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Heritage New Zealand, Summer 2003

Example of Rare Architecture Worth Saving

Despite an 87-year history as a peaceful retreat, Queen Mary Hospital in Hanmer Springs has become the centre of increasingly heated controversy this year. Various groups have fought Canterbury District Health Board plans to sell the historic hospital and its park-like grounds.

The Soldiers' Ward, Queen Mary Hospital, Hanmer Springs. Photo: NZHPT

Built by the Department of Defence in 1916 on the 15- hectare site of a previous 1897 sanatorium, the twin-octagonal design of the Soldiers' Ward of the hospital is a rarity in New Zealand architecture. Like its sister hospital in Rotorua, the ward accommodated 200 sufferers of shell shock and neurasthenia in two octagonal rooms connected by a corridor. Features of the rooms were a central nurses station and a lantern roof designed to let fresh air and sunlight into the ward. The gardens feature rhododendrons and azaleas thought to be over 100 years old.

The Queen Mary Soldiers' Ward, however, is the only double-octagonal ward still standing. The Rotorua example was moved to King George V Hospital in Otaki for the Children's Health Camp where only one octagonal structure remains today. It is celebrated as a building of national significance.

Foundation stone, Queen Mary Hospital. Photo: NZHPT

In 1921, Queen Mary Hospital was handed over to the Health Department. Chisholm Ward, named after the medical superintendent of 23 years, opened in 1926 and the Rutherford Ward in 1942. The hospital treated patients with hypertension and anxiety as well as some joint disabilities. From 1943, the hospital focused on treating functional nervous diseases, and from around this time also became involved in treating alcoholics.

Since 1998, the facility has been leased by Queen Mary Hospital Ltd for the Hanmer Institute, a private drugrehabilitation hospital funded by the Ministry of Health. Queen Mary Hospital Ltd's lease runs until 2019 and the company has first right of refusal on the land but its Ministry of Health funding is insufficient for the company to own and operate the property. Ngai Tahu have second right of refusal on the land.

The Hanmer Springs community has grave fears for the fate of the site if it is sold because the hospital has provided a de-facto park near the centre of town. On August 29, a public meeting of around 145 voted unanimously for the Hurunui District Council to intervene to prevent the site being "developed."

The Historic Places Trust is researching the Soldiers' and Chisholm Wards as part of its registration process, and will contact the Canterbury District Health Board when proposals are more developed. The Chisholm Ward is already listed as a heritage item in the Hurunui district plan.

CATEGORY STATUS: Chisholm Ward listed as a heritage item in the Hurunui district plan.

The Queen Mary Reserve Trust is fighting to keep
the site and buildings in public ownership.
Find out more on their website