Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital Buildings facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital

Location	Hospital Road, Concord West, City of Canada Bay, New South Wales, Australia
Built	1890–1893
Architect	Sir John Sulman; gardens possibly by the office of/Sir John Sulman
Owner	NSW Department of Health

New South Wales Heritage Register
Official name: Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital; Rivendell Adolescent Unit; Rivendell; Joanna Walker Convalescent Hospital
Type	state heritage (complex / group)
Designated	2 April 1999
Reference no.	115
Type	Psychiatric hospital/Mental institute/Asylum
Category	Health Services
Builders	Alexander M Allen

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The Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital Buildings are a special group of buildings in Concord West, New South Wales. They used to be the Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital. A "convalescent hospital" is a place where people go to get better after being sick or having surgery. Today, these buildings are used by the Rivendell Child, Adolescent and Family Unit, which helps young people.

The famous architect Sir John Sulman designed these buildings. They were built between 1890 and 1893. The property is owned by the New South Wales Department of Health. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 because of its important history and design.

History of the Hospital
What the Hospital Looks Like
Why This Place is Special
See also

History of the Hospital

The idea for the Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital came from a very generous man named Thomas Walker. He was a philanthropist, which means he was a wealthy person who used his money to help others. When he passed away in 1886, he left a huge amount of money, £100,000, in his will to build this hospital.

Thomas Walker's Vision

Thomas Walker lived at a large estate called Yaralla Estate in Concord. He wanted a part of his land, known as Rocky Point, to be used for a hospital. He had wanted to build a hospital for a long time but hadn't been able to.

His sister, Joanna Walker, and other people in charge of his will, decided to hold a competition in 1888. They wanted architects to design the new convalescent hospital. A person named John Kirkpatrick won the design competition.

Building the Hospital

Even though Kirkpatrick won, the job of designing the hospital was given to Sir John Sulman and his partner. This caused some discussion at the time. Sulman had actually been a consultant during the competition.

Building started after Alexander M. Allen was chosen to construct the hospital in December 1889. The total cost ended up being £150,000. Thomas Walker's sister, Joanna, and his childhood friend, Eadith Walker, helped pay for the extra costs.

The hospital officially opened on 21 September 1893. It was used as a place for people to recover until World War II. Only people who were getting better from illnesses, not those with infectious diseases, were allowed to stay. Doctors from other hospitals would send patients there. Patients didn't have to pay for their care. Thomas Walker's gift covered their stay, usually for four weeks.

Joanna Walker Children's Hospital

In 1894, a special hospital for children was opened on the grounds. It was called the Joanna Walker Memorial Children's Convalescent Hospital. Sir John Sulman also designed this building. It was next to the main hospital and could care for 12 children. It had a bright central courtyard.

Changes Over Time

During World War II, in 1943, the military took over the hospital. It was used by the Australian Red Cross as a women's hospital until 1946. After the war, it went back to being a public convalescent hospital.

However, as medicine improved and people's lives got better, the need for this type of hospital changed. Many illnesses like scarlet fever and tuberculosis became less common. By the 1970s, it became too expensive to run the hospital as a free recovery center.

In 1976, the people in charge decided to give the site to the NSW Health Commission. They asked that it still be used to help people, as Thomas Walker had intended.

Rivendell Adolescent Unit

Since 1977, the site has been used as the Rivendell Adolescent Unit. This is a special center that helps teenagers who are going through emotional difficulties. It offers therapy, counseling, and school classes. Teenagers stay there during the week and go home on weekends. The Joanna Walker Memorial Children's Convalescent Hospital building is also now part of the health service.

What the Hospital Looks Like

The Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital is located right on the Parramatta River. It's a very large group of buildings on a big, park-like estate by the water. Its beautiful gardens and buildings make it easy to spot from the river.

The Grounds and Gardens

The hospital has huge gardens with many trees and open grassy areas. The design of the gardens is very neat and symmetrical. A main driveway leads to a round turning area with a tall pine tree. From there, other drives go around the main building.

On the side facing the river, a path goes down to a "water gate." This gate is special because it's a building right on the water. It's flanked by two very tall Cook's pines. Other paths and drives go along the river and curve up to the hospital wings. The gardens have many different types of trees and plants, including various pines, palms, and flowering trees.

Inside the grounds, there are also other smaller buildings. These include stables, a gatehouse, the Joanna Walker Memorial Children's Hospital, and a wharf. All these buildings match the style of the main hospital.

Plants You Might See

The gardens are home to many interesting plants. Here are just a few:

Bunya pine and Cook's pine
Brush box and various cypress trees
Queen palms and Canary Island date palms
Jacarandas, known for their purple flowers
Camphor laurels and Qld. Kauri trees
NZ Christmas tree (pohutukawa) and carob trees
Coral trees and port wine magnolias
Giant golden striped bamboo and Mexican pine
Firewheel tree and umbrella tree
Himalayan cedars and Qld. Black bean
Red oak and lily pilly
Orchid/butterfly tree and African olive hedges
Oleander and bottlebrush
Jelly palms and frangipani

The Buildings

The main Thomas Walker Hospital complex has a style called "Federation style." It's designed like a series of connected buildings, or "pavilions." The central part was for offices, and the wings on each side were for patients.

Main Hospital Building

The main building has two floors and an attic. It faces the Parramatta River. There's a large clock tower in the middle, with two smaller towers on either side. Inside, there's a grand entrance and a large hall that could hold 300 people for events. The building uses beautiful sandstone and brick.

Other Important Buildings

Joanna Walker Convalescent Hospital: This is a smaller, single-story building for children. It has a "Queen Anne style" design, which means it has decorative stonework and a central courtyard.
Administration Wing: This part has several floors and includes the clock tower.
Recreation Hall: This is a big hall with a stage, used for activities and events.
Dormitory Wing: Where patients would have slept.
School Wing: Likely used for educational activities.
Two Dining Rooms: Places where patients ate their meals.
Kitchen: Where food was prepared.
Service Building: For various hospital services.

All these buildings are connected by covered walkways. They are all built with similar materials, mostly brick with sandstone details.

Building Features

Outside Walls: Made of clay bricks with sandstone decorations around windows and doors.
Inside Walls: Mostly brick, with some wooden walls added later.
Floors: Mostly wood, with some concrete in wet areas.
Roofs: Made of wood frames with terracotta tiles.
Ceilings: Smooth plaster.
Doors: Mostly wooden doors, some with glass panels.

Changes Over the Years

1893-94: The Joanna Walker Memorial Children's Hospital was built.
1900: Stables were added.
1915: A cottage was built.
Around 1939: The government took ownership of the land where the main hospital stands.
Around 1981: Some garden areas were replanted, including the courtyards with fountains.
1976 onwards: The hospital became the Rivendell adolescent psychiatric unit.
By 1986: Some smaller paths in the gardens had disappeared.
2008-2011: A car park was built nearby. Work was done to protect the trees and manage water runoff.

Recently, plans have been made to repair several buildings on the site. These include the main entrance wall, the stables, the mortuary, the gatehouse, and the sandstone on the main building.

Why This Place is Special

The Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital is very important for its history and design. It's one of the few large hospitals from the 1800s that still stands along the Parramatta River.

Design and Architecture

This hospital shows the influence of famous figures like Florence Nightingale on hospital design in the 1800s. It also shows how Australian hospital leaders and American ideas shaped its look.

It's considered one of Sir John Sulman's best works in Australia. He used many Italian-style decorations because he had traveled in Italy. The buildings also used new ideas for their time, like "cavity walls" (hollow walls) to keep the inside cool in summer.

Beautiful Gardens

The hospital's gardens are also very important. They are a great example of Victorian and Edwardian-era institutional gardens. They were likely designed by Sir John Sulman himself. The gardens are a beautiful part of the Parramatta River landscape.

Special features in the gardens include the "Watergate," which is a very rare building type in Australia, and the "Landgate," which is probably the most detailed building of its kind from the 1800s in Australia. The straight main driveway and brick-edged paths are also notable.

The grounds also have rare native plants from the Cumberland Plain area.

Children's Hospital

The Joanna Walker Memorial Children's Hospital is also very special. It's one of the few surviving convalescent hospitals designed just for children.

Overall, the Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital site is like a layered story. It shows history from the first Aboriginal people who lived there, through 200 years of European settlement, to its current use helping young people at Rivendell.

It's a beautiful group of buildings designed by Sir J. Sulman in the Queen Anne style. It was built by the generous Thomas Walker in the late 1800s. Set in its lovely park-like grounds, it's a landmark on the Parramatta River.

The site is important because of its links to the Walker family and their kindness in the late 1800s. It's also valued for its high-quality design, the skill used to build it, its connection to architect John Sulman, and its location near other health services.

The Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 because it met several important standards:

It shows the history of New South Wales: It's important because of its connection to the Walker family and Thomas Walker, who was a significant person in Australia's business, social, and political life.
It shows great design and skill: It's an excellent example of Sir John Sulman's work. The elegant design and the quality of the stonework, brickwork, and other details make it stand out. It has been well looked after and still looks much like it did originally. It's a key part of the Parramatta River foreshore.
It has strong social connections: It's one of the best examples of how wealthy people helped society in the late 1800s.
It can teach us about history: It's part of an important group of health and welfare facilities, along with the Dame Eadith Walker Convalescent Hospital and Concord Repatriation Hospital.