Prints donated in doctor s memory

Adri Isbister, DHB CEO, left, with Robyn Prior who donated four specially-commissioned prints now hanging near the paediatric ward, in memory of her husband, Simon, who was a GP at Wairarapa Hospital.

The wife of much-loved Masterton GP Simon Prior has donated four specially commissioned prints to Wairarapa Hospital in memory of him.

Robyn Prior presented the pieces, by Greytown-based artist Gary Tricker, to Wairarapa District Health Board chief executive Adri Isbister on Wednesday afternoon.

The four etchings are now hanging near the paediatric ward and each is of a different Wairarapa view.

Mrs Prior said the art would add a "bit of enjoyment" to the place for hospital staff and act as a "diversion" for visitors to help to take their mind off things.

"It's for the visitors and the staff, something nice to look at," she said.

"When Simon was in Wellington Hospital I would go walking and look at their fantastic art collection so I thought that would be a nice thing to do here."

Dr Prior died in January 2013 after a brief battle with cancer. He was 58-years-old.

Mrs Prior used money that was donated by friends at her husband's funeral, which more than 800 people attended, to fund the art works.

Two of the pieces are views of Mataikona Beach, where the Prior family batch is.

"It's a place that Simon really loved," Mrs Prior said.

The other two etchings are of Aorangi Mountains, looking out from Greytown, and of Lake Wairarapa.

"It feels we have represented the region with these four prints."

Mrs Isbister said the donation by Mrs Prior was "extremely generous" and the art works would be very much appreciated.

"I think it will add value to people's day when they're in here for a reason that's often not nice."

The popular doctor treated thousands of patients in Masterton where he practiced for more than 30 years.

A keen musician since his schooldays at Rathkeale College, Dr Prior studied medicine at Otago University and started in general practice in Masterton beside his father, Owen Prior, in 1985.

His grandfather, Norman Henry Prior, was the first doctor in the family to open a practice in Masterton, in 1909.

His daughter Sarah in 2011 became the fourth generation of Priors to work as a doctor in the town, at the Masterton Medical super-surgery, of which her father was a founding partner.

Dr Prior had a special interest in obstetrics and paediatrics and he was one of the few GPs in New Zealand still involved with obstetrics.

He had a maternity caseload of 300 women a year.

A scholarship has been set up through Lands Trust Masterton in Dr Prior's memory.