Dr. Eric Bridgman

i FAMILIAR figure in the Pacific, \ especially French Polynesia, is Dr. Eric Bridgman, medical iperintendent of New Zealand’s otorua Hospital.

A quiet, humble and unpretenti is man, his voluntary and humane distance to the Leper colonies of le French possessions has recently ain e d for him the Legion Honneur.

In reporting its decision to confer hs honour, the French Govern ent spoke of “the remarkable work r. Bridgman has been doing”.

Dr. Bridgman has been in contact ith lepers for many years—as far ick as 1926, when he was district ficer on Lomaiviti, Fiji, and edical superintendent of Levuka ospital.

His interest in the Tahiti lepers is been responsible for some of the location of money that has been ade to them by the Lepers’ Trust aard of New Zealand. The Board as allocated £7,000 since 1940, to ipply such amenities as buildings, edical equipment and gifts to the itients.

A rehabilitation scheme, planned ' Dr. Bridgman and now working iccessfully, is assisting an ever creasing number of patients dis larged from leper colonies.

The Legion d’Honneur is not Dr. ridgman’s first grateful recogni jn for services rendered. In 1949, i was given an OBE for medical rvices in New Zealand, in par 3ular for work among the Maori !ople.

Seventeen boys and three girls om P-NG were recently granted itive scholarships for secondary lucation in Australia.

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