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A Sanatorium With Sights and Sun
Te Waikato Sanatorium housed tuberculosis patients from 1903-1922.
In 2024, Our Health Journeys partnered with Saint Kentigern College in Auckland and challenged a number of students to conduct research into an aspect of the medical history of Aotearoa New Zealand. The students, ranging from Years 8-13, produced their research in written, oral, or video format and the top projects were chosen for publication to Our Health Journeys. A new project was published weekly following the completion of the project, until late October 2024.
In 1900, tuberculosis (TB), also known as the white plague, was the most common cause of death in New Zealand with around 650 annual deaths. It was a worldwide problem. It occurred mostly in young people aged 18-24. TB spread very quickly in cities, lower sociographic areas or any overcrowded place.
TB is a contagious bacterial disease which mainly affects the lungs, and is transmitted through the air, by sneezing, coughing or spitting. TB can cause extensive lung damage leading to oxygen deprivation, decrease in appetite and anaemia. Microbes can spread from the lungs to the skeleton, resulting in sore muscles, back pain and difficulty moving. The most common symptoms of TB are a hacking, bloody cough, weight loss and ashen skin. These symptoms fed the myth of vampirism in New England. It was difficult to slow the spread of TB because 90% of people with it did not show symptoms.
When the Department of Public Health was established in 1900, reducing the number of TB associated deaths was one of their priorities. Sanatoriums were used in the late 1800s and early 1900s, where, in the hope of recovery or cure, infected people were given fresh air, exercise, and good nutrition.
In 1903 the Department of Public Health converted a 25-bedroom family mansion into a sanatorium. It was situated at the top of Maungakawa hill, which is near Cambridge in the Waikato, and owned by the Thornton family. The mansion was bought for £4,000 which is about £609,520 in today’s money ($1,266,664NZD). The home was available because shortly after it was built the Thorntons had to relocate to Russia for work purposes. This was the first TB sanatorium in New Zealand, and it was called Te Waikato Sanatorium.
Upon opening, the department was flooded with applications, but they could only have 30 patients at the time. Eventually they made room for 60 patients. The limit of the treatment was six months. The ones who were fit worked on farmland or tended to beehives, as well as making a small workshop for themselves.
The site closed in 1922 mainly because it was expensive to run, and by then the buildings were run down. Twenty years after it shut down, the antibiotics that could treat TB were discovered and made a significant impact. However, in some parts of the world the treatment is still difficult to access due to poverty or distance from good medical care.
