THE ORPHANAGE, LYTTELTON.

Globe, Volume II, Issue 172, 24 December 1874, Page 3

THE ORPHANAGE, LYTTELTON.

In Jun'e last it was found that the accommodation at the Orphan Asylum, Lyttelton, waa4<rt> small, and tenders were issued for iWfe'argement. Mr H, Allwright was the successful tenderer, and has just concluded his contract, which has been most satisfactorily performed. He has had great difficulties to contend with from not being able to procure the materials at the proper time. There was formerly only accommodation for 112 children, but the additions render it capable of holding fifty-six more without reckoning infirmaries. The additions consist of two additional stories in the main building, master’s apartments, offices, and two tanks capable of holding 24,000 gallons of water. A force pump is fixed to the larger tank, it is placed under the verandah, and sends water into two tanks so placed as to supply the washhouse and boiler. Another force-pump has been ordered from Dunedin, and will soon arrive, and will be used for the prevention of fires. A balcony and verandah run along the two main buildings, and access is gained to the upper rooms by two staircases. All the upstairs is plastered, and a dado 4ft high runs round all the dormitories. The ceilings have all apnaratus for ventilation. The original spouting was too small for the building, and could not carry away the storm water, and larger guttering has been substituted. In the old times the master could only visit the upstairs dormitories by going up the outside staircases, but arrangements have now been made by which he can visit every part of the building without going outside. In the new part of the building the first dormitory in the boys’ wing is 21ft square, and communicates with the apartment of the

second master, from thence a small passage leads to two smaller rooms, 14 by 10 each, one of which, with a fire-place, is used for infants, and the other is the nurse’s, in order that she may be near to hear the little one’s complaints. From thence we proceed to a room 16 by 21, also a dormitory, and thence to one 21 by 12, with a fire-place, which is intended to be used for a sick room if required. In the centre are the master’s apartments, consisting, viz—a room 20 by 15, used as a sitting-room, and a bedroom, IS by 10. The girls’ wing is an exact counterpart of the boys, but was finished before, and has therefore been varnished. All the rooms appear to bo most creditably finished. The arrangements generally appear to be good, and the children seem fat and contented, and there is little doubt it is the finest institution of the kind in the colonies. From the kitchen door there issued a most appetising smell, and we heard of certain preparations going on for Christmas that convinced us that Canterbury is a good stepmother. There is a tower erected in the centre of the buildings that acts a ventilator. The gardens are in nice order, and everything bespeaks cleanliness and comfort, and there is no doubt that the province as a whole may well be proud of its Orphan Asylum.