THE NEW HOSPITAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5525, 11 December 1878, Page 2

THE NEW HOSPITAL.

b Few people, we imagine, have any conception of the progress which has been made with the work of erecting the new hospital. The whole of the brickwork is pretty well finished, and the plastering is being pushed on vigorously, but the contractors have had a great deal of difficulty to contend with in this matter, owing to the great scarcity of plasterers. Hitherto, strange as it may appear to those residing outside the provincial district, little or no plasterers’ work has been done in Wellington, and therefore when work of that class is undertaken on so large a scale as is the case in the building under notice, labor has to be imported from the other colonies, principally from Victoria. Of course, as heretofore, with the probability of scarcity of employment, it has been difficult to get artizana to come to Wellington for a single job, but as building in brick is likely to become the rule rather than the exception in the principal streets of the city in future this difficulty will.not trouble contractors. However, Messrs. Barry, McDowell, and Co. have managed to get very forward notwithstanding the difficulties in their way. The whole of the outside of the building has been cemented except the portico and a few of the back buildings, and inside also a great deal has been done, the large corridor, the resident surgeon's quarters, the waiting rooms, and some of the wards having been completed. The work seems to have been thoroughly well done, with mouldings and cornices, window sills and skirtings in a very fine cement known as Keene’s cement, which in appearance is almost equal to marble. The floors have yet to be laid and a variety of timber fittings to be fixed, but sufficient is done to enable the general observer to gain an insight into the plan of the building and the accommodation it will afford. In every respect it is so entirely different to the class of buildings, public and private, in Wellington, that the visitor is apt to forget that he is in a land of earthquakes. All around is brick, stone, and cement. Massiveness and solidity (comparatively of course), are the reigning features. The main corridor for instance is 300 ft. long, 12ft. 4in. wide, and 18ft. high ; and the smaller corridors are of about half the dimensions ; while the four principal wards are 90ft. by 24ft. each, with a pitch of 20ft. Besides these there are the private patients’ wards and the resident surgeon’s quarters, all of large size. At the rear there are a very large kitchen, fitted with a nine feet range (in addition to the small kitchen complete with ranges, &c., to each of the four principal wards), scullerye, baths (plunge, shower, and vapor), and a variety of other offices incidental to hospitals. Altogether apart from and some distance away from the main building, are situate the fever wards, the laundry, storeroom, fumigating-room, &c., all of cemented brick. There are to be three large exercise and recreation yards, partially covered in by verandahs, and all thoroughly protected from the winds, the walks in which are to be cemented and thus always kept dry, while the centres are to be laid out as flower gardens. On the whole, the new hospital will be an institution on which the citizens of Wellington may reasonably pride themselves, and will, it is to be hoped, be the precursor of many such substantial buildings, to take the place of those now in existence. The contract price, exclusive of the cost of foundations and of bricks, is £26,000, and no doubt the estimated actual expenditure of £30,000 will be fully reached. As is pretty well known, Mr. Toxward is the architect.

An article on the new building could not be complete unless some notice were taken of the work of brickmaking. This has been done almost entirely by convict labor, only a few free hands having been employed. Although there is not to hand any account of the financial result of the experiment, from a cursory inspection one would be led to think it had been very successful. During the past eighteen months, or two years say, these men have turned out at least four million bricks of the best possible quality. Better could not be wished for, and the cost to the hospital trustees cannot be much more than one-third the market price —£l a thousand, instead of £3. They are well made, well burnt, hard and flinty as rook, and thoroughly free from porousness; the only defect, if it may be called such, being that they are rather smaller than the ordinary market brick. A machine was imported from America, and its moulds were rather smaller than were expected. However, this machine has been n great success. It has worked smoothly from the time it was first put together, and turns out a very large quantity daily, The process seems very simple yet very complete. The clay as excavated is shovelled into a hopper, 2ft. or 3ft. deep, and when it falls to the bottom is worked through a wooden trough sor 6ft. in length laterally. Inside this there is a shaft fitted with knives by means of which the clay is thoroughly “teased,” “puddled,” and pressed, and is then forced into cavities in a large wheel. This revolves, and on a certain point being reached the moulded brick is shot out ready for the kiln. The kiln, too, is of a character that rather astonishes the natives. It is a large circular affair divided into compartments, and is everlastingly burning, The fire starts at one compartment, and works its way round gradually, the result being that before a revolution is completed the bricks in the first compartment have cooled, have been carted away, and the space refilled by unburnt ones. The process is most interesting and thoroughly efficient. It is known, we believe as Hobbs’ patent. Connecting the hospital building and the brick kiln is an endless tramway, by means of which full trucks are continually taking down bricks on one side and the “ empties " are returning on the other side. AU the bricks required for the building itself have. been manufactured, but a few are now being made, to be kept in stock. What it is intended to do with the machinery hereafter is not known, but in view of the many brick buildings now in course of erection, and likely to bo in the immediate future, the plant and the site of the clay bed should be very valuable.