Marton Maternity Hospital
Marton General Hospital serviced the area's elderly and was also a maternity ward. It shut in the late 90's due to, you guessed it - budget cuts, locals now must travel to Wanganui hospital, a little bit of a trip.
Martons hospital was slightly hidden away since it's closure, I suppose Lake Alice always took the glory, especially with the explorers. After both hospitals closed the economy in Marton declined and work was especially hard to come by. Many locals worked in the health care services such as nurses, cooks, maintenance etc. 2009 was the first time I explored the hospital, my father (I swear I got my curious Urbex eye from him) told me about this abandoned hospital, already quite scrapped but the walls still stood. The old place sold in 2006 for 400k (did my research in 2010) and this place wasnt going anywhere fast. I remember coming through late at night few times with friends, slowly watching this former general hospital deteriorate, with the boards being smashed and no longer been replaced, people taking anything of value. It soon became a bomb site, with enough holes in the walls to resemble a sieve. These sorts of locations are prone for arsonists. By summer someone had their horses grazing the former grounds. No one ever seemed to turn up to scare us away, and while there was talk in the town that the local gang hang out here, I didn't mind coming back as we never had any problems. This was a good era for me as I started using a DSLR to capture my explorations (had no idea how) but getting a photo straight was bonus, I'm more of an explorer these days but taking photos is always good to document where you've been.
- Nathan
- Nathan
Hidden among the long grass, was a gorgeous Rose garden, last time I visited the roses where still growing/flowering.
