The foundation stone for the new hospital was laid on 27 January 1922 Mr. Fraser, Chair of the Taranaki Hospital Board. The building was designed by the Hospital Board's architect, H. V. S. (Victor) Griffiths of the New Plymouth firm, Messenger, Griffiths and Taylor.
It was originally planned to have a 3-bed maternity ward and 2 single emergency beds but the Health Department would not allow the combined facility so it became a maternity hospital only.
A number of additions to the building have been made over the years.(See ARC2004.1313 Puke Ariki collection)
The hospital closed in the 1980s and was then converted to the Cottage Rest Home. The building appears in the Opunake Heritage Inventory (2003).
Further Reading: Mickelson, Kate: The Clearing; A History of Opunake, 1989, pp 53-56
Alterations & Additions to Opunake Hospital for the Taranaki Hospital Board [plans]
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