LYTTELTON ORPHANAGE.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1386, 25 July 1878, Page 3

LYTTELTON ORPHANAGE.

The Lyttelton Orphanage, being one of the institutions now under the control of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, was officially visited and inspected yesterday. Jhe Board was represented by the Mayors of Christchurch and Sydenham and Mr J. E. March. As no notice of the intended visit had been given to the master of the Orphanage, the condition in which it was found may fairly be assumed to be its usual one. Although in some matters of detail there is room for improvement, and certain additions are much needed, still the general appearance of c eanliness and air of comfort which pervaded the interior of the buildings rendered it apparent that the master and matron, Mr and Mrs Sopp, not only take a great interest in their charges, but are likewise well qualified to fill their respective positions. The appearance of the children, both boys and girls, was satisfactory evidence that they were judiciously and kindly treated.

At present there are sixty-four boys and fortytwo girls receiving shelter there, the eldest of them beins? about fourteen years of ago. At that age or a year older, the girls arc qualified to make useful little domestic serva ts, and some of the boys arc fitted to be apprenticed to a trade, or to follow such suitable occupations as would enable them to earn their own living. One little fellow, fourteen years of age (an Irish lad), on being asked if he would like to learn a trade, unhesitatingly answered in the affirmative. The master said he was a honest, truthful boy, and, for his years and exceptional circumstances, farly educated, being acquainted with the rudiments of grammar and the elementary parts of arithmetic. As for the girls, the matron said that there was more demand for them for domestic service than she was able to supply. The domestic details leave no room for cavil. The dormitories are sufficiently spacious, well lighted and ventilated. The children sleep on comfortable iron stretchers, sufficient space being allowed for each, the bedding is ample and clean, and the children are trained to make up their own beds and stow them away in a neat and orderly manner. Gas is 1 "id on in the bedrooms, a dim light, out of reach of the children, burning through the night. Considering the tender age of most of the children, and the timid, nervous disposition of many of them, the adoption of this plan is a humane one, besides being in many obvious respects practically useful. These remarks apply equally to the girls' dormitories. An especial air of neatness characterises them. The hospital, kitchen, and lavatories arc in a satisfactory state, the only drawback to the one used by the boys being its coldness during the winter mo tits, the walls being of stone and the floor asphalted. All the washing is done by the girls under the superintendence of a nurse, who acts as laundress. In this department there is room for improvement, the arrangements for drying the clothes being very defective. 1 here is no drying ground outside the building, and the clothes have all to be dried in a room of contracted dimensions, the heat being limited to that afforded by a moderately-sized stove. A hot-air room or a proper drying ground is much needed, as at present it takes at least four days to dry the necessary changes required by the inmates. A bathroom is devoted to the use of the children once a week, the girls using it on Fridays aud the boys on Saturdays. Hot and cold water are copiously supplied. The culinary arrangements are very complete, and the provisions, with one exception, are of excellent quality, especially the flour, sagar, bread, and butchers' meat. The exception is the potatoes, the contractor having supplied a very inferior article both as regards size and quality. The whole of the children dine together, the food being excellently cooked, ample in allowance, and varied as by the following dietary scale—Monday and Friday, boded mutton, rice and sugar ; Tuesday .and Thursday, roast mutton and suet pudding; Wednesday and Saturday, soup &c.; and on Sunday, cold meat and plum pudding. The girls, when old enough, undergo a short but sufficient training to prepare them for domestic, service. Laundry work is the first step in their education, and when proficient in the duties pertaining to it, they are promoted to the kitchen, and eventually to the master s house, where they are taught the duties of house servants. '1 hey go through this course by rotation, two at a time under the charge of the nurse before-mentioned. While being taught these duties their education is not neglected. The rule is half a day washing, and the other half in the school. In case of sickness a suite of rooms, consisting of three dormitories and a kitchen attached, is provided for the children s accommodation.

" With the internal arrangements of the Orphanage hut little fault can be found but a spacious recreation ground is much needed. The playground in front, facing the harbour is far too circumscribed. There is room enough certainly for the children to run about, and that is all. Cricket, football, and similar pastimes are quite impossible and this is a want, in fact a necessity, that it is to be hoped the Board will endeavour to remedy. Mr Sopp does not confine his charges altogether to the precincts of the orphanage, but allows them under the proper restrictions to make occasional excursions beyond it. The educational training of the children is on a different system from that used formerly. Then Mr Giraud was the master of the < rphan-a"-e, with an under school teacher subordinate to him. Mr Sopp states that when he took charge the s-hool was in a very backward state, which he attributes to the constant changing of the under-master, who frequently did not possess any certificate of competency, and had very little previous experience in tuition. '.lhe boys are now divided into six classes, the highest working up to the fifth standard as fixed by the Board of Education. The present master labours under a drawback in the classification of the hoys, as, although the school was examined by Mr J. L\ Bested in April, and a favorah'c account given of the progress of the children, no report has vet been received from "Wellington. The handwrithi" of some of the older boys was excellent, and, at the request of Mr "Booth, the senior class sang in perfect time and tunc '•The Men oi'Harleeh" and the duel ", All B Well. On bein'f questioned whether they were happy and ° contented, an affirmative chorus was <riven with an alacrity that went far to guarantee the sincerity of the children._ The following is the history of a day s lite m the Orphanage:-In winter rise at half-past six o'clock, clean boots, wash, and breakfast at ehht at half-past eight prayer?, from 9 45 to 1(715 making up hammocks, sweeping dormitories scrubbing. &«•, when fine, garden work ; from 10.45 to 12.15 school, find at 1215 dinner. Play to 1.45, and school until 3.45: then comes washing and making up hammocks for the night. Tea at 5.15, and prayers at 5.45. after which the younger children go to bed. ;i he ■elder children play or read in the school until eight oclcclv, .it which hour they also retire. W jth the exception of rising half an hour earlier, the routine h the same in the summer, the children of course more time in the open air. Mr bopp endna'-ours to encourage a spirit, of emulation amongst the children by allowing each a small plot of ground for their own special cultivation, a privilege much appreciated He also en-1 courages them to keep domestic pets, such as rabbits or pigeons, and ho finds that it fosters in them a liking for animals. As to religious aer-

vices, the master holds a morning and evening service every Sunday, and once a month it is conducted by the Rev. Mr Townshend, of Lyttelton. THE LYTTELTON CASUAL WARD. After leaving the Orphanage, a visit was paid to the casual ward, the Port hospital for such cases of accident (principally to seamen) as happen in lyttelton. The building contains two commodious wards, well wanned and ventilated, with beds for two patients in each; operating room, kitchen, and sleeping_ apartment for the master, who has charge of it. At present the casual ward contains but one patient. Dr. Rouse has had the medical supervision of the place since its erection in 1871, but in cases of accidents, medical men attend to the patients that have been brought in on their recommendation. Prior to the erection of the present build-

ing, temporary premises had been rented, but the inconvenience attending the adaptation of unsuitable buildings for the purposes of a hospital, led to the erection of the present ward. There is a morgue attached to the ward, furnished with all the required appliances for holding postmortem examinations, and for size and convenience is vastly superior to the wretched shed which is used at the Christchurch hospital. A ltogether, the place, though small, is thoroughly creditable to Mr J. Scott, who has had the stewardship of it since its establishment.