Trinity Home & Hospital - Trinity Home & Hospital 61 Puriri Street

History

Trinity Home and Hospital began life as a stately family home, owned and built by the Powdrell family. Walter Dutton Powdrell was a wealthy, successful dairy farmer at Otakeho and also a Member of Parliament from 1919-1921 for the then Patea Electorate. The family moved to Hawera and built their magnificent home on the block of land now occupied by Trinity Home and Hospital. The house was built between 1909 and 1911 at a cost of approximately 2,500 pounds. In 1947, the property was bought by St. Joseph’s Parish, Hawera.

During the 2nd World War, Polish refugee children arrived in New Zealand to a camp in Pahiatua. When this camp was closed in 1949 the boys, aged from 9 to 14 years, were sent to the Parish Hostel in Puriri Street and the former Powdrell house became known as the Polish Boys’ Home.

In 1956, the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary were invited to Hawera at the request of Cardinal McKeefry and encouraged by Monsignor Cullen who suggested that the Boys Home and Hostel be used as the foundation for a hospital. The dormitories where the boys lived were later converted into a Convent and Chapel for the Sisters. The foundation Sisters who first came to Hawera to establish Calvary Hospital were Sisters Cecilia (Cecilia Caspers), Pranedes (Mary Quiltenden), Majella (O’Brien) and Matthew (Kelly) with Mother Baptist Fogarty and Mother Superior Benedicta King.

Calvary Hospital was initially a 13 bed geriatric facility until 1963 when the Mary Potter Wing was added, increasing bed numbers to 32. Over the years buildings and services have been added and altered. At different stages Calvary Hospital offered care for surgical and psychiatric residents, an operating theatre and x-ray facilities. Now, however due to changing health needs and regulations, these services are no longer provided.

The Little Company of Mary with the assistance of the Lions Club of South Taranaki and the people of Hawera, erected seven residential flats adjoining Calvary Hospital in 1979, known as the Calvary-Lions Flats. In 2001 another two flats were added to this complex.
In 1990 the Chapel, Convent and original Hospital were moved off the site and a new purpose built 29 bed Rest Home was erected and officially opened on 17 March 1991 by Bishop Owen Dolan.

1999 saw the addition of another nine rooms and in 2005 during another major refurbishment; a further nine rooms, including the Mildred Walker suite, were added to the hospital wing.

In 1998 the Little Company of Mary made the decision to cease owning a facility in Hawera and in September 1999 sold Calvary Hospital to Trinity Home and Hospital Limited.

Trinity Home and Hospital built a new Cullen Dementia care wing in 2009. It is the first such facility in the Hawera area, providing needed services for dementia care in our community.