MAORI HOSTEL.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 231, 30 September 1929, Page 10

MAORI HOSTEL.

FOUNDATION STONE LAID. CEREMONY AT TUAKAU. ■, The oflicial laying of the foundation stone of the Maori hostel at Tuakau took place on Saturday afternoon in the presence of a fairly large gathering. Princess Te Puea Berangi, of Ngaruawahiii, said she hoped the new building would be of fine service to the Maori people of the district as a place where they could meet in social intercourse and receive medical attention in eases of sickness. The chairman of the Town Board, which lent its support to the funds, and Dr. E. P. Ellison, Director of the Department of Maori Hygiene, congratulated" Princess Te. . Piiea (the prime mover in the drive for the establishment of the institution) and the Maori people upon the commencement of the work. Dγ, Ellison said the site of the hostel, so near the Waikato River, with roads and railway converging upon it, was an excellent one. It was much to the credit of the people that they contributed £360 for the purpose, this being subsidised by the Native Department on behalf of the Government The hostel was not to be regarded as a hospital, but as a rest or "half-way" house. The contractor for the building is Mr. George Howe.