Ewart Hospital Nurses' Home (Former)

Parkview Clinic, Pt Ewart Hospital Administration Building

2 Coromandel Street, Newtown, Wellington
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Photo: Charles Collins, 2015

Photo: WCC - Charles Collins, 2015

City View 2012
City View 2012
WCC Archives ref 00056_98_B9075
WCC Archives ref 00056_98_B9075
1929 Plans for Additions and alterations to the Ewart Hospital and Nurses Home (WCC Archives reference 00056: 98: B9075)
1929 Plans for Additions and alterations to the Ewart Hospital and Nurses Home (WCC Archives reference 00056: 98: B9075)
Map

  • Constructed

    1910 - 1910

  • Architect(s)

    Crichton and McKay

  • Builder(s)

    Hunt & McDonald

  • The former Nurses’ Home is a good representative example of an Arts and Crafts ‘house’ that was purpose-designed as the administration block and nurses’ home for Wellington Hospital’s fever ward. The building has retained many of its original internal and external features and these include joinery, stained glass windows and fire-surrounds.   

    This building has historic value through its association with the history of abortion services and the medical profession in New Zealand.

    This building is associated with architectural firm Crichton and McKay, a well known architectural practice in Wellington that designed many of the buildings for the Wellington Hospital Board.

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  • close History
    • The building that is now known as the Parkview Clinic has had a long history with the Wellington hospital since its construction in 1909. Originally this building was used as a home for the nurses who worked in the nearby Ewart Fever Hospital, and later became Wellington’s abortion clinic. 

      As a part of Wellington Hospital’s response to the threat of infectious diseases, a new fever hospital was commissioned in 1909. Architects Crichton and McKay designed the building and builders Hunt and McDonald constructed it. Sited away from the main hospital at the end of Coromandel Street, the Nurses’ Home was completed in 1910 along with the Fever Hospital at opposite ends of the same site. The Nurses’ Home was built in the same Arts and Crafts style as the Fever hospital.

      The 1910 Ewart Hospital was converted to a tuberculosis ward in c.1920, when the fever ward moved to a new building on Alexandra road. The 1910 Ewart Hospital was later demolished to make way for the Ewart Geriatric Hospital, and the c.1920 former fever ward (WCC ref 06/09) is currently undergoing works to convert the building into an SPCA animal shelter.

      Although the nurses’ home at the fever hospital was much smaller than the home for the Wellington Public Hospital Nurses, it possessed comfortable conditions for the nurses, with ample daylight and ventilation, and their own dining room. The Nurses’ Home had separate men’s quarters with its own entrance. It also possessed its own facilities for disinfecting staff, “they [nurses] pass through three rooms, the centre one a bathroom, and change their clothing before entering their home after being on duty. They can then go out without risk of carrying infection.” The building was altered in c.1930 and works included the addition of a large single storey ‘L’ shaped wing to the north to accommodate a further 14 bedrooms.

      The nurses’ home remained in use for many decades, but with the closure of the Alexandra Road fever ward, and the demolition of the Ewart hospital, the nurses’ home became little used.  

      In the following period, the nurses’ home was not used until 1980 when the building was occupied by Wellington’s abortion clinic and was renamed the Parkview Clinic. The passing of the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act in 1977 made access to abortions for New Zealand women more available and the Wellington Hospital dedicated a stand alone facility to provide the services. This was a contentious issue for New Zealanders to deal with. Abortion was outlawed under English Law from the 1840s but by the 1960s attitudes were shifting, particularly as birth rates were high, birth control was easily accessible, and beliefs about sex and mothering were changing. The Act was also a response to the setting up of the Auckland Medical Aid Centre in 1974, which provided abortions in the first trimester. Opposition was fierce and repeated attempts were made to restrict abortion, including the Hospitals Amendment Act of 1975 limiting abortions to licensed hospitals, and Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act which made getting an abortion more difficult but more widely available.

      The Parkview Clinic in Wellington was one of the sites of continued conflict over abortion; the road outside the Clinic was a site of regular protest. In the picture below, seven anti abortion protestors remain outside of Parkview after those for and against had a conflict in which 16 people were arrested. The clinic remained a site for protests through the 1980s and 1990s, including a bomb threat in 1998. Despite the constant pressure of protesters, the clinic retained this use until the unit was transferred to the new Wellington Regional Hospital. The building is now vacant.
    • Modifications close
      • 1910
      • Building Construction (00053:155:8583)
      • 1930
      • Additions (00056:98:B9075) ‘L’ shaped bedroom wing to the north of the building
      • 2009
      • Structural Strengthening to nurses home (00078:3344:197892)
    • Occupation History close
      • 1910
      • Wellington Hospital Board
      • 2001
      • Capital and Coast District Health Board
  • close Architectural Information
    • Building Classification(s) close

      Not assessed

    • Architecture close
      The former Nurses’ home is an Arts and Crafts style, two-storey building with two prominent gables facing east and onto the street. The gables correspond with two open loggias at ground floor level, each with an entrance door, while the casement windows are arranged in groups of two and three to give a slightly asymmetrical composition. The original room disposition was matron and doctor’s rooms on the ground floor, with dispensary, kitchen, and nurses dining room; the first floor had 15 bedrooms, two of the with separate access for men. It was extended in c.1930 with the addition of a large, ‘L’ shaped wing to the north that housed a further 15 bedrooms and additional sanitary facilities. The construction is cavity brickwork finished with a heavily textured stucco plaster and resting on concrete foundations, with breeze concrete partition walls, timber floors, and timber framed roof. The roof sheathing is
    • Materials close
      Brick

      Concrete

      Timber

      Tile

      Plaster
    • Setting close
       The former Nurses’ home is situated across from the Ewart hospital buildings at the far northern end of Coromandel Street and against the open space of the Town Belt. It has an imposing presence as it is on rising ground. It is partially obscured by trees and hedges so cannot be easily seen from most viewpoints.
  • close Cultural Value
    The former Nurses’ Home is a good representative example of an Arts and Crafts ‘house’ that was purpose-designed as the administration block and nurses’ home for Wellington Hospital’s fever ward. The building has retained many of its original internal and external features and these include joinery, stained glass windows and fire-surrounds.  

    This building has historic value through its association with the history of abortion services and the medical profession in New Zealand.

    This building is associated with architectural firm Crichton and McKay, a well known architectural practice in Wellington that designed many of the buildings for the Wellington Hospital Board.
    • Aesthetic Value close

      • Architectural

        Does the item have architectural or artistic value for characteristics that may include its design, style, era, form, scale, materials, colour, texture, patina of age, quality of space, craftsmanship, smells, and sounds?

        The former Nurses’ Home is a good representative example of an Arts and Crafts ‘house’ that was purpose-designed as the administration block and nurses’ home for Wellington Hospital’s fever ward. The building has retained many of its original internal and external features and these include joinery, stained glass windows and fire-surrounds.

      • Group

        Is the item part of a group of buildings, structures, or sites that taken together have coherence because of their age, history, style, scale, materials, or use?

        The building is one of a group of Arts and Crafts style buildings located within the grounds of Wellington Hospital and designed for use as isolation wards for ‘fever’ and tuberculosis patients. This building and the nearby fever hospital (now the SPCA) are the last Crichton and McKay designed hospital buildings remaining in Wellington.

    • Historic Value close

      • Association

        Is the item associated with an important person, group, or organisation?

        This building is associated with architectural firm Crichton and McKay, a well known architectural practice in Wellington that designed many of the buildings for the Wellington Hospital Board.

      • Association

        Is the item associated with an important historic event, theme, pattern, phase, or activity?

        This building has historic value through its association with the history of abortion services in New Zealand.

    • Scientific Value close

      • Technological

        Does the item have technological value for its innovative or important construction methods or use of materials?

        This building has technical value in its construction, particularly in the cavity brick that is its main structural material.

    • Social Value close

      • Public Esteem

        Is the item held in high public esteem?

        This building is well known to the public for its history as an abortion clinic. It was the site of many protests, demonstrations, and conflicts between those who were for and against abortion. 

    • Level of Cultural Heritage Significance close

      • Importance

        Is the item important for any of the above characteristics at a local, regional, national, or international level?

        This building is important at a local level due to its association with the history of abortion services in New Zealand.

    • Local / Regional / National / International Importance close

      Not assessed

  • close Site Detail

    • District Plan Number

      6/59

    • Legal Description

      Lot 2 DP 316127

    • Heritage New Zealand Listed

      2/Historic Place 5375

    • Archaeological Site

      Risk Unknown

    • Current Uses

      unknown

    • Former Uses

      unknown

    • Has building been funded

      No

    • Funding Amount

      Not applicable

    • Earthquake Prone Status

      124 Notice

  • close Additional Information

Last updated: 4/20/2017 3:46:18 AM