Bluejackets march through city

With the punctuality which is characteristic of the Navy, 200 men of HMS Chatham assembled at the Triangle yesterday morning, and, headed by the Third Artillery Band, marched off at 9.50 o’clock along Cumberland street to Stuart street, thence to the Octagon, along George street, Hanover street, King street, past the Hospital to George street, and thence along Princes street to Manse street. The men marched particularly well, and their fine display attracted the admiration of the large numbers of citizens who had assembled along the route. The children attending the city and suburban schools were granted a half-holiday to allow them to witness the march. A number of visitors were shown over HMS Chatham yesterday by the sailors, and this morning the children of the Albany Street, St Leonards, Normal, Sawyers’ Bay, Portobello, High Street, and Kensington Schools will visit the vessel.

Tuberculosis hospital ceremony

The formal ceremony of "laying the foundation stone" of the new Consumptive Sanatorium at Waipiata took place on the site of the sanatorium at 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon. The "foundation stone" in this case happens to be a special inscribed tablet in one of the main buildings. Building work has been going forward on the site for six months past, and some of the buildings are now well advanced. It is now some two and a-half years since the Waipiata site was decided on after 30 sites throughout Central Otago had been closely examined as to their meteorological conditions, altitude and suitability. It has an altitude of 1550 feet, and consists of a block of 112 acres, with an adjoining farm of 1000 acres. This was the site used for many years by Dr Byers as a private sanatorium, and his land and equipment were taken over about 18 months ago. There are at present 20 patients undergoing treatment there, and fresh applications have to be refused for want of accommodation. The committee has representatives of every hospital board from Ashburton to Southland, with the exception of Otago. The Otago Board does not take part because it has its own consumptive sanatorium at Pleasant Valley and other provision for such patients at Wakari.

Dental building’s inadequacy

It is unnecessary to offer any apology for renewed reference to the conditions and prospects of the Otago Dental School. Indeed, it may rightly be regarded as one of the topics of the hour in Dunedin, and public attention cannot be too insistently directed to it. In our most recent reference to the subject we described the accommodation and equipment at the Dental School as being "ludicrously inadequate." After reading the latest reports of the director of the school we feel constrained to withdraw the word "ludicrously" and to substitute "tragically." Yesterday both male and female anaesthetic recovery rooms were occupied by men patients. The women’s room was occupied for most of the morning, with the result that neither the lady students, the nurses, nor the women and girl patients had any access to lavatory accommodation — a most serious state of affairs in a hospital, and not only serious, but disgusting that we should be compelled to put men into a women’s retiring room at all. A condition of affairs no decent community should tolerate. — editorial — ODT, 20.3.1924

Compiled by Peter Dowden