Maryborough Base Hospital facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maryborough Base Hospital
"A" block seen from Walker Street, 1997
Location	Walker Street, Maryborough, Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia
Design period	1870s–1890s (late 19th century)
Built	1887–1950
Architect	John James Clark
Queensland Heritage Register
Official name: Maryborough Base Hospital, Maryborough General Hospital
Type	state heritage (built)
Designated	2 February 1998
Reference no.	601907
Significant period	1887–1950 (fabric) 1887–ongoing (historical, social)
Significant components	gate – entrance, office/administration building, kitchen/kitchen house, residential accommodation – nurses' quarters, bus shelter, morgue, ward – block, trees/plantings, store/s / storeroom / storehouse, residential accommodation – superintendent's house/quarters, theatre – operating, boiler room/boiler house, garden – bed/s, dining room, driveway, ambulance/first aid centre, residential accommodation – doctor's house/quarters
Builders	Robert Taylor
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The Maryborough Base Hospital is a very old hospital in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. It is considered a special heritage site. The hospital was designed by a famous architect named John James Clark. It was built starting in 1887 by Robert Taylor. People also know it as Maryborough General Hospital. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on February 2, 1998, because of its important history.

A Look Back at the Hospital's History

The Maryborough Hospital you see today is actually the fourth hospital site in the town. It was built in 1887 with several brick buildings. These buildings were designed by John James Clark, who was the Queensland Colonial Architect at the time. The hospital has grown and changed a lot over the years. Big changes happened in the late 1920s, late 1930s, and around the late 1940s and early 1950s. Many of the buildings, both old and new, are important parts of Queensland's history.

The very first Maryborough town was not where it is now. It was on the north side of the Mary River. This was because ships could easily transport wool from sheep farms there. In 1850, a surveyor named Hugh Roland Labatt helped choose a better spot for the town. The town then grew in this new location from the early 1850s.

In 1854, the first hospital in Maryborough was set up on Fort Street. Before that, sick people were cared for at home by a few doctors. By 1859, a new hospital was built near the town centre. It was at the corner of Ferry and Albert Streets. Then, in 1863, it moved again to Lennox and Walker Streets. In 1864, the hospital moved into its first building made just for it on Lennox Street. This was a large two-story brick building. More parts were added in 1865 and 1876.

By the mid-1880s, the Lennox Street hospital was too small. So, a new, larger piece of land was chosen for a hospital. This land was on Walker Street, on high ground outside the town. It became an official Hospital Reserve on October 4, 1888.

Centre Block and C-Block: Early Designs

Maryborough Base Hospital, circa 1910

The first buildings on the new hospital site in 1887 were three brick structures. There was a main office building in the middle, with patient wards on either side. There was also a separate house for the medical superintendent. A fence and gates were built along Walker Street. These buildings were designed by JJ Clark. They followed a popular hospital design idea called the "pavilion plan."

For about 80 years, starting in the 1860s, most hospital wards in Queensland used the pavilion plan. This design helped with fresh air and cleanliness. In the 1800s, people thought diseases spread through bad air. The pavilion plan used separate buildings or wings with lots of windows and verandahs. This helped air move through, which people believed helped patients get better. The first hospital to use this idea was the Lariboisière Hospital in Paris.

Two of the old buildings at Maryborough Hospital, C-Block and Centre Block, are examples of this pavilion plan. The original 1887 hospital had three buildings. The Centre Block was for offices and doctors' rooms. The other two were two-story ward buildings. The one to the east was for women, and the one to the west (C-Block) was for men. Only parts of the Centre Block and C-Block are still here today.

Early photos show these three buildings clearly separated with verandahs. This was the idea of the pavilion plan. Out of about 80 pavilion-style wards built in Queensland in the 1800s, only six are left. Three are at the Royal Brisbane Hospital, one at Isisford, one at Ipswich, and two here in Maryborough.

The first stone for the buildings was laid on April 15, 1885, by the Queensland Premier, Sir Samuel Griffith. Trees were planted, and gates were ordered from a local company, Walkers Ltd. The architect, John James Clark, was the Colonial Architect from 1883 to 1885. He designed many important buildings in Queensland. These include the Treasury Building in Brisbane and courthouses in Mackay, Rockhampton, Warwick, and Charters Towers. He also designed hospitals in Charleville and Innisfail.

The Maryborough Hospital buildings, including the main complex, residence, fence, and gates, opened on May 20, 1887. The total cost was about £16,000. Local people and the hospital committee gave a lot of money, and the government paid the rest. Robert Taylor was the builder. In the late 1880s, a separate ward was built for Pacific Islanders.

The Hospitals Act of 1923 changed how healthcare worked in Queensland. The state government started giving more money to hospitals. This led to the healthcare system we have today, where the state is responsible for hospitals. The Act created hospital boards in different areas to manage fundraising and operations.

After 1923, the idea of a "modern hospital" became popular. These hospitals focused on being very clean and efficient. This was because of the new understanding of germs causing diseases. Modern hospitals were often tall buildings with new technology.

The 1923 Act was updated in 1944. This update created "base hospitals." A base hospital in each region offered more specialized services than other hospitals. This is how Maryborough Hospital became the Maryborough Base Hospital. In the 1930s, the Hospital Board hired a local architect, POE Hawkes. He designed many buildings for the hospital's updates in 1938.

Lady Musgrave Maternity Hospital

This building was constructed in 1928. It was named after an earlier maternity hospital in the town. Before the Maternity Act of 1922, hospitals for pregnant women were often run by charities. They were named after the governor's wife at the time. The 1922 Act changed maternity care in Queensland. It created free maternity hospitals and baby clinics across the state. This was to help the population grow, especially in country areas. Many maternity hospitals were built before 1930.

As part of this plan, the Lady Musgrave block was built at Maryborough Hospital. It replaced an older maternity hospital from 1888. The 1888 building was on John and North Streets and was funded by local fundraising. It opened on November 8, 1888.

The 1928 maternity ward was a concrete building designed by POE Hawkes. Many maternity wards were built with a standard plan. They had verandahs and beds near windows for fresh air. The Maryborough ward was longer than usual, with 25 beds, private rooms, and special areas for doctors and nurses. It also had a separate "septic ward" for infections, which was common in the 1920s. The Lady Musgrave Maternity Ward opened on November 24, 1928. It opened at the same time as new nurses' quarters.

On July 31, 1965, a new Lady Musgrave Maternity Ward opened. It was built on land north of North Street, which the hospital bought for the new building. North Street was closed through the hospital grounds. This meant the 1928 maternity hospital no longer faced a street. It was kept to be used as a ward for children with disabilities. The new building cost £250,000 and was designed by the Public Works Department.

The Nurses' Quarters

Two large two-story buildings were built at Maryborough Hospital for nurses to live in. The first one, facing Walker Street, was built in 1928. But after only ten years, it was changed into private patient wards. A new nurses' quarters was then built facing Yaralla Street.

In 1921, new rules were made for hospital nurses. These rules set their pay, working hours, and said that all nurses should get free housing. This led to better living spaces for nurses and more nurses being hired. Between 1924 and 1930, 26 new nurses' quarters were built across Queensland.

The first nurses' quarters at Maryborough Hospital was a two-story concrete building. It could house 78 nurses and other staff. It opened on November 24, 1928, along with the Lady Musgrave Maternity Hospital. Both were designed by POE Hawkes. This building was only a nurses' quarters for ten years. Then, a new one was built, and this building became private wards.

When it became private wards, it was called the Demaine Block. It was named after Mr. William H Demaine, who was the Mayor of Maryborough and the head of the hospital board. The building was changed to have 35 private wards. An operating theatre and a doctor's house were also built. The total cost, including the new nurses' block, was £33,000. The company Constructions Pty Ltd of Brisbane did the work.

The 1938 nurses' quarters, facing Yaralla Street, looked similar to the 1928 building. It was also designed by POE Hawkes. It had 100 bedrooms, with hallways and verandahs. Most rooms had access to the verandahs.

20th Century Residences

There are several houses on the Maryborough hospital site from the 1900s. These include a two-story building on Walker Street, a brick duplex on Yaralla Street, and a concrete building at the corner of Walker and Yaralla Streets. It became common for doctors to live on hospital grounds during the years between the two World Wars.

In 1928, a doctor's house was built at the corner of Walker and Yaralla Streets. Designed by Philip Oliver Ellard Hawkes, this concrete building had wide verandahs. It was meant to replace an older 1800s house that was partly taken down when the first nurses' quarters was built nearby. The new house cost less than £2,000. It was designed to stay cool inside. Today, it is home to the Wide Bay Hospitals Museum.

Ten years later, in 1938, another doctor's house was built on Walker Street. This was also designed by POE Hawkes. It was a concrete building with a grand look, inspired by Mediterranean styles. It had an arched entrance porch. The living areas were downstairs, and bedrooms were upstairs. Newspapers said the outside walls looked like "travertine stone."

In 1950, another house was built on Yaralla Street. It was designed by architects Prangley and Tesch. This building was a one-story duplex, meaning it had two separate homes, for medical staff.

Other Important Buildings

During the first big update of the hospital in 1928, when the new Lady Musgrave hospital and the first nurses' quarters were built, other new buildings were added. These included a morgue, also designed by POE Hawkes, which is still used today. It is a small concrete building with a rough finish. At that time, the Gardens curator, Mr. Fred Lawrence, helped design the hospital grounds.

The next big changes happened in 1938. A special operating theatre was built. Before this, operations were done in different rooms around the hospital. The operating theatre was designed by POE Hawkes. It looked like Spanish Mission architecture, which was popular then. It was built next to the Demaine Block. The local newspaper said it was "the most up to date in Australia" and was inspired by a "famous hospital in Berlin." It had many new features that are common in operating theatres today. The operating theatre was made bigger in the 1950s and again in the 1970s. It was later used as a storage area when new main hospital blocks were built.

In 1950, a dining room was built. It was a one-story timber building on stumps, designed by Brisbane architects Donoghue, Cusick and Edwards. This building is now used as a School of Nursing. At the same time, the same architects designed a brick kitchen. These buildings were still mostly the same in November 1997.

In 1951, an ambulance station was built at Maryborough Hospital. It faced Neptune Street and cost £7,500. It had four bays for ambulances and other rooms. It is now used as an engineers' workshop.

In 1953, the first part of what is now the largest building on the site was constructed. This part became the ground floor of what is now B block, at the corner of Walker and Neptune Streets. It was planned to be made bigger later. The building was officially opened on November 14, 1953. It was meant to be for outpatients and hospital offices. The government had approved a building plan for the site in 1948. The total cost of the buildings was £143,000, and the dining room and kitchen were the first parts of this plan. The building was made bigger in 1977 and again in 1987.

What the Hospital Looks Like Today

The Maryborough Hospital is located west of the town centre. It is on a large piece of land bordered by Walker, Neptune, and Yaralla Streets, and Winston Noble Drive. A road called North Street used to cut through the middle of the hospital, but it was closed in the 1960s.

The hospital has many buildings of different ages. There isn't one big plan for the whole site. However, individual buildings have landscaped areas around them, especially facing the streets. There are many important old trees on the site. You can also see circular driveways, garden beds, and other features that add to the site's look. A small timber bus shelter with a sloped roof is on the Walker Street side, near the original entrance gates.

1887 Former Ward and Centre Block (Now C Block and Centre Block)

Architectural Plan of the Maryborough Base Hospital, 1888

Two of the three oldest buildings, C Block and Centre Block, are now mostly hidden by newer additions. However, some of these additions could be removed to show their original shape. These buildings were two-story brick structures with open verandahs all around them.

C Block, which was an original patient ward, doesn't look like an 1800s building at first glance. Its two-story verandahs have been filled in with brick and new windows from the 1960s. But the complex, sloped roof of the original building can still be seen above these verandahs. It still has its old corrugated iron roof.

Inside, the building has been updated. But it still has interesting features like an old staircase and an open ward on the first floor. This ward has plastered walls and a sloped timber ceiling. It shows how patient wards were designed in the 1800s.

Centre Block, like C Block, is a two-story brick building. Most of its verandahs have also been filled in. You can still see the original pyramid-shaped roof and verandah awnings, which are covered with corrugated iron. Inside, the ground floor still has its original layout. Several rooms have old timber doors, windows, and fireplaces from the 1800s. The old entrance to this block is a large double timber and glass door with a round arched window above it. This doorway is still mostly original.

1887 Former Residence (Now Information Technology Building)

When the first nurses' quarters were built in 1928, the original doctor's house was partly taken down. But what is left of this one-story brick building still looks like an 1800s house. The building is raised on concrete stumps. It has a timber verandah at the eastern end that follows the curved shape of that part of the building. The complex, sloped roof is covered with corrugated iron. The building still has its original windows and doors.

1887 Gateway

In the middle of the hospital's Walker Street boundary, there are four large, smooth stone gate posts. They have a cast iron fence and gate. The two middle gate posts are bigger than the ones on the sides. All of them have steep, double-sloped tops. The central posts have special three-leaf clover shapes carved into them. The smaller posts have round shapes with three-leaf clovers inside. The corners of the posts are angled, and they have wide bases.

1928 Nurses' Quarters (Now Demaine Block)

The Demaine Block is easy to see from Walker Street. In front of it, there's a large circular driveway around a small garden with a big poinciana tree. This building is a large, two-story concrete structure with a balanced design. It has a long central part parallel to Walker Street, with wings on each end. Two-story timber verandahs run along the front and back of the building. The verandahs are under the building's sloped roof, which is covered with corrugated iron. They have a vertical timber fence-like railing. A simple concrete staircase in the middle leads to the ground floor. Other newer stairs have been added, but an old timber stair is still on the back. The main entrance stair is in a part that sticks out from the front of the building. This is matched by a large gabled part of the roof. Some original windows are still there, but many have been filled in and replaced. The inside of the building has been updated, but parts of the original layout remain.

1928 Former Lady Musgrave Maternity Ward

This building is now in the middle of the hospital site. It used to face North Street, which was closed in the 1960s. The original maternity ward is a long, one-story concrete building. It used to have a timber verandah all around it, which has now been filled in. The sloped roof, covered with corrugated iron, extends over where the verandahs used to be, making it quite steep. Three small parts stick out from the back (south-eastern side) of the building. These were individual rooms and have their own sloped roof sections. A small, separate building with its own sloped roof is next to the western end of the main building. The other end of the former maternity ward is connected by a short, partly enclosed walkway to another separate building. This small concrete building was always part of the maternity complex. Its inside is mostly original, with its old walls, windows, ceilings, and other timber parts.

1928 Morgue

This small, one-story concrete building is still used as the hospital morgue. It has two connected sections that form a T-shape. It has a sloped roof covered with corrugated iron and a vent in the middle of the roof. The building has a rough, plastered finish. It used to be on the now-closed North Street boundary. It is located east of the maternity wing. The building has a viewing room, a mortuary, a post-mortem room, and a small waiting room.

1928 Medical Superintendent's Residence

This one-story concrete building has timber verandahs and some timber cladding on the outside. The house is placed at an angle to face the corner of Walker and Yaralla Streets. Its sloped roof is covered with corrugated iron. When it was finished, the building had three bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a study, a kitchen, a laundry, and a maid's room. It is still mostly original.

1938 Nurses' Quarters

1938 Nurses quarters, seen from Yaralla Street, 2009

This building, which faces Yaralla Street, looks similar to the first nurses' quarters (now Demaine Block). It is a two-story concrete building. Like the Demaine Block, it has a large circular driveway between it and the street. The building has a long central part parallel to Yaralla Street. At each end, there are wings that stick out both to the front and back, making it look like an H-shape from above. The building has a sloped roof that covers the two-story verandahs along the front and back. The timber verandahs have similar railings and decorative panels to those on the Demaine Block. Also, a central part sticks out at the front, housing the entrance, and this is matched by a large gabled part of the roof. The ground floor of this section has heavy, smooth stone-like pillars. This area has now been filled with glass louvre windows. The building is mostly original, with its old windows, doors, layout, and entrances.

Behind the building, there is a structure with an iron frame and a corrugated iron roof. It has a sloped roof and timber-framed windows. This building is believed to have been built for military use during World War Two.

1938 Former Residence Now Staff Quarters

This residence is an impressive two-story brick building facing Walker Street. It has a rough, plastered finish. The building has a rectangular shape and a sloped roof covered with corrugated iron. In the middle of the front, there's a one-story arched porch with three arched openings. On either side of this porch, and on both stories of the other sides, there are square windows. A two-story verandah at the back has been enclosed with fiber cement sheets and glass. The building is mostly original, with few changes inside.

1938 Former Operating Theatre (Now CSSD)

This is a one-story brick building with a rough, plastered finish. It is in the middle of the hospital site, next to the Demaine Block and behind A Block. This building has a sloped roof covered with corrugated iron. A central part sticks out on the front, with a decorative Spanish Mission-style gable that goes up the full height of the building. The building has several large steel-framed windows with many hinged glass panels that can open.

1950 Former Dining Room (Now School of Nursing)

This is a simple, rectangular timber building with a sloped roof covered with corrugated iron. The building is slightly raised off the ground on timber stumps. It has timber-framed hinged windows along all its sides. Shorter, sloped roof sections are attached to the two shorter ends of the building. The building is mostly original.

1950 Kitchen

This is a one-story brick building with iron-framed windows. It has a rectangular shape and a sloped roof. Various brick additions have been made to this building. The main area for preparing food is at the western end, and a staff dining room is at the eastern end. This building has a large open space divided by a concrete wall and is still mostly original.

1950 Residence

This duplex residence, facing Yaralla Street, is built from bricks of different colors. The building has a balanced design and a sloped roof covered with ceramic tiles. The side facing Yaralla Street has a central part that sticks out. This part has a sloped roof and a line of six windows with timber-framed hopper windows. Below these windows are six large ventilation openings at ground level. On either side of the windows are two iron-grilled openings.

1951 Former Ambulance (Now Engineers' Workshop)

This is an interesting one-story brick building, partly plastered, facing Neptune Street. Its sloped roof is hidden by a plastered wall at the top. At the northern corner of the Neptune Street side, there is a large square brick tower. It has vertical plastered brick fins and a plastered top wall, with projecting brick corners. A narrow, overhanging roof goes around the building. Four large, full-length openings, originally used for ambulance vehicles, provide access to the building from Neptune Street.

Other Structures on the Site

A and B Blocks are large, three and four-story brick buildings that stand out on the site. They are located along the Walker Street boundary. These buildings have various additions from different times. They are known for their flat brick fronts with horizontal strip windows and narrow vertical and horizontal fins used to block the sun.

The 1965 maternity block is at the northern, back end of the site. This one-story brick building is placed at an angle and has an L-shape. The longer part of the L has patient wards that open onto concrete verandahs at the front and back. The building has several windows with concrete frames and a fairly flat, sloped roof.

The pathology lab is a one-story, L-shaped brick building in the middle of the site, near the 1950 timber kitchen. A large two-story brick boiler building is on the Neptune Street side of the site. It has a dramatic, steeply sloped roof and horizontal strip windows with external concrete framing.

Why This Place is Important

Maryborough Base Hospital was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on February 2, 1998, because it meets several important criteria:

The place shows how Queensland's history has changed over time. The hospital site shows how Maryborough grew from a small settlement to a large town in the late 1800s and through the 1900s.

The place shows rare or special parts of Queensland's history. Maryborough Hospital is special because it shows how hospital sites in Queensland developed from the 1800s to the 1900s. The site still has buildings from all these different times, and many of them are still in their original condition. Centre Block, C Block, and the 1887 medical superintendent's residence are rare surviving hospital buildings from the 1800s. C Block is a rare example of a "pavilion planned" ward in Queensland. Many such wards were built, but few have survived the changes of the 1900s.

The place could help us learn more about Queensland's history. The site is important because it could give us more information about how hospitals were planned and built in the 1800s.

The place shows the main features of a certain type of cultural place. Maryborough Hospital shows the main features of a Queensland hospital. It is on a large site on high ground away from the town centre. Individual buildings on the site also show features of hospital buildings. These include the 1800s pavilion ward design, nurses' quarters from the late 1920s and late 1930s, a maternity ward from 1928, several hospital residences, an ambulance station, and a morgue.

The place is beautiful or well-designed. The site is beautiful and stands out as a landmark in Maryborough. Many individual buildings on the site are well-designed and look good from the street. These include the old 1800s buildings, the two nurses' quarters, the ambulance station, the former 1929 maternity hospital, the one-story house at the corner of Yaralla and Walker Streets, and the two-story house on Walker Street. Other parts of the site that add to its beauty and history include the morgue, the duplex on Yaralla Street, the dining room, the old trees, garden beds, and the bus shelter.

The place is very important to a certain community or group. The site is important to the Maryborough community. It has been their main place for public healthcare for about 110 years.

The place is connected to important people or groups in Queensland's history. The site is connected to many important early Maryborough citizens who helped set up the hospital. It is also linked to architects John James Clark and POE Hawkes, who designed many of the buildings.

Notable People Connected to the Hospital

• Ellen Barron: She was the head nurse at the General Hospital from 1902 to 1904. She was also the matron at the Lady Musgrave Hospital from 1906 to 1908.
• Barbara Carson: She worked here before leading the Royal Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch) in their first strike in 1985.