The Nordrach Cottage Sanatorium , A private hospital for the open-air cure on scientific lines of pulmonary consumption and other tubercular diseases, was established in July, 1899, by Dr. R. S. Stephenson, of High Street, Dunedin, and is the oldest institution of its kind in the colony. It is situated about five miles and a half from the city on the northern slope of Flag-staff Hill, at Where Flat, a charming spot about 1300 feet above sea level; and possesses a bracing atmosphere. The natural beauty of the scenery within the grounds has been greatly added to by pine plantations, croquet lawns and gardens; and beyond these again, extending for many miles, is the beautiful panorama of Silver Peak and other ranges. The grounds are about 150 acres in extent, and, being of an exceedingly broken character, provide ample scope for graduated hill-climbing—a valuable part of the treatment in certain stages of tubercular trouble. The buildings, themselves, are of wood, and are modelled on the lines followed at Nordrach, in Germany. They provide accommodation for ten patients, each of whom has a separate bedroom. All these rooms are arranged so as to give the greatest amount of light and freshness, and the doors and windows open directly to the outside air. The floors are polished and the walls specially constructed to prevent an accumulation of dust and to facilitate disinfection; and the same sanitary principle has been kept in view with regard to the furnishing. page 250 An abundant supply of pure water is laid on under pressure, and the bathroom is fitted with hot and cold showers. Electric bells connect each bedroom with the nurses' quarters, and a closed verandah, extending the length of the building, makes it possible to move from one part of the institution to another without the necessity of leaving the building. Of the management of Nordrach Cottage all that need be said is that a large number of patients annually undergo treatment, and that the results in past years have been extremely encouraging. Dr. Stephenson personally superintends the treatment, and is assisted by a staff of trained nurses and other attendants.

Dr. Ralph Stuart Stephenson , M.B., C.M., Edin., founder and proprietor of Nordrach Cottage Sanatorium, is the third son of the Rev. F. E. Stephenson, of Hobart. He was born in Victoria, in 1866, and educated, primarily, at Horton College, near Ross, Tasmania, where he gained a Tasmanian Government scholarship. This entitled him to several years' tuition in the best medical schools of the Old Country, and he forthwith proceeded to Edinburgh, where, in 1890, he graduated M.B. and C.M. Dr. Stephenson subsequently made a special study of homœpathy, and has since practised it, as being, in his opinion, the more effective system. During 1890–1 he prosecuted further studies in the hospitals of London and Dublin, and in the latter year left for Melbourne, where, soon after his arrival, he was appointed senior resident surgeon of the public hospital. About two years later he established a private practice in St. Kilda, near Melbourne, and in 1895 he crossed the Tasman Sea to practise his profession in Dunedin. Since his arrival in the city Dr. Stephenson has taken an active interest in many phases of social life. He is a member of the Otago Institute and of the Otago Club, is vice-president of the Otago Cycling Club, and a member of the Kaituna Bowling and Tennis Clubs.