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Part of Queen Mary Hospital Site Retained in Public Hands.

Five years ago the Canterbury District Health Board deemed Queen Mary Hospital, Hanmer Springs, surplus to its requirements and put it up for sale.

Many people in New Zealand knew Queen Mary as “the place where alcoholics go to dry out”. Few were aware of the historic and scenic values of Queen Mary’s buildings and gardens.

Local people in Hanmer Springs resisted the sale and worked to keep the site in public hands. The Historic Places Trust designated the northern part of the site an Historic Area.

At the Christchurch Heritage week opening function on October 17th 2008 the Prime Minister Helen Clark announced that the northern six hectares of the fifteen hectare site would be passed from the Canterbury District Health Board to the Department of Conservation, whence it would be invested in the Hurunui District Council as an historic and recreational reserve. This now ensures that the most important historic buildings, the Soldiers’ Block, Chisholm Ward and the Nurses’ Home will be retained along with the surrounding gardens which contain many beautiful mature trees and shrubs.

The Soldiers’ Block was built in 1916 and many returned servicemen came there to recuperate from shellshock and other injuries. Built to a design which incorporated two hexagonal wards separated by a large recreation room it is the only one of its kind left in situ in this country. Once the beds were moved to Rutherford Ward it was used for occupational therapy and later the Taha Maori Programme. It is still in relatively good condition, and future uses could include a museum, a cinema and an arts centre among many other proposals.

Chisholm Ward was built in 1926 to accommodate women patients suffering from arthritis, tuberculosis and functional nervous disorders.  Facing north with a welcoming aspect and deep verandas it is the prettiest of the three buildings, but unfortunately has not been used consistently for at least ten years and is therefore in need of quite extensive restoration. It would make a welcome addition to the Thermal Pools as an extension of spa therapies, and could also be used as a Health and Wellbeing centre to give education and hope to people with chronic disease.

Many in the Hanmer Springs community would like to see the tranquil healing environment of the village used to good effect, so that the little town becomes known once again for its healthgiving and restorative properties.

The Nurses’ Home was built in 1927. It is a two storey building which will need extensive earthquake proofing before being put to further use.  Government has given the Hurunui District Council a sum of $1.5 million to help with this.

The only other major building on the site is the Rutherford Ward which was built in 1940 to an Art Deco design. This is not included in the northern six hectares and so will pass into the hands of Ngai Tahu Property Trust which is buying the southern part of the site from the DHB. It is not known what will become of this solid concrete building, but it is suspected that it will be destroyed.

The gardens in the northern part will be preserved as a public park, thus providing an added peaceful amenity in the centre of Hanmer Springs for residents and tourists to enjoy in all seasons.

The Queen Mary Reserve Trust, which was set up to try and preserve the land for the public has been hosting informative walks around the hospital grounds every Sunday for the last five years.  Hundreds of people have attended these walks and all have been amazed at the beauty and spaciousness hiding behind the trees along Hanmer’s oak tree avenue.

Dr Robert Crawford, former Medical Superintendent of Queen May Hospital Hanmer Springs led a guided tour on the 15th February 2008 of the hospital site exclusively for Historic Places Trust Members. The tour mainly took place in the extensive and beautiful gardens that surround the hospital buildings, with commentary on the age and uses of the different wards throughout the last century. Permission was sought and given to enter the Soldiers' Block.

17th October 2008

The Queen Mary Reserve Trust welcomes the decision made by the Government to vest the Northern 6 hectares of the former Queen Mary Hospital land with the Hurunui District Council. ”We have spent the last five years striving to ensure that at least some of the Queen Mary land would be available to the public, and the Hurunui District Council has been most helpful in this” said Dr Robert Crawford, chairman of the trust and former medical superintendent of the hospital. “We welcome the opportunity to move forward positively and participate in what is being developed”.

Community involvement will be important in determining the future use of the historic buildings and garden. “The advantage to the community is huge and will become more apparent as time goes on” said Rosemary Ensor, Hanmer Springs Community Board chairman.

The Trust meanwhile will continue its free guided walks around the grounds at 12 noon each Sunday, and these could be a good forum for community discussion and creative ideas.

The Trust meets monthly and is working with the Hurunui District Council to formulate the best plan of action with regards to work, development and direction for the vested 6 hectares. If you have any ideas, concerns or objections then please contact us; see the contacts page for more information.

The Historic Places Trust has been active in examining the site and buildings and has declared the northern part of the site which includes the Soldiers’ Block, Chisholm Ward and the Nurses’ Home an Historic Area. This should give it maximum protection in that the landscape values and outer aspect of the buildings are required to be left unchanged. However it is well known that over zealous developers have their own ways of circumventing these designations, so we are grateful that the Hurunui District Council has to a large extent been so supportive of our efforts to retain the site in public hands, using the $3.4M funding to secure the northern 6 hectares of the Hospital Grounds.