For those who couldn’t enjoy In Sickness & In Health exhibition in the Snapshot Gallery, below are the images and descriptions that formed part of this show.
In Sickness & In Health was on exhibition from 20 March 2021 to the 11 July 2021 at Hurstville Museum & Gallery.
Using historic images from the Georges River Libraries Local Studies collection, In Sickness & in Health provided a unique insight into how, for over 120 years, the local community championed the development of healthcare services in the St George area.
The room was divided into four themes: St George Hospital, Private hospitals, Community health and Hurstville medical precinct. Find below each section and its content.
ST GEORGE HOSPITAL
Access to emergency treatment and hospital care in the local community are considered commonplace today, however it was not long ago that these things were rare, if not totally unavailable, in Sydney’s outer suburbs. The major hospitals were too far for many to go, especially for emergency treatment. As was the case for the establishment of similar district hospitals, it was the local community who rallied together to raise awareness of the need for a local public hospital to serve the South Sydney area.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
In 1892, a hospital committee was formed to raise community funds and petition the government for a local hospital to service the South Sydney district. Fundraising balls, concerts and theatre shows began in earnest and designs for a building were obtained. The initial campaign was very successful and within two years of the committee’s first meeting, the foundation stone for the new St George Hospital was laid.
The ‘St George Cottage Hospital’ was officially opened on 16 November 1894 by Mrs Lamrock, wife of prominent local doctor, Dr J. Lamrock, where a crowd of over 3000 people had gathered. The cottage cost £750 to build and sat on 3 ½ acres of land in a “picturesque spot” overlooking the countryside extending to the shores of Botany Bay. It offered six beds and one cot, however even at the time of its opening, there were hints at further expanding the hospital site.
A FALSE START
In 1921, the St George Cottage Hospital site grew to include a separate maternity wing. Although at its opening in 1894 the hospital was boasted as being debt-free, by 1921 its debts had risen considerably. The maternity wing cost £7000 to build and was opened with great enthusiasm and support by the local community. The building however sat empty, unused and unfurnished, for two years due to the main hospital’s running costs, though strenuous efforts had been made by volunteers and community members to raise the necessary funds.
The State Government eventually gave funds to furnish the building in 1924, allowing the wing to be officially re-opened. The maternity wing was extended in 1944, by which time nurses had delivered 10,000 babies there.
c.1921. Georges River Libraries Local Studies collection.
Kogarah NSW, Believed to be 1921. Georges River Libraries
Local Studies collection.
A NEW ERA
St George Hospital continued to expand its healthcare services throughout the century, with various extensions to wings and new buildings added to the site in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In the late 1980s, the hospital underwent a major $200 million redevelopment which led to it becoming a tertiary teaching hospital. An open day was held in 1988, which saw many local community groups and organisations showcase health and wellbeing-related displays in the hospital grounds. The history of St George Hospital was also put on display, including the evolution of nursing uniforms seen throughout the years.
Considering its humble beginnings in 1894, St George Hospital now provides over 600 beds for patients and has one of the busiest Emergency Departments in the state.
PRIVATE HOSPITALS
In the 19th century, many Sydney-siders were required to travel long distances to get medical treatment from the public hospitals located in the city, or in centres like Parramatta. Private hospitals were a popular alternative to public healthcare, and often established in former private residences in suburban areas.
Procedures and services offered in a private hospital were limited to those the nurses were qualified to perform, and technology used in the public system was not available. Despite these disadvantages, private healthcare was a popular choice for many families (who could afford it) throughout the 19th century. In the 20th century, the trend of using private residences for small-scale hospitals experienced a steady decline in favour of establishing larger private hospitals that offered advanced services.
BROOKLYN PRIVATE HOSPITAL
Brooklyn Private Hospital was established on the corner of Bellevue Street and Webbers Road (later renamed English Street), Kogarah, in 1914. Prior to becoming a private hospital, the building was occupied as a private residence, originally constructed in 1885.
Ms Dorothy L. Swanton, a nurse, and a person named M. E. Heath appear to have been joint owners of Brooklyn Private Hospital until 1920, when their partnership was dissolved by mutual consent. Swanton continued to work at the hospital for several more years. The hospital was closed in 1956 and the building was demolished in 1973. Home units now stand on the former hospital site.
HURSTVILLE PRIVATE HOSPITAL
In 1924, two ex-army nurses, Edith Yeaman and Eleanor Mann (also referred to as Ella Jane Mann), converted the Victorian mansion, ‘Meryla’, on Gloucester Road, Hurstville, into a hospital, naming it ‘Goshen Private Hospital’. ‘Goshen’ is a place in Egypt referred to in the bible and has come to mean a place of comfort and plenty.
In 1951, concerns were raised that the hospital was to be sold for commercial purposes. A cooperative company was formed to purchase the hospital by way of public subscription. Substantial funds were raised by over 350 shareholders, Hurstville Rotary Group and several local businessmen, and Goshen Private Hospital was officially re-opened as Hurstville Co-operative Community Hospital in June 1951.
In 2007, eight surgeons purchased the hospital and commenced a $4 million upgrade, modifying the name to Hurstville Private Hospital.
COMMUNITY HEALTH
Community health services played a vital role in the development of the St George area over the 19th and 20th centuries, and continue to be important to the community today.
Two major initiatives undertaken in the St George area were the Home Nursing Scheme and the Baby Health Clinic scheme, both of which brought much needed medical care into the community.
A MODEL HEALTHCARE SERVICE
On 20 May 1959, the Mayor of Hurstville, Alderman Michael Croot, convened a public meeting with the intention to form a local Home Nursing Scheme. The scheme sought to provide nursing and medical care for individuals unable to access a doctor or gain hospital admission. With the support of churches, service clubs and other local organisations, Hurstville Council set aside £5000 to establish the scheme. On 2 November 1959, Mr Percy Knight, President of Rotary, presented a miniature car model of a Morris Minor to Mr. Coot in honour of the car model chosen for the home nursing service.
THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
The Hurstville Home Nursing Service was fully operative by November 1959. Hurstville Council purchased a property at 11 Rose Street, Hurstville and a three car garage was constructed with the assistance of the Apex Club of Hurstville which supplied labour and materials for the project.
HOME NURSING
Operating from the Rose Street depot, the Hurstville Home Nursing Service was the means by which medical practitioners could request the regular attendance of trained nurses to “administer the needs of any patient whose financial or domestic situation precludes them from otherwise obtaining such care and attention”.
The establishment of the scheme is credited to the collaborative efforts of Hurstville Council and the Rotary, Lions and Apex Clubs of Hurstville.
BRINGING UP BABY
At the turn of the 20th century, infant mortality rates were very high and one in ten babies died before the age of one. In an effort to improve hygiene and infant survival rates, the ‘Baby Clinics, Prematernity and Home Nursing Board’ was established in 1914. The purpose of the local baby health clinic was two-fold; to teach mothers infant care and to improve the health of babies whose mothers could not afford a general practitioner or a hospital.
The baby health clinic scheme was extremely popular and it was not long before the service was opened to women of all social classes. The success of baby health clinics has been directly linked to the lowering of infant mortality rates throughout the 20th century and they remained an important part of early childhood health in the community well after the infant mortality had dropped.
BABY BOOM
The baby boom of the 1940s and 1950s required a higher demand for baby health clinics, particularly in Sydney’s growing outer suburbs. In 1950, Kogarah Council had set aside £300 to purchase a site on Allen Street for the purposes of building a new baby health clinic for South Hurstville. Four years later, in 1954, plans were finally drafted for a baby clinic and an incorporated public library. Many local baby health clinics have ceased operation in recent years, however the South Hurstville clinic has remained open and is now known as ‘South Hurstville Child and Family Health’.
HURSTVILLE MEDICAL PRECINCT
Throughout the 20th century, MacMahon Street and Queens Road formed an unofficial medical precinct. 14 MacMahon Street and ‘Gladwyn’ at 96 Queens Road were two popular doctors surgeries. Across the road from 14 MacMahon Street was, and still is today, the Friendly Society Pharmacy. Nearby on Gloucester Road also sits Hurstville Private, originally ‘Goshen’ Private Hospital then renamed Hurstville Co-operative Community Hospital.
THE DOCTOR’S HOME
14 MacMahon Street was built in 1929 by Doctor John Saxon Crakanthorp to be his practice and family home. The house was constructed in a Tudor style, reminiscent of the homes Valerie, Dr Crakanthorp’s wife, grew fond of during her travels to England as a young girl. Valerie named the house ‘Kenilworth’. The house had living and dining areas and a kitchen downstairs, as well as Dr Crakanthorp’s surgery and waiting room. Upstairs were the bedrooms, bathrooms and maids quarters.
HURSTVILLE FRIENDLY PHARMACY
The Hurstville and District United Friendly Society (HADUFS) was established in 1911 with a founding membership of 790 members. Friendly Societies offered dispensary services due to concerns about the high cost of medicines and impurities in the drugs offered by many apothecaries. Members who paid an annual fee could obtain discounts on their pharmacy purchases, providing much needed support for many sick and elderly community members who could not afford full-cost medication.
A dedicated dispensary building was built in MacMahon Street in 1915 and was officially opened in June by the Minister for Health, Mr George Black. By this time membership to the HADUFS had grown
to over 3000, and the opening ceremony was preceded by a street procession and a fete carnival. The building continues to operate as a pharmacy, and the original Friendly Pharmacy branding can still be seen.
‘GLADWYN’
‘Gladwyn’ was built in 1893 and owned and occupied by Mr John Sproule, a builder. Years later, in 1953, ‘Gladwyn’ became the home and surgery of a Dr Ray Kaine. When Dr Kaine retired, the property was leased to a succession of medical practitioners until 1986, when the then Hurstville Municipal Council purchased the building. The building has continued to be used as a community health centre.
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