Silverstream Hospital
Silverstream Hospital provided the main hospital services for marines and other U.S. personnel stationed in the lower half of the North Island. The 1,600-bed hospital, initially referred to as U.S. Navy Mobile Hospital Number 6 was later upgraded to U.S. Navy Base Hospital Number 4. With 20,000 patients using Silverstream over the 21 months it operated, many of the marines in the Kapiti camps would have been intimately familiar with it. [1]
Construction
Silverstream was initially planned as a facility for the New Zealand Army. It was to be one of three “convalescent depots” attached to the main mobilisation camps (Papakura, Burnham, and Trentham), with a focus on rehabilitation to get sick and injured soldiers fit for the war in Europe.
Construction work began in September 1941. However, three months later, Japan attacked Pearl Harbour and started quickly sweeping through Asia and the Pacific. By February 1942, Singapore had fallen, General MacArthur had pulled out of the Philippines, and the Japanese had reached Indonesia and the Solomons and even bombed Darwin in Australia. In mid-March, the Allies decided that the United States would have responsibility for the war in the Pacific, with New Zealand being the base for their operations in the South Pacific.
The Silverstream facility was almost completed when, in May 1942, a decision was made to use it as a convalescent hospital run by the U.S. Navy. The planned 400-bed facility was increased to 1,200 beds, with floor-space expanding from 65,000 to 143,000 square-feet and more specialised medical services such as a surgical theatre being built. Later pressure on the hospital saw it extended to incorporate 1,600 beds, with further facilities being built at the nearby Trentham Racecourse.
Patients
In addition to the normal hospital requirements, there were two broad categories of patients: those wounded in battle and those with tropical and other diseases.
The first major casualties (109) arrived on September 8, 1942. They were mainly from battles in Guadalcanal and the Solomons. Initially they arrived into Auckland by hospital ship and travelled to Wellington on a special hospital train. Most had compound fractures from bomb explosions, and many had chest injuries and soft tissue wounds. [2]
Casualties were already well down the treatment pipeline, so, only one died in the hospital’s first six months. Their treatment usually begun on the front-line, with Navy Corpsmen giving morphine to prevent shock, applying sulpha powder to wounds, and using bandages to stop bleeding. They would then be stretchered back to relative safety, stabilised and better diagnosed before being taken to medical facilities further from the front line. Those arriving in New Zealand were expected to have a high chance of returning to combat duties. Casualties with long or limited chances of full recovery were sent back to the United States. [3]
The greatest pressure on hospital beds came from tropical diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and typhoid. Eight out of nine soldiers admitted to hospitals in Guadalcanal were there for the treatment of disease rather than wounds. [4] By the time they arrived back in New Zealand, most marines had the disease – one estimate was that 63% of the 2nd Marine Division had malaria symptoms within 20 weeks of leaving Guadalcanal. This further impacted on medical services because many patients had relapses. A count made on March 7, 1943 showed 76% of Silverstream patients had malaria. [5]
Staff
Administration of Silverstream was almost entirely an American affair. The unit to operate the hospital – the United States Navy Mobile Hospital No 6 – originally consisted of 33 officers and 319 enlisted men. They were commissioned in Brooklyn, New York in late June 1942, arriving in Wellington in early August - taking in patients within a month. In 1943, 40 American nurses arrived, not only providing care but also “the human warmth of a familiar female accent”. [6,7]
New Zealanders provided services like occupational therapy. Many of the Red Cross workers were Kiwis. American and New Zealand doctors also collaborated, caring for each other’s patients and instructing and learning from each other.
Other medical facilities
Nineteen hospitals able to take in 9,400 patients, were built for US military personnel. The three biggest were: Silverstream, a large military hospital in Cornwall Park in Auckland, and another in Avondale at Hobson Park. [8]
Wherever possible, treatment was given by navy corpsmen in the camps, with more basic facilities. Quarters were even set up to take in malaria patients, when the issue became particularly rife due to relapse and the late presentation of symptoms. They were often over-crowded and far from comfortable. Kiwis hosting marines on holiday also found themselves tending sick men through malaria relapses. [9]
A human perspective
In many ways, the hospital surrounds would have been idyllic for those returning from battles in the Pacific. The hospital was in a beautiful spot, high on a hill, surrounded by fir-covered hillsides blanketed with wild flowers. From the hill a broad valley was centred on a lovely stream.” [10]
However, it was still a military establishment, which rankled some and drew complaints about petty rules and regulations, doctors who knew nothing about tropical medicine, poor food, the way the non-wounded were treated. [11]
Staff worked long and hard with one navy corpsman describing 13-hour days, followed by an easy day of just 11-hours! However, the proximity of Wellington city had its benefits. Many efforts were made to entertain patients and staff, with regular cinema evenings, band concerts, and theatrical performances. [12] One of the most treasured activities was visiting the homes of New Zealand families. Almost 400 patients visited homes over Christmas 1942 and there were about 3,000 home visits in 1943. [13]
Departure
By 1944, the number of casualties requiring treatment in New Zealand had fallen to just 400, well down on the highs of 1,200 patients in 1943. The hospital was formally closed on May 16 and handed back to the Wellington Hospital Board, which used it as a geriatric and convalescent hospital. It closed in 1989, but has continued to be used and is currently called “Silverstream Retreat” and is used for conferences, functions, and accommodation.