For more than three decades, Golden Bay residents pressed for a public cottage hospital in Tākaka, facing repeated setbacks before their persistence was finally rewarded in 1942.
The issue was first raised at the formation meeting of the Tākaka Progressive Society in May 1911, when the need for a local public hospital was discussed.
In March 1913, William Baird, county clerk of Tākaka, wrote to the Nelson Hospital Charitable Aid Board requesting the establishment of a public cottage hospital. The board considered the proposal too costly to establish and maintain, instead suggesting the appointment of a paid district nurse who would be provided with a cottage containing one or two beds for use in cases of accident or illness.
The Health Department agreed with that approach but postponed further discussion to a later date.
By July 1914, it was agreed that a district nurse would be provided for the region, working from a private residence. Nurse Edmondson served the district for several years before relocating in September 1920, after which the house reverted to a residential property. Once again, calls for a purpose-built public cottage hospital surfaced.
Eleven years after the first submission, the Tākaka County Council made another application to the hospital board. After robust discussion, the board chairman asked the council to frame a detailed proposal covering capital expenditure, a site, and what financial contribution it was prepared to make. The board indicated it would establish the hospital if the council could fund 25% of the capital costs of purchasing and equipping it, but the proposal did not progress.
In August 1930, Dr Bydder transferred from Collingwood to Tākaka, established a private hospital and requested that the board subsidise a nurse. This was approved, but withdrawn within a year as the hospital board moved to economise. Leaders and residents of Golden Bay reacted with anger, lodging a complaint over what they described as ‘outrageous treatment’.
Another five years passed before the board again discussed the idea of a cottage hospital for Tākaka. Still, no progress was made. Instead, the board made it clear the community would need to find its own solution. This was particularly frustrating given the district had been promised a bequest of £1158 from Isabella Scott, earmarked for a cottage hospital, but still required assistance from the board.
A public meeting attended by several hundred people was held in Tākaka to advance the cause. After four hours of discussion, a ballot was taken, with 179 votes in favour of a cottage hospital and 98 against. Many attendees did not vote at all.
Dr Bydder, who ran the private hospital, was angered by the result, believing the proposal was being used as a lever for personal grievances and mudslinging against him. The community split into opposing camps, with one side arguing the private hospital was sufficient, while the other pointed out that not everyone could afford its services.
In early 1939, the Nelson Hospital Board finally took concrete steps, acquiring a site at the junction of the East and West roads. Two acres were purchased from E. Baigent, an architect was engaged to draw up plans and tenders were called.
In September 1940, the contract was awarded to C. J. Strawbridge and Son for £5640.
After 31 years of determined lobbying, the long-awaited cottage hospital opened on 1 December 1942. The new building included two two-bed wards, two single-bed wards, a nursery, maternity room, sterilising room, bathroom, staff bedrooms, a sitting room, office, kitchen and drying room.
