The weekend of the 30th October - 1st November 1998 was punctuated by shouts of greeting, the sight of people hugging each other as friends met, some having travelled from England and Australia to join in the celebration to farewell good old fashioned psychiatric care and the grand old institution known as Porirua Hospital - a home away from home for many of us for many years.

A committee of five - Bernadette Anderson, Eila Callaghan, Joy Collins, Margaret Martin and Maureen Murdoch had sat down together a year prior to plan the festivities and endeavour to contact as many staff (past and present) as possible. As this was to be the grand finale (as far as we were concerned) the weekend needed to go with a bang and be memorable.
After much debate the following programme evolved and was actioned:

Friday evening: Powhiri Welcome at the North Wellington Indoor Bowls Hall followed by a wine and cheese evening. On the food - more than cheese appeared and it was magnificent.

Saturday morning: Photographs at the Museum of Porirua Hospital.

Saturday evening: Dinner and cabaret at the Royal New Zealand Police College. What an outstanding evening! Once again the food was magnificent and it kept coming and coming. The entertainment was superb - all appreciated the Whitireia Dance Company who kept us spell bound with their energy and expertise. For the quieter moments we were equally entranced by the voice of Donna Rutter and the music of the Highland Country Band.

Sunday morning: Church service at the Porirua Hospital Chapel where we celebrated and gave thanks to the institution which had nurtured and fostered us. We also took time to remember friends and colleagues no longer with us, including one of our committee - Maureen Murdoch - who had passed away prior to the reunion.

To complete the weekend a barbeque at the North Wellington Indoor Bowls Hall was the final event. Again great food and plenty of it!

During the course of the weekend many photographs were taken and a video of the hospital and its many disciplined staff is being made.

The success of the reunion was reflected in the many happy faces that left on the Sunday evening, the cards sent in acknowledgement and the satisfaction the committee derived from a job well done.

Account provided by: Joy Collins.