, light music, and a bright cheerful rendezvous in the evening. This is looked upon as an absolutely indispensable part of a spa by all the managing authorities of Europe, and their reasoning is based on no sentiment, but on the solid experience of cash-receipts. Such a building will add greatly to the attractions of Rotorua as a winter resort. To make this Pump-room self-supporting I have suggested that the British plan of a very moderately priced season ticket, which would admit to all concerts, ivc, be adopted, as the continental system of a kurtax would hardly be tolerated here. Supply of Mineral Water. —For the convenience of the visitor who is compelled to consider as paramount the question of expense, and for the free treatment of indigent patients, I have advised that the old baths be continued as heretofore. This, however, necessitates a greater demand on the supply of Rachel water than was at first contemplated, and additional supplies of alkaline water from the Kuirau Reserve to the extent of 50,000 gallons a day are being procured, which will supply the swimming-baths and douches, and so release 50,000 gallons of Rachel water for bath purposes. Should necessity arise in future years to still further augment this supply, it can easily be doubled from the Kuirau Reserve, while an expenditure of about £2,000 would give a million gallons a day from Whakarewarewa. In regard to the acid water, the new spring discovered last year appears to have an output far in excess of any demand likely to be made on it. Owing to the swamping of some of the old Priest baths by cold underground springs, these baths have been largely thrown out of use during the last year, and this has seriously affected the bath receipts. Fortunately the discovery of new acid springs has minimised the inconvenience of the partial failure of the old ones. Whakarewarewa Baths. —The Spout and Oil Baths have fallen entirely to decay, and a start is being made on a new building which will adequately house both these baths under one roof. 'The Season has on the whole been a very good one. There has been a steady influx of visitors. which has continued long after the official "season" closed. The bath receipts have continued at a high level, but these are now bj no means the index to the Dumber of visitors that once thej were, as so many visitors come simply for the sporting and other attractions of the place. Rotorua is becoming more and more recognised as a holiday resort, and, with more amusements, should become yet more popular. I think there can be no doubt about the success of the provision of constant music in the grounds. The orchestra was paid partly by local subscription and partly by Government subsidy, and I have learned from a very large number of visitors of their appreciation of the cheerful atmosphere created by the music. I think, however, that in future the orchestra should be wholly in the pay of the Department, and be made largely self-supporting. If the band continued all the year round the season, already prolonged to the end of May, should practically continue through the whole winter. The Sanatorium.—To meet the ever-growing demand for beds, a new wing, consisting of eight cubicles with accessory offices, is now under construction, and should be completed in a fewweeks. The amount of work done at the Sanatorium has been greatly in excess of that of any other previous years, and has entailed a great deal of extra work on the staff. I would here desire to express my appreciation of the excellent work done by the staff during the past year. An extra nurse is being appointed to cope with the increased work entailed by the extensions to the Sanatorium. Emergency Ward. —Owing to the anomalous position of Rotorua, belonging as it does to no hospital district, and possessing no hospital of its own, and with a population rapidly increasing in numbers, an increasing number of hospital cases have had to be admitted to the emergency ward, and a large number of serious operations have been performed. The work in this direction has increased a hundredfold in the last two years, and the question of a small general hospital requires urgent consideration. The House Surgeon, Dr. Levis, resigned this autumn, after a stay of three years. Dr. Bertram, of the Auckland Hospital, was appointed to the vacancy. Medical Residence. —A new building, satisfactory in every respect, was completed during the summer. Isolation Hospital. —The old building which has been adapted for some years past as an isolation hospital is fast falling into utter decay, and in any case is hardly suitable for a hospital. Statistics. Receipts for the Year ending 31st March, 1908. 1908. 1907. £ s. d. £ s. d. Sanatorium fees ... ... ... ... ... 1,055 16 3 892 5 6 Out-patients' fees ... ... ... ... ... 724 12 5 748 16 0 Bath fees ... ... ... ... ... ... 2,577 9 0 2,614 8 6 Mineral water ... ... ... ... ... 147 16 10 216 16 0 Massage and electrical treatment ... ... ... 199 5 3 219 5 9 Players' fees ... ... ... ... ... 179 13 6 137 8 3 Miscellaneous receipts ... ... ... ... 484 760 Total ... ... ... ... £4,889 1 7 £4,836 6 0 Value of free consultations : Out-patients, £124 19s. Od.

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert