RATANA VILLAGE

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21204, 29 August 1940, Page 2

RATANA VILLAGE

UNHEALTHY ENVIRONMENT CORONER’S ALLEGATIONS (By Telegraph.—Special to Times) WANGANUI, Wednesday “Conditions under which the natives at Ratana Pa are living are nothing short of tragic, and housing and sanitary conditions are a disgrace to those in charge of native ' affairs, said the coroner at Wanganui, Mr Sicely, who is also a member j

of the Wanganui Hospital Board. These charges were the subject of' comment later by the Minister of Health, the Hon. H. T. Armstrong, who said Cabinet had discussed Maori housing and sanitation, and i was taking action. . f Mr Siceiy recently had to investi- j gate the death of an infant at Ra- i tana. He found that’ a family of nine ‘ was living in a one-roomed. draughty j shack about 20ft. by 12ft.. a mother, father and seven children. The sleeping accommodation, he j said, comprised two double beds and j a couch, upon which the sick mother j was lying-in after the birth of a still- | bom child. A corrugated iron ehim- < ney and open fireplace supplied the j cooking conveniences, and meat and j other eatables lay open upon the | shelves, while meals for the family j were spread upon the floor. “There is no sanitary system in the

village," said Mr Sicely. “Stagnar green, slimy water may be seen i cesspools along the sides of the lane between the houses. The \vhol condition of the Maoris demands im mediate attention and assistance.