Matamata Country Lodge centenary: From maternity hospital to old people’s home

Radius Matamata Country Lodge not only marked its centenary this week, but one could say it was also a celebration of having come full circle: The facility started as a maternity hospital but has since been converted into an aged care facility.

From its opening as Matamata Maternity Hospital in 1924 until its conversion to the aged care facility Radius Matamata Country Lodge in 1990, the hospital delivered 15,000 babies.

Many of the lodge’s roughly 120 residents remember the facility’s early days – some of them have now even come full circle themselves.

One of them is 95-year-old Maureen Massey, who gave birth to her daughters, Wendy and Lynette, at the hospital.

“I was born in Auckland but my mother gave birth to my brother here [at Matamata Maternity Hospital],” she told the Waikato Herald.

“We came to Matamata when I was 9 years old and my dad had a garage here just before the war.”

Massey said when she gave birth to Wendy and Lynette, males weren’t allowed to be present during delivery or be in the room with the baby after. The babies would be kept in the nursery rooms unless they were being fed.

She said after giving birth, patients had to stay in the hospital for a fortnight, which she enjoyed.

“You wouldn’t have to do anything. You wouldn’t have to cook or wash clothes, you were… helped all the time. It was like having a holiday.”

Massey formed long-lasting friendships with other young mothers who gave birth at the lodge at the same time. One incident that she would always remember involved a young father.

“One young man had been out celebrating that he had a baby with his mates, and he came to the hospital smelling strongly of beer. The matron wouldn’t let him in because he was a bit tipsy, so she made him sit outside,” Massey said.

“To this day, I can still see him sitting out there on the steps, waiting until he sobered up so he could go and see his baby. He was out there a few hours.”

Another resident who has truly come full circle is Ann Stokes.

She was born at the facility in 1936 and later gave birth there to her two daughters, Susan and Janine.

Stokes remembers the day she arrived at the hospital, March 17, 1965, Susan’s due date. However, Stokes wasn’t even in labour then.

“I had to come up on the 17th anyway and the [doctors] tried [inducing labour] but nothing worked. The [staff even] said, ‘Tell your husband to take you for a bumpy ride’.

“[My husband] Laurie was a driving instructor… and he used to drive past [the hospital] where we used to sit out the front.

“[When inducing labour didn’t work] the staff told him that if anything happens, they’ll put out a red flag and he’ll know what’s going on.”

When Susan finally arrived – fittingly on April 9, the facility’s anniversary – Laurie wasn’t notified by a waving flag, but instead via a doctor’s call.

“He had to look through the [nursery] window because he couldn’t come into the room. He was so happy because we didn’t have ultrasounds then so [the gender] was a surprise.”

After the hospital was transformed into an aged care facility, Ann moved in together with Laurie, who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and needed care.

“Laurie was starting to fall [a lot] and I had to call the ambulance to pick him up. I knew I needed to be sensible.

“I knew the manager at the time who said some people with a sick partner can get a chalet [on site].”

Ann has been a Matamata Country Lodge resident for 14 years now and is strongly involved in the facility’s community.

“Six months ago we set up a knitting group… We go down [to one of the rooms on site] and make cups of tea, play board games, and knit together.

“It’s nice to have a place where we can go and meet up… I’m really happy here… I’ve never been lonely.”

Another resident with a close connection to the facility is Jock Warrender, 85.

He and his brother Rodney, who is not a resident, were the first set of twins born at the hospital.

Despite being twins, born only 10 minutes apart, they were born on different days.

Jock, the first-born, said it was special to celebrate the lodge’s anniversary. He had a special visitor on the day the Waikato Herald visited: his daughter Bronwyn, who was also born at the hospital.

The lodge put on an event to mark the centenary, including a small exhibition with old photos of the facility and stories from residents who had connections to the hospital.

Facility manager Darrell Shaw said those tales were fascinating.

“It’s nice hearing all the stories from residents and former staff and reliving all of the history. These people have amazing backstories.

“The thing about this place is that it’s big enough to not see everyone all the time, but small enough that we know everybody around. It’s like a boutique level of care where everything is focused on the residents, which is so rewarding.”

The centennial celebration event was attended by about 40 people including former nurses, midwives, current rest home residents, and Matamata-Piako Mayor Adrienne Wilcock who, 36 years ago, gave birth to her first child there.

“The property had fruit trees… out the back. I remember the smell of feijoas and Weetbix [which] we would have for breakfast.”

Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.

Stay up to date with the Waikato Herald

Get the latest Waikato headlines straight to your inbox Monday to Saturday. Register for free today – click here and choose Local News.