FOR THE CHILDREN.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1384, 9 March 1912, Page 10

FOR THE CHILDREN.

THE NEW HOSPITAL. HOW.THE HONEY WAS RAISED. Less than two years ago the sick children of Wellington whu meilvd Hospital accommodation and. treatment had to be content with n children's ward in the General Hospital. As often as nut the apartment so designated was crowded, and tliere were occasions when eases had t» be refused admission for the. simple reason that there was no room for them. In times of scarlet fever or scarlatina epidemics thn accommodation was invariably overtaxed, and the littlo ones were deprived of those comforts which can only bo realised where there is amnio room and the proper means of treating their frail forms. To-day, 'Wellington has a Children's Hospital that is second to none in Australasia, and on Tuesday next the new building, which has been erected near the- General Hospital, at Newtown, will bo formally declared open by his Excellency the Governor. For years before there had been a good deal said one way and another of the necessity for an up-to-date. Children's Hospital, but tho big bogey of finance ever stood in tho way. At the annual meeting of the Society for tho Protection of Women and Children, held on August 6, 1910, the question of providing ways nnd means for the erection of a Children's Hospital was discussed, and Mrs. Wilford (wife of-the Mayor) was warm in her advocacy of tho proposal. That was the beginning. But the electric spark which set the town aflame was a spontaneous proposal from Mr. Hugh Ward, a visiting actor-manager, and now ono of the theatrical firm of J. C. Williamson, Ltd. Chatting over tho matter with a representative of Tip Dominion, a scheme was devised by which it was thought a good deal of money could be accumulated towards the project. He offered to contribute the sum of .£IOO if five other citizens would contribute- a like amount and eight others would produce .£SO each, making up JiIOOO. In addition to that he offered to give a special matinee- performance which ho estimated would produco another .£2OO. In addition it was thought that subscriptions amounting to .£2OO could be raised by public lists, another XIOO by canvassed subscriptions, and £50 by a novel scheme the actor had in his mind. This totalled .£1530. This, with the Government subsidy of 245. to tho £1 would provide a fund of .£3llO, which would be a substantial amount sufficient t<i bring- about the object in view. The schome was given the utmost prominence by tho press of the city, and tho next day tho campaign'was begun and the money began to roll in. That day two cheques of .CIOO each were received as well as many small .subscriptions. The citizens answered valiantly to the call, and each day saw the total leaping up and up until it was evident to everyone that Wellington would get its Children's Hospital. The culminating day—Saturday, August 13—was one that will stand out in the annals of the city. It was a raw winter's day, with the rain pitilessly descending on muddy streets—a day when ordinarily ono would never dream of asking anyone for anything, a day conducive to Scroogism. On this day Mr. Ward and the members of his company had resolved to "do or die" for tho Children's Hospital. They had arranged to sing in the streets during the morning and give the eventful,inatiuee in tho Opera House in the afternoon. It was hardly expected that they would dream of turning out in such weather, but Mr. Ward was determined that nothing short of a shower of thunderbolts would prevent him from doing what he had projected, so in motorlorries, vans, nnd carriages ho and his company, assisted by a bevy of local ladies, sallied forth into tho swishing rain to mesmerise the nimble sixpence and. the sprightly "bob" from "the dripping passers-by.- In a little over an hour.the company raked in the sum of .£lOl 7s. Id. to be exact. It was that odd penny it is believed which cut Mr. Ward in tho clieok when hurled at the wagon by someone in Panama Street, as the actor was in the net of singing "Harrigan" in tho.rain. But what did that matter.: Ho sang and sang until his grand opera tennr began to show signs of giving out, a'tul Miss Grace . I'alotta and Miss Cclia Ghiloni also sang out of their hearts, standing on the rear of a wagon, and in the end they returned to their hotels, sodden but very happy. Then followed the matinee, which realised, not «£2OO as estimated, but no less a sum than .£355 15s. 3d., so that with Mr. Ward's personal cheque for iUOO the day yielded £M. After that came a cheerful surprise. Mr. Van Staveren had previously stated that ho knew of someone who would givo .£SOO if a sum of £1500 was K>ed. That total was easily passed, nnd, true enough, the .€SOO came to hand—from Mr. and Mrs. T. G. ifacarthy, of Wellington. This brought the total up tp/well over .£SOOO. Still tho money flowed in, until, to make a long story short,,the.lists closed,at. .£7310 Ba. 4d. This, with the Government subsidy of 21s. to the ..£, made up the glorious total of iEIG,OB2. Bs. AA. With that money a really magnificent Children's Hospital has been erected, that would do credit to any city of its size in tho world. With a north-westerly aspect, it gets the sun all day long, and there are largo and airy sun-rooms where tho children may sit and play, or lie and weave pleasant phantasies of the big world outsido which is waiting for strong healthy boys and girls. The wards—there arc the "Hugh J." Ward, the Georgie Wilford Ward, and tho Macarthy Ward—names which must always bo remembered when the origin of the new hospital is mentioned. The new building, which embraces the latest improvements in hospital arrangement and fittings, was designed by Messrs. Atkins and Bacon, and tho building was erected by tho .Watts Bros.