Bloomfield Hospital, Orange facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bloomfield Hospital
Heritage boundaries
Location	Forest Road, Orange, City of Orange, New South Wales, Australia
Built	1923–1931
Architect	Walter Liberty Vernon George McRae
Owner	Orange Ex-services Club
New South Wales Heritage Register
Official name: Bloomfield Hospital; Orange Mental Hospital
Type	State heritage (landscape)
Designated	10 March 2006
Reference no.	1745
Type	Historic Landscape
Category	Landscape – Cultural
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Bloomfield Hospital is a special old hospital in Orange, Australia. It was built between 1923 and 1931 and was designed by famous architects Walter Liberty Vernon and George McRae. It was known as the Orange Mental Hospital for a long time. This hospital is important because of its history and how it was designed to help people with mental health conditions. It's now listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register, which means it's a protected historical site.

History of Bloomfield Hospital

At the end of the 1800s, hospitals for people with mental illnesses were getting very full. To help with this, a plan was made to build more hospitals in country areas. One of the first was Kenmore Psychiatric Hospital in Goulburn.

In 1889, a large piece of land (about 260 hectares (640 acres)) was set aside in Orange for a new mental hospital. In 1909, the first plans for the hospital were drawn up by Walter Liberty Vernon, a government architect.

Building the hospital was delayed by World War I, but work finally began in 1923. Patients from another hospital, Gladesville Mental Hospital, even helped with the construction! Many of them felt better because of the work they did. By 1925, some parts of the hospital were ready, and it officially opened in November 1925. More buildings, like wards, an administration office, and a recreation hall, were built between 1925 and 1931.

New Ideas for Treatment

Bloomfield Hospital was built based on new ideas about how to treat mental illness. Instead of just being places for people to stay, these hospitals were designed to help patients get better. The way the hospital was built and its beautiful surroundings were seen as important parts of treatment. Doctors, not just other officials, were in charge of patient care.

Later, new "scientific" ideas suggested that mental illness could be treated best if caught early. This meant separating patients who were likely to recover quickly from those with more long-term conditions.

Hospital Layout and Design

The hospital's design reflected these ideas. Patients who were expected to get better faster stayed in the eastern part of the hospital. This area had the Admissions Ward (built in 1923) and Convalescent Wards (finished by 1924).

Patients with more serious conditions stayed in the western part of the site, in nine wards built between 1927 and 1931. These two areas were separated by gardens and playing fields. Within each area, men and women had separate wards, and there were also different wards for those who were "quiet and industrious" compared to those with more challenging behaviors. All the buildings were designed to look like regular homes, not like a strict institution.

The hospital grounds were very important. They had beautiful gardens and parklands. Wards were built to get lots of sunlight and fresh air. The hospital was also designed to be almost self-sufficient, with patients growing vegetables and fruit, and even looking after a dairy and piggery in earlier times.

Treatments and Activities

In the 1930s, new treatments like hypnosis were used. Bloomfield Hospital had a special operating theatre built by 1931 to support these new therapies.

Recreational activities and occupational therapy became very important from 1929. Sports were also encouraged. A cricket pitch was set up, and later, a second one became a popular spot for patients, staff, and visitors.

In 1934, two special wards were built for patients with tuberculosis (TB). These wards were designed to keep patients separate while still giving them access to sunlight and fresh air, which was thought to help with TB.

Changes Over Time

During World War II, the hospital faced staff shortages and became very crowded. After the war, overcrowding continued.

In 1954, the hospital was renamed Bloomfield Hospital. In the 1950s, new drug treatments and community care programs began to reduce the need for hospital stays. Bloomfield continued to offer many therapies and activities. A Dramatic Society was formed, where patients and staff put on plays for the community.

In the 1960s, a branch of the Country Women's Association was started at Bloomfield to help patients connect with the community. A nine-hole golf course and another sports field were also added.

In the 1980s, there was a big change in how mental health services were run. The focus shifted to helping people with mental illness live in the community with support. This led to fewer beds at Bloomfield. New units were built in the early 1990s, including an Admissions unit and an Aged Care Unit.

In 2009, some of the land around Bloomfield was approved for new housing and businesses, showing how the area around the hospital has changed.

Description of Bloomfield Hospital

Landscaped grounds

Bloomfield Hospital is located on Forest Road in Orange. It has two main groups of buildings, surrounded by gardens and playing fields.

The oldest buildings are on a ridge to the east. These include the original Admissions Section and Convalescent Section. The Admissions Section has a two-storey main building in the Federation Arts and Crafts style, with two single-storey wards. They are all made of brick with terracotta tiled roofs.

Female wards

To the south are five buildings that make up the Convalescent Section. These were for patients who were expected to recover. They are in the Inter War Arts and Craft style, with some Georgian influences. The wards are two-storey brick buildings with wide verandas.

Other buildings in the eastern part include the former Nurses Home and residences for staff. There were also old stable buildings.

Between the eastern and western buildings is a large open space with trees. This area includes the cricket pitch, playing fields, a bowling green, and a golf course. This open space was important because it helped separate different types of patients.

Recreation room

The buildings in the western part of the site were built between 1927 and 1931. The wards and the Recreation Hall are built in a curve along a ridge, offering great views. The Recreation Hall (now called the Leisure Centre) is in the middle of this curve. It's designed in the Inter-war Mediterranean style.

There are five male wards to the north and five female wards to the south of the Recreation Hall. These buildings were designed to look less like institutions.

Mortuary chapel

Behind these wards are other important buildings, like the Administration building, a former Dining Room, a mortuary chapel, and an operating theatre.

The hospital buildings are set in large, park-like gardens. Each ward used to have its own formal garden. The grounds also have many trees like Monterey pines, elms, and poplars. In the past, the hospital had a nursery, vegetable garden, dairy, and piggery to help make it self-sufficient.

Condition of the Hospital

Bloomfield Hospital still looks very much like it did when it was first built. Its original layout, which separated different types of patients, is still clear. Not many new buildings have been added since 1931. Most of the original buildings and important parts of the layout are still there. While some of the formal gardens have changed, many of the trees and shrubs remain, keeping the park-like feel of the grounds.

Changes and Updates

Over the years, some changes have been made:

• 1952: A small brick extension was added to a female ward.
• 1958: A new kitchen block was built.
• 1956: A bowling green was added.
• 1960: The Bloomfield bowling green clubhouse was built.
• Early 1960s: Some male and female ward blocks were updated.
• 1969: A large laundry complex was built to serve hospitals in the Central West area.
• 1970s: Fire escapes were added to two-storey buildings.
• 1965–68: A 9-hole golf course was developed.
• 1989: Four new single-storey treatment units were built.
• 2004: Three new units were established, including a new Admissions Unit and a Short Stay Unit.

Why Bloomfield Hospital is Heritage Listed

Bloomfield Hospital is very important to the history of New South Wales. It's a great example of a mental hospital designed with the ideas of the late 1800s and early 1900s. It was the last large hospital built specifically for mental health in NSW and one of only three in country areas. It still looks very much like it did when it was first built.

The hospital is strongly connected to important people like Frederick Norton Manning and Eric Sinclair. They were pioneers in treating mental health in NSW and wanted to make care more kind and understanding. The hospital's beautiful buildings and park-like setting make it a landmark in the Orange area. It shows a more humane way of treating mental illness that isn't done on such a large scale anymore.

Because it has always been used to treat mental illness, and because it has a history of connecting with the local community through sports and cultural events, it's a very special place.

Bloomfield Hospital was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 10 March 2006 for several reasons:

• It shows the history of New South Wales: It's one of only three mental hospitals built in country NSW and shows how mental health treatment has changed over time. Its design clearly shows the "enlightened" ideas about treatment from the 1800s and early 1900s.

• It's linked to important people: It's strongly connected to Frederick Norton Manning, who first suggested building the hospital, and Eric Sinclair, who helped design it and pioneered new treatments. Both were important figures in making mental health care more humane.

• It's beautiful and well-designed: Bloomfield Hospital, with its landscape, is very beautiful and stands out in the Orange area. Its unique trees, buildings, and gardens make it special. The buildings look like homes and are arranged like a village in a park, making it an excellent example of a hospital designed to help people recover.

• It has a strong connection to the community: Many patients and staff from all over NSW have lived and worked at Bloomfield. It has been a home for many people for long periods.

• It can teach us about history: The hospital's buildings, layout, and setting can teach us a lot about how mental health treatment and ideas have changed from the late 1800s until today. Because it's still so well-preserved, it's a valuable place for learning.

• It has rare or unique features: Bloomfield Hospital is the last of its kind – a large, purpose-built mental hospital set in a park-like environment. It's still used for mental health care, which makes it a rare "living" example of how treatment has changed. It's also likely that its operating theatre and special TB wards were unique for mental hospitals at the time.

• It's a great example of its type: Bloomfield Hospital, with its buildings, layout, and setting, is an excellent example of an early 20th-century mental hospital designed as a complete healing environment.

See also

• List of hospitals in Australia
• List of psychiatric hospitals in Australia