By Cherie Howie of 
A fire being treated as suspicious destroyed a building on the former Queen Mary Hospital grounds in Hanmer Springs early Saturday morning. Photo: Supplied / Hanmer Springs Volunteer Fire Brigade
- Emergency services were alerted to fire on former Queen Mary Hospital grounds early Saturday morning.
- The fire is considered suspicious and a fire investigator has been sent to the scene.
- The closed hospital is now owned by Hurunui District Council, with plans to establish a museum.
A fire that destroyed an abandoned building on the more than 100-year-old former Queen Mary Hospital grounds in Hanmer Springs early Saturday morning is being treated as suspicious, a Fire and Emergency spokeswoman says.
Emergency services were alerted to the fire at 3.47am, with volunteer brigades from Hanmer Springs and Culverden sent to put the fire out, Fire and Emergency southern shift manager Jill Higgison said.
"It was at Queen Mary Hospital, but not the main building."
The fire in the 20m by 10m abandoned building in the hot springs settlement 130km north of Christchurch took about four hours to put out, she said.
"It's being treated as suspicious and a fire investigator has been there, but has gone now."
Hanmer Springs Volunteer Fire Brigade crew members were supported by volunteer firefighters from Culverden and rural firefighters, a member of the Hanmer Springs brigade posted on Facebook after the fire.
"Thanks so much to everyone for your help as we are incredibly short of operational members at the moment and every pair of hands helps," the post stated.
"Fortunately the building involved was not part of the QMH [Queen Mary Hospital] critical infrastructure, however it is a stark reminder to be vigilant as it could be worse next time. Please report anything you see as a possible fire immediately."
The building involved has not yet been identified.
The fire took about four hours to put out. Photo: Supplied / Hanmer Springs Volunteer Fire Brigade
As well as the original Queen Mary Hospital for Sick and Wounded Soldiers - known as the Soldiers' Block and built in 1916 - the former hospital site is home to what was known as the Chisholm Ward for female patients and a former nurses' home, according to Heritage New Zealand.
After World War I ended and soldiers had recovered from their war traumas, the hospital was developed into a specialist centre for the treatment of nervous disorders and neurasthenia, before it became a treatment centre for drug and alcohol dependency in the 1960s, Heritage New Zealand wrote on its website.
Last year, Hurunui District Council made the final purchase to fully own the site.
The council planned to strengthen the Soldiers' Block and create a community centre, function space and Ngāti Kurī meeting house, with work beginning in June this year.
Future plans included creating a museum to tell the wartime and medical stories of the building.
This story was originally published by the NZ Herald.
