His Excellency the Hon Governor-General, Anand Satyanand presents Chairwoman of Britannia House Board of Trustees Maureen Freeman with a photograph to be displayed alongside photographs of other Governors-General that have visited Britannia House.
By Chrys Ayley
?Britannia House is something of a Petone phenomenon.? It was standing room only at Petone?s Britannia House on Friday March 27 as the community gathered to celebrate the opening of its new extension by His Excellency the Hon Governor-General, Anand Satyanand. Staff, residents, founding members, board members, local politicians, builders and supporters gathered to witness the cutting of the green ribbon, share reminiscences and enjoy afternoon tea together. His Excellency, accompanied by Her Excellency Susan Satyanand, met assembled guests then officially cut the green ribbon to mark the opening of the new wing which has five extra bedrooms, a recreation room and a new kitchen. The Governor-General said community is an important concept in our society, especially given our ageing population. Living in a real community, such as Britannia House, was an antidote to the loneliness of old age, where people were made to feel welcome and lived in a friendly atmosphere, he said. Noeline Colman, who helped found the house said it was planned as ?A home away from home,? rather than an old people?s home and she paid tribute to all those who had helped over the years. Former Hutt City Mayor John Terris was also involved at the beginning and described the vision 29 years ago as ?An extraordinary leap of faith.? ?What was a modest home is now a very adequate aged care facility.? Petone people are committed to other people and it is wonderful people can stay in Petone when they get older, he said. Nurse/manager Daph Turner said they were just waiting for the ?building WOF? then residents can move into the new rooms, hopefully within the next couple of weeks. Britannia House is now up to total capacity and can accommodate 17 people. Britannia House was first opened by His Excellency the Governor-General the Rt. Hon Sir Keith Holyoake in August 1980 and has been visited by every Governor-General since.
