OPENING OF THE TURKISH BATHS.

Evening Star, Issue 3697, 28 December 1874, Page 3

OPENING OF THE TURKISH BATHS.

The baths erec e>t in Moray Place by the Otago Turkish aths Company were opened this morning by his Honor the Superintendent, who was accompanied by the Hon. Mr Fox. They were received by Messrs W Asher. J. Hislop, Murdoch, Muir, Schofield, and J. T. Telfer, directors of the Company, and Mr Burton, manager, and amongst others present were bis Worship the Mayor, Councillors Mercer, Prosser, Reeves, Isaac, Walter, Beck, Woodland, and ibson, Mes-us Hodgins, tra hau, and S. Clayton. The directors conducted the visitors through the establishment, explaining the mode ef operation, the various rooms being heated so ; as to give a correc: idea of the treatment gone through. 'I he three hot rooms were at 120deg., IfiOdeg, and 1201 eg. respectively, ' and though the atmosphere seemed rather . oppressive at first, the heat was well borne by those present. After inspecting the large swimming bath, from 4ft. to 6ft. in depth, the party adjourned to the cooling room, where luncheon was provided, supplied by Mr Dunning. Illr Asher took the £hair, and Mr Telfer the vice-chair. v '‘"f|}e Chairman add the directors had at S~r§t felt a little diffidence in asking the uperintendent to assist in the day’s ceremony, but knowing that he was always glad to do good for anything that was for the public good they had determined to soli it his presence, and were very glad to see him there to wish success to the establishment He (the ( hairman) hoped Cr. Mercer would report to His colleagues the tienetjcs to tie de r ved from the baths, so that the Compaiu should noc be charged too mu hj by the Cor? poration for the water it would us« the swimming bath requiring 24.000 to 30 000 gallons of water every time it was emptied. The manager, Mr Barton, was an expe rienced one, having had sixteen years’ experience in conducting i urkish baths in the old country and in Victoria, and that gentleman felt fully competent to treat any invalids to whom the medical faculty might recommend a series of these oaths, ihey were pot, erpctpd only fop invalids, bujito diake perfectly s rung and healthy sqch as might become invalids. One day in each week would be set apart for ladies, under the s perintendence of Mrs Button, who had had li ng experience. The Company had issued 1000 shari-s to the public, ail the paymeats of which were not cailed up, and had also issued another 1 ■ 00, so as to lighten the calls ou the o igmal shareholder, but it was probable now that the baths were in working order, that the latter 1,000 shares would be withdrawn. The speaker con eluded by proposing the health of the Superintendent. his Honor congratulated the company and the community on having the only Turkish baths in Hew Zealand. He had never bad the chance of indulging in such a luxury himself, but it would not be long before be experienced the benefit of one. They were good for the skin and conducive to a sound state of health, and he trusted the Company would regulate its charges so as to come within- the means of all. Some people ■ liked to indulge in nobbier an i tobacco, ■ but the baibs would bettor increase their heaUh. He regretted that the community had' not gone in more for bat" s and as far back as 1859 or 1860 one of his hobbies as Superintendent was tbestablishment of baths and wash houses in connection with the tthenmum on a footing Similar to thoie ic Hewcastle-on-Tyne a* c other Engl sh towns, perhaps it would surjir se those who thought the old identities qyere slow and behind the age to know that ht that thne )ie, as president of the signed a contract for iftfe erection of' a buildfog for that purpose, at a cost of ft had been that his political sun went below the horizon for a time they would have had baths open to all, free, and if he were now a Dictator they should have them. However, he thought Dunedin owed a great deal 61 gratitude to th'e Cowpahy for its

spirited establishing of the institution and the liberal way in which it appeared it was to be conducted. He wished the company every success. The Chairman then introduced The Hon. Mr Fox, who said if he had obtained an earlier notice of day’s proceedings he would have prepared a long notice of the system o' Turkish baths, as hr had had great experience in them. He had b. en a grf at bather fr m bis boyhood having bathed in the Nile, the Fed Sea the Dead Sea. and almost every big river in the world, and also in Turkish baths. It was well known that bathing was in the time of the Romans considered a necessary essential to life and to the improvement of the physique, and the ruins of their immense baths might be seen at the present d ay. That erected by Caracal la wou Id con• tain 3,000 bathers at one time. In the dark ages, however, men ceased to wash themselves as much as was advisable, and the custom of bathing died out, except in Turkey and the East. 11 is there carried out now, and he had had Turkish baths in Damascus, Cairo, and Beyrout. but he had never found any to compare with those established in England-such as at the Hum mums Hotel, at Weston-super-Mare, and, in fact, almost every town in Creat Britain! The English went on the true principle—not that of the application of water, but of dry heat Water, if heated to 300 degrees would be utterly unbearable, but in England it had been shown there was no difficulty in entaring a room heated to that extent; while if a person were immersed in water*at2l2 decrees, he would ernne nut in very p-ior condition. Men bad been known to go info an oven with a beefsteak, and come out unharmed, but with the steak cooked If p oplo took these baths instead of the nobblers the Superintendent had spoken about, it would do them more good, for the common porters of Cairo, who carried unheard of weights did so after a day’s work, and came out as fresh as kittens. The very beggars in the East considered it a necessary of life. It was one of the greatest luxuries one could exP®” enc ?» although there was sometimes a little feeling of suffocation at first; but aa *“ 18 . went off OQe is lulled into a state ot Klysian ecstacy and enjoyment The shampooing was an interesting operation The operators pull all a man’s joints till they crack, and he had even knownamauto jnnapon his back, seize him by the ears an! twist his neck till that also cracked, but his bead did not come off. He was much pie sed at the announcement that such an institution had been opened ia Dunedin, the most progressive community by far in New Z aland, and be would recommend that those who had experienced what Turkisn baths were should act as decoy-ducks to such as had not. Their appearance would be a sufficient recomnu ndatiou—we should heay such conversations as this :—“.My dear fellow, bow well you look 1” “Ah ! it’s all the Turkish baths.” It had been proved they contain a power of dealing with hidden diseases, such as those of the joints, and with such as the medical faculty could not grapple with or find a name for. A man suffering from apoplexy, and another, a lunatic, had been cured by them in a very abort period. He again congratulated tjie people of Dunedin on the benefits they would receive from thp operations of the company. Several other toasts were proposed and heartily dranh, alter which the company separated.