Back Issues: A generation of new life at Rostrata Nursing Home

“Rostrata”, as it was simply known, was a perfect example of the private maternity home.

It was established at a time when new opportunities were opening up for women health professionals, and there was an increasing concern for maternal and infant mortality rates.

It survived until the rising medicalisation of childbirth saw public hospitals taking greater control of maternity services.

If you were born at a maternity facility in Palmerston North from 1918 to 1962 chances are it was at Rostrata Nursing Home in Ruahine Street.

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Rostrata was established by Nurse Carter in a house built in the late 1800s. Named after a large red gum tree (eucalyptus rostrata) on the site, it maintained its name over all the years of its use as a private hospital.

In the 19th and early 20th century most women in New Zealand gave birth at home, with few or no facilities for any other option. Home births were usually overseen by lay midwives who had learned ‘’on the job’’.

However, as the 20th century dawned there was increasing Government concerns about high maternal and infant death rates. Alongside other nursing reforms the Government introduced compulsory training and registration of midwives through the Midwives Act of 1904.

It also established the system of St Helens hospitals for training and maternity services in 1905. Women could choose to use these registered midwives in hospitals or at home, with doctors being available if complications arose.

Further to these reforms the Private Hospitals Act of 1906 provided “for the licensing, management, and inspection of private hospitals”. With a clear distinction between a surgical and medical private hospital and a “lying-in” private hospital, the required resident manager could be either a legally qualified medical practitioner or a registered midwife.

Suddenly there were opportunities for qualified women to run their own business and take responsibility for delivering babies without the supervision of a medical practitioner.

It was in this environment that Carter, “certified midwifery nurse”, established and advertised her new business in Palmerston North in 1919.

At the time most babies in New Zealand were born at home, with about 65% of births taking place there or in 1-2 bed homes. However, the 26% of births that took place in private hospitals meant that private maternity homes were viable, and it appeared that a growing number of women were seeking to be attended to in a maternity facility.

During 1919–1920 Carter advertised on what appears to be a weekly basis in the Manawatū Standard. Perhaps this was to aid of drawing clientele in its early days.

From 1920 the advertisements seem to have run their course but Rostrata had not. Probably at this stage, word of mouth may have sufficed in encouraging women to use its services.

Certainly it increased its capacity over the years to 20 beds suggesting that it was a popular location for childbirth.

Rostrata operated similarly to any hospital albeit being almost entirely staffed by women on a daily basis. Registered nurses were supplemented with nurse aides.

Nurse aiding at maternity hospitals was an attractive option for many young women straight out of school, some of whom saw it as good preparation for marriage and a family of their own.

Staff often ‘’lived in’’ if accommodation was available and it was desirable for those who came from a distance and were required to work shifts, including nights, on a rostered basis.

Everyone knew Rostrata. With the newspapers being the main form of communication, during its heyday it is interesting to see frequent notices published in the Manawatū Standard for the whereabouts of lost items, many, like a ‘’floral nightdress’’, listed as being lost in the vicinity of ‘’Rostrata, no address required’’.

The small size of the hospital and the requirement for mothers to stay for a specified period of time provided a homely and less structured atmosphere than a large hospital, something that proved attractive for both staff and mothers.

Home cooking was the norm, with the hospital advertising for a “good, plain cook” in 1928. The photographs available of life at Rostrata over the years suggest the camaraderie among the staff and mothers.

However, by the 1930s further changes in maternity services were afoot and not as advantageous for the small private hospitals.

Increasing public concern for the health of mothers and babies, and awareness of the discomfort and potential danger of childbirth, and greater regulation of midwifery and maternity trained nurses, meant some small private hospitals were no longer as viable as they had been.

In 1939 the Social Security Act provided for free childbirth facilities in State or hospital board hospitals. Private hospitals or maternity homes could only claim a partial allowance so had to charge a fee on top.

As well there was a greater call for strengthened medical intervention in childbirth which contributed to greater control being exerted by public hospitals.

A further factor in the decline of the private maternity home was that the generation of nurses who had established these private hospitals were getting older and retiring, and the new cohort of nurses appeared less inclined to run their own business.

While Rostrata as a larger private hospital had been able to withstand the demands made by reforms, by increasing its number of beds and relying on its good reputation, it too was impacted.

Women were increasingly choosing the public hospital option for its free service and their ability to readily provide caesarean sections, pain relief and better sterile environments, all seen as necessary in a modern maternity service.

In 1949 on the retirement of the then owner, Mrs Dujany, Rostrata’s lease was sold to the Palmerston North Hospital Board, perhaps for lack of other buyers.

The Manawatū Standard reported that it had been “for many years one of the leading private institutions of its kind in Palmerston North” and that the Hospital Board was “entering into a short term lease … as an emergency measure until such time as its proposed new maternity facilities are completed”. (March 1, 1949).

This possibly signalled that the writing was on the wall, and it was just a matter of time until complete closure.

With the opening of Palmerston North Public Hospital’s new 40-bed maternity section Rostrata was no longer required and closed in March 1962. While earlier numbers are unavailable, during its 13 years under the Hospital Board it recorded 6119 patients and 5230 births.

By then Rostrata consisted of two single storied houses joined by annexes and many out-buildings which rambled across its one-acre site on the corner of Ruahine and Ferguson streets. Bought and converted into flats it was finally demolished in June 1973, 50 years ago.

For many however it remains a memory, especially for those researching their family history who come across ‘’born at Rostrata’’ in the birth notice.

Lesley Courtney is an archivist and local history advocate.