Sydney Hospital
Encyclopedia
Sydney Hospital is a major hospital
in Sydney
, Australia
, located on Macquarie Street
in the Sydney central business district
. It is the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788, and has been at its current location since 1811. It first received the name Sydney Hospital in 1881.
Currently the hospital comprises 113 inpatient beds. Specialist services attract patients from all over New South Wales
. It specialises in ophthalmology
and hand surgery and is a referral hospital for patients requiring these services. It also houses a rudimentary 6-bed Emergency Department.
Sydney Hospital is associated with University of Sydney
through the Department of Ophthalmology and Save Sight Institute.
from Portsmouth
, England
arrived suffering from dysentery
, smallpox
, scurvy
, and typhoid. Soon after landing Governor Phillip
and Surgeon-General John White
established a tent hospital along what is now George Street
in The Rocks
to care for the worst cases. Subsequent convict boatloads had even higher rates of death and disease. A portable hospital which was prefabricated in England
from wood and copper arrived in Sydney with the Second Fleet
in 1790. Current day 'Nurses Walk' in The Rocks cuts across where the site of the early hospital once was. John White was Surgeon-General at Sydney Cove
between 1788 and 1794.
at the beginning of 1810, Governor Macquarie discovered that the Sydney Cove's hospital was an affair of tents and temporary buildings. Macquarie set aside land on the western edge of the Government Domain for a new hospital and created a new road – Macquarie Street
– to provide access to it. Plans were drawn up but the British Government refused to provide funds to build the hospital. Consequently, Macquarie entered into a contract with a consortium of businessmen - Garnham Blaxcell, Alexander Riley and, later, D'Arcy Wentworth
- to erect the new hospital. They were to receive convict labour and supplies and a monopoly
on rum
imports from which they expected to recoup the cost of the building and gain considerable profits. The contract allowed them to import 45,000 (later increased to 60,000) gallons of rum to sell to colonists and was signed on 6 November 1810. In the event, the hospital did not turn out to be very profitable for the contractors. Convict
patients were transferred to Governor Macquarie’s new hospital in 1816.
It is unclear who prepared the design for the three Old Colonial Georgian buildings comprising the Sydney Hospital complex, but there were apparently many involved with its construction. There is speculation that both Governor Macquarie and John O'Hearen contributed to the design. John O’Hearen is probably the stronger contender for being the building’s designer, for he not only defended the methods of its construction against critics but also signed himself as ‘Architect’ in related correspondence. (Crook 2003: 12)
was asked to report on the quality of the work. He condemned it, claiming that it "must soon fall into ruin". Short-cuts had been taken with the construction and there were weak joints in the structural beams, rotting stonework, feeble foundations, and dry rot in the timbers. Macquarie ordered the contractors to remedy these defects but by 1820 the southern wing was deemed particularly unsafe, with reports that some of it had collapsed and had to be rebuilt (Crook 2003: 12). Around this time, convict architect Francis Greenway
was commissioned to undertake repairs to both the wings of the hospital, including alterations to the roof of the southern wing and the rearrangement of its internal spaces. More substantial repairs were carried out on the southern wing in 1826 (Crook 2003: 12). Many defects present from the original construction remained hidden away until the extensive restoration of the 1980s.
, perhaps while awaiting the construction of the Greenway designed law courts opposite. Macquarie capitulated and the northern wing (originally designed for the Principal Surgeon) and a portion of the central building were given over to Supreme Court Judge Jeffrey Hart Bent as chambers as well as for a temporary courthouse. (Crook 2003: 12)
The first Surgeon to reside at the hospital's Surgeons quarters was D'Arcy Wentworth
, whose other connections with the building are interesting. First, he had been one of the three contractors who had built the Hospital under the "rum contract" with Macquarie, and secondly, his son, William Charles Wentworth
, explorer and journalist, became one of the most important figures in the development of Parliamentary democracy in New South Wales, and is regarded as the "father of the constitution". He is well commemorated by artworks within Parliament House
.
On 3 January 1829, Governor Darling released a despatch foreshadowing the intended appropriation of the North Wing for the accommodation of the Legislative Councils. The first meeting of the 14 member Legislative Council
in the North Wing occurred on 21 August 1829. The 'First Legislative Council' stayed until 1848. During this time the surgeons continued to occupy about one third of the space. Other rooms were sometimes occupied by other government officials, such as the Principal Supervisor of Convicts, until 1852, when the Legislature took over the entire building.
There were plans for the southern wing to become a military hospital in 1840, however this did not come to fruition.
Colonial governments accepted a degree of responsibility for pauper patients who were not convicts. However, as convict numbers declined and the emancipated and free population grew, the government disengaged itself from direct responsibility for the 'respectable poor'. Meanwhile, the Sydney Dispensary had been created in 1826 to provide outpatient care for 'free poor persons, unable to pay for medical attendance'. It was conducted on traditional charitable lines and operated from several city premises before obtaining the south wing of the Rum Hospital in 1845 where it remained until 1848. This change in use of the South Wing required more repairs to the internal and external building fabric from 1843. At the same time, the Sydney Dispensary expanded to serve inpatients and changed its name to the Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary, a title officially approved in 1844. Convict inpatients continued to be treated in the separately managed hospital in the centre wing, next door. With the dissolution of the convict hospital system, the Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary gave up the south wing in 1848 in return for permissive occupancy of the entire middle section of the Rum Hospital complex.
In 1851, the New South Wales Legislative Council petitioned to establish a mint in Sydney, to take advantage of the gold discovered by Edward Hargreaves
at Ophir
, just outside Bathurst
. This proposal received Royal Assent
in 1853. Plans were drawn up for the Sydney branch on a site selected at the corner of Bridge
and Macquarie Streets
, however it was decided to locate the mint in the southern wing of the general hospital to save time and costs (Crook 2003: 13). The South Wing officially became the Sydney branch of the Royal Mint
In 1854. Its establishment required the extensive internal remodelling of the former hospital wing for accommodation for the Mint Master, administrative offices and receiving and storage rooms for bullion. Land to the rear of the building was also developed, with prefabricated industrial buildings for rolling, assaying and coining imported from England
and erected around a courtyard directly behind the former hospital building. The Mint was shut down in 1926 when the Royal Melbourne Mint became the mint of the Commonwealth. The building has since accommodated numerous government departments and various law courts. In 1982 the Mint Offices building opened as Australia’s first museum of historical decorative arts, stamps and coins", although the coining factory buildings at the rear continued to be used as law courts and as a workshop for the Department of Public Works. The Mint Museum won both the New South Wales and National Museum of the Year Awards in 1983.
In 1993-5 the museum was re-developed as the Sydney Mint Museum, focusing on the impact of the Gold Rush years on New South Wales and the role of The Mint as a coining factory. However, this re-developed museum was short-lived, closing in 1997. The property, comprising The Mint Offices and courtyard was transferred to the Historic Houses Trust in 1998.
won an architectural competition held to find a new design with his Victorian Classical Revival design. Rowe was heavily criticised by his peers for the practice of under quoting building costs in order to win a competition, and the Sydney Infirmary was his cause célèbre
. Work halted for some years after partial construction, awaiting the approval of additional funds from the New South Wales parliament. Architect John Kirkpatrick completed the new hospital in 1894 to a revised design.
politician Henry Parkes
(who would later be premier) was concerned about the state of the Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary and appealed for help to Florence Nightingale
for trained nurses. Consequently, in March 1868 Lucy Osburn
was sent out as Lady Superintendent of the Infirmary and was accompanied by five other trained nurses. Osburn won Parkes' trust and began the challenging task of cleaning up the crumbling, foul-smelling and vermin-infested Infirmary. A week after their arrival they had a royal patient, when the Duke of Edinburgh
was wounded by a would-be assassin at Clontarf
.
But in spite of the public acclaim this brought them, Lucy Osburn and her staff faced much resistance in their efforts to reform the infirmary. In addition to the appalling conditions, they met with hostility and opposition from doctors and the Board. The idea of gentlewomen working as hospital nurses was still novel, and to many people shocking. Lucy was continually obstructed by the surgeons and personally attacked in the Parliament.
A Royal Commission
on public charities in 1873 condemned the Sydney Infirmary, accusing the management committee of neglect and interfering in the duties of the nurses. Osburn was vindicated and the commission praised her work toward the improvement in the standards of nursing. Most of the Lucy Osburn sisters took up positions as matrons at various hospitals. By these means the Nightingale teaching and standards became accepted practice in the hospital system of the colony. By the time she returned to England she had laid the foundation of modern nursing in New South Wales.
Lucy Osburn retired from nursing in 1878 and in 1881 the Infirmary's name was changed to the Sydney Hospital. She left Sydney in 1884 and returned to London. After some years nursing among the sick and poor in London, Lucy died of diabetes at her sister’s home in Harrogate
on 22 December 1891.
Ms Osburn was described by her successor at Sydney Hospital, Miss McKay, as "an exceptional woman" who regarded nursing "as the highest employment" to be entered with "a spirit of devotion". One of her common recommendations to those taking up the profession was reported as being "you nurses should exist for patients, not they for you".
sent out Lucy Osburn and five other English sisters. The brick and sandstone Gothic Revival
Nightingale Wing of 1869 off the central courtyard, with its colourful fountain, was built to the plans of Florence Nightingale to house the first nursing school.
, it remains the oldest building in Macquarie Street and the oldest public building in the City of Sydney. Arguably of all Sydney buildings, none have had a longer or more central influence in the affairs of the state than the North Wing.
in 1922. It joined the Sydney Hospital campus in 1996.
Recent work includes the construction of an eight level car park, ground floor emergency with eye hospital outpatients, two levels of wards and an operating theatre on the top floor. The new work enabled the demolition of the Travers building, long considered an eyesore, thereby allowing the campus to be opened up to The Domain
.
The new Clinical Services building was completed during 1995 to complement the existing architectural style and was officially opened on 30 October 1996.
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, located on Macquarie Street
Macquarie Street, Sydney
Macquarie Street is the easternmost street of Sydney's central business district. Macquarie Street extends from Hyde Park at its southern end to the Sydney Opera House at its north.-Description:...
in the Sydney central business district
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...
. It is the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788, and has been at its current location since 1811. It first received the name Sydney Hospital in 1881.
Currently the hospital comprises 113 inpatient beds. Specialist services attract patients from all over New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. It specialises in ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...
and hand surgery and is a referral hospital for patients requiring these services. It also houses a rudimentary 6-bed Emergency Department.
Sydney Hospital is associated with University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
through the Department of Ophthalmology and Save Sight Institute.
1788 and the Tent Hospital
Many of the 736 convicts who survived the voyage of the First FleetFirst Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
from Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
arrived suffering from dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
, smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, scurvy
Scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
, and typhoid. Soon after landing Governor Phillip
Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...
and Surgeon-General John White
John White (surgeon)
John White was an English surgeon and botanical collector.White was born in Sussex and entered the Royal Navy on 26 June 1778 as third surgeon's mate. He was promoted surgeon in 1780, and was the principal surgeon during the voyage of the First Fleet to Australia...
established a tent hospital along what is now George Street
George Street, Sydney
George Street is one of Sydney's most notable city streets. There are more high rise buildings and more ASX 100 companies located here than anywhere else in Australia, and is well known for being busy around-the-clock...
in The Rocks
The Rocks, New South Wales
The Rocks is an urban locality, tourist precinct and historic area of Sydney's city centre, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, immediately north-west of the Sydney central business district...
to care for the worst cases. Subsequent convict boatloads had even higher rates of death and disease. A portable hospital which was prefabricated in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
from wood and copper arrived in Sydney with the Second Fleet
Second Fleet (Australia)
The Second Fleet is the name of the second fleet of ships sent with settlers, convicts and supplies to colony at Sydney Cove in Port Jackson, Australia. The fleet comprised six ships: one Royal Navy escort, four convict ships, and a supply ship....
in 1790. Current day 'Nurses Walk' in The Rocks cuts across where the site of the early hospital once was. John White was Surgeon-General at Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson , on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia....
between 1788 and 1794.
Governor Macquarie's Rum Hospital
Upon his arrival in the Colony of New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
at the beginning of 1810, Governor Macquarie discovered that the Sydney Cove's hospital was an affair of tents and temporary buildings. Macquarie set aside land on the western edge of the Government Domain for a new hospital and created a new road – Macquarie Street
Macquarie Street, Sydney
Macquarie Street is the easternmost street of Sydney's central business district. Macquarie Street extends from Hyde Park at its southern end to the Sydney Opera House at its north.-Description:...
– to provide access to it. Plans were drawn up but the British Government refused to provide funds to build the hospital. Consequently, Macquarie entered into a contract with a consortium of businessmen - Garnham Blaxcell, Alexander Riley and, later, D'Arcy Wentworth
D'Arcy Wentworth
D'Arcy Wentworth was born in Portadown, County Armagh, Ireland and emigrated to Australia as an assistant surgeon to then-new colony of Sydney.- Emigration to Australia :...
- to erect the new hospital. They were to receive convict labour and supplies and a monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
on rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
imports from which they expected to recoup the cost of the building and gain considerable profits. The contract allowed them to import 45,000 (later increased to 60,000) gallons of rum to sell to colonists and was signed on 6 November 1810. In the event, the hospital did not turn out to be very profitable for the contractors. Convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
patients were transferred to Governor Macquarie’s new hospital in 1816.
It is unclear who prepared the design for the three Old Colonial Georgian buildings comprising the Sydney Hospital complex, but there were apparently many involved with its construction. There is speculation that both Governor Macquarie and John O'Hearen contributed to the design. John O’Hearen is probably the stronger contender for being the building’s designer, for he not only defended the methods of its construction against critics but also signed himself as ‘Architect’ in related correspondence. (Crook 2003: 12)
Shoddy construction
As the hospital was nearing completion in 1815, the now famous convict architect Francis GreenwayFrancis Greenway
-References:* *...
was asked to report on the quality of the work. He condemned it, claiming that it "must soon fall into ruin". Short-cuts had been taken with the construction and there were weak joints in the structural beams, rotting stonework, feeble foundations, and dry rot in the timbers. Macquarie ordered the contractors to remedy these defects but by 1820 the southern wing was deemed particularly unsafe, with reports that some of it had collapsed and had to be rebuilt (Crook 2003: 12). Around this time, convict architect Francis Greenway
Francis Greenway
-References:* *...
was commissioned to undertake repairs to both the wings of the hospital, including alterations to the roof of the southern wing and the rearrangement of its internal spaces. More substantial repairs were carried out on the southern wing in 1826 (Crook 2003: 12). Many defects present from the original construction remained hidden away until the extensive restoration of the 1980s.
Alternative uses
The scale of the hospital was greater than that which could be sustained by Sydney at that time. The new hospital had a large central building, which was the main hospital, and two smaller wings which were quarters for the surgeons. From the start, portions of the buildings were allocated for non-medical purposes. During construction there was ongoing debate about the hospital's future possible use.The North Wing
Governor Macquarie was under pressure, both within the colony and from Lord Bathurst, to utilise part of the General Hospital as a temporary Supreme CourtSupreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales...
, perhaps while awaiting the construction of the Greenway designed law courts opposite. Macquarie capitulated and the northern wing (originally designed for the Principal Surgeon) and a portion of the central building were given over to Supreme Court Judge Jeffrey Hart Bent as chambers as well as for a temporary courthouse. (Crook 2003: 12)
The first Surgeon to reside at the hospital's Surgeons quarters was D'Arcy Wentworth
D'Arcy Wentworth
D'Arcy Wentworth was born in Portadown, County Armagh, Ireland and emigrated to Australia as an assistant surgeon to then-new colony of Sydney.- Emigration to Australia :...
, whose other connections with the building are interesting. First, he had been one of the three contractors who had built the Hospital under the "rum contract" with Macquarie, and secondly, his son, William Charles Wentworth
William Wentworth
William Charles Wentworth was an Australian poet, explorer, journalist and politician, and one of the leading figures of early colonial New South Wales...
, explorer and journalist, became one of the most important figures in the development of Parliamentary democracy in New South Wales, and is regarded as the "father of the constitution". He is well commemorated by artworks within Parliament House
Parliament of New South Wales
The Parliament of New South Wales, located in Parliament House on Macquarie Street, Sydney, is the main legislative body in the Australian state of New South Wales . It is a bicameral parliament elected by the people of the state in general elections. The parliament shares law making powers with...
.
On 3 January 1829, Governor Darling released a despatch foreshadowing the intended appropriation of the North Wing for the accommodation of the Legislative Councils. The first meeting of the 14 member Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
in the North Wing occurred on 21 August 1829. The 'First Legislative Council' stayed until 1848. During this time the surgeons continued to occupy about one third of the space. Other rooms were sometimes occupied by other government officials, such as the Principal Supervisor of Convicts, until 1852, when the Legislature took over the entire building.
The South Wing
When the General Hospital was completed in 1816 the southern wing was used for its planned purpose as the quarters for the Assistant Surgeon as well as a storage facility. However, from 1823 the 39th Regiment, and briefly the 57th Regiment, used some of the rooms as hospital wards. The staff office (including "clerical offices and a medical depot") for the Military occupied the southern wing until 1854 (Crook 2003: 13). From 1836, the Store Master also lived there, sharing the upper rooms with the Assistant Surgeon.There were plans for the southern wing to become a military hospital in 1840, however this did not come to fruition.
Colonial governments accepted a degree of responsibility for pauper patients who were not convicts. However, as convict numbers declined and the emancipated and free population grew, the government disengaged itself from direct responsibility for the 'respectable poor'. Meanwhile, the Sydney Dispensary had been created in 1826 to provide outpatient care for 'free poor persons, unable to pay for medical attendance'. It was conducted on traditional charitable lines and operated from several city premises before obtaining the south wing of the Rum Hospital in 1845 where it remained until 1848. This change in use of the South Wing required more repairs to the internal and external building fabric from 1843. At the same time, the Sydney Dispensary expanded to serve inpatients and changed its name to the Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary, a title officially approved in 1844. Convict inpatients continued to be treated in the separately managed hospital in the centre wing, next door. With the dissolution of the convict hospital system, the Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary gave up the south wing in 1848 in return for permissive occupancy of the entire middle section of the Rum Hospital complex.
In 1851, the New South Wales Legislative Council petitioned to establish a mint in Sydney, to take advantage of the gold discovered by Edward Hargreaves
Edward Hargreaves
Edward Allan Hargreaves was a 19th century Member of Parliament in Canterbury, New Zealand.He represented the Town of Lyttelton electorate from 1866 to 1867, when he resigned. He was succeeded by George Macfarlan.-References:...
at Ophir
Ophir
Ophir is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. King Solomon is supposed to have received a cargo of gold, silver, sandalwood, precious stones, ivory, apes and peacocks from Ophir, every three years.- Citations :...
, just outside Bathurst
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
. This proposal received Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
in 1853. Plans were drawn up for the Sydney branch on a site selected at the corner of Bridge
Bridge Street, Sydney
Bridge Street is a street in the CBD of Sydney, Australia. It runs east-west between George Street and Macquarie Street. It is in the Local Government Area of the City of Sydney and the postcode is 2000. The street is 500 metres long...
and Macquarie Streets
Macquarie Street, Sydney
Macquarie Street is the easternmost street of Sydney's central business district. Macquarie Street extends from Hyde Park at its southern end to the Sydney Opera House at its north.-Description:...
, however it was decided to locate the mint in the southern wing of the general hospital to save time and costs (Crook 2003: 13). The South Wing officially became the Sydney branch of the Royal Mint
Sydney Mint
The Sydney Mint in Sydney, Australia, is the oldest public building in the Sydney Central Business District. Built between 1811 and 1816 as the southern wing of the Sydney Hospital, it was then known as the Rum Hospital. In 1854 a mint was established on the site with the hospital building used...
In 1854. Its establishment required the extensive internal remodelling of the former hospital wing for accommodation for the Mint Master, administrative offices and receiving and storage rooms for bullion. Land to the rear of the building was also developed, with prefabricated industrial buildings for rolling, assaying and coining imported from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and erected around a courtyard directly behind the former hospital building. The Mint was shut down in 1926 when the Royal Melbourne Mint became the mint of the Commonwealth. The building has since accommodated numerous government departments and various law courts. In 1982 the Mint Offices building opened as Australia’s first museum of historical decorative arts, stamps and coins", although the coining factory buildings at the rear continued to be used as law courts and as a workshop for the Department of Public Works. The Mint Museum won both the New South Wales and National Museum of the Year Awards in 1983.
In 1993-5 the museum was re-developed as the Sydney Mint Museum, focusing on the impact of the Gold Rush years on New South Wales and the role of The Mint as a coining factory. However, this re-developed museum was short-lived, closing in 1997. The property, comprising The Mint Offices and courtyard was transferred to the Historic Houses Trust in 1998.
The Central Building
The deteriorated centre building was demolished in 1879 and in 1880 Thomas RoweThomas Rowe
Thomas Rowe , wasone of Australia's leading architects of the Victorian era.-Biography:Thomas Rowe was born in Penzance, Cornwall, United Kingdom, the eldest son of Richard Rowe and Ursula Mumford, and attended Barnes Academy. At 15 he became a draftsman in his father's building business before the...
won an architectural competition held to find a new design with his Victorian Classical Revival design. Rowe was heavily criticised by his peers for the practice of under quoting building costs in order to win a competition, and the Sydney Infirmary was his cause célèbre
Cause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...
. Work halted for some years after partial construction, awaiting the approval of additional funds from the New South Wales parliament. Architect John Kirkpatrick completed the new hospital in 1894 to a revised design.
Lucy Osburn
New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
politician Henry Parkes
Henry Parkes
Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG was an Australian statesman, the "Father of Federation." As the earliest advocate of a Federal Council of the colonies of Australia, a precursor to the Federation of Australia, he was the most prominent of the Australian Founding Fathers.Parkes was described during his...
(who would later be premier) was concerned about the state of the Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary and appealed for help to Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
for trained nurses. Consequently, in March 1868 Lucy Osburn
Lucy Osburn
Lucy Osburn was an English nurse trained by Florence Nightingale; she is regarded as the founder of nursing in Australia.- Early life:...
was sent out as Lady Superintendent of the Infirmary and was accompanied by five other trained nurses. Osburn won Parkes' trust and began the challenging task of cleaning up the crumbling, foul-smelling and vermin-infested Infirmary. A week after their arrival they had a royal patient, when the Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Edinburgh
The Duke of Edinburgh is a British royal title, named after the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family only four times times since its creation in 1726...
was wounded by a would-be assassin at Clontarf
Clontarf, New South Wales
Clontarf is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Clontarf is located 13 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Manly Council, in the Northern Beaches region.-History:...
.
But in spite of the public acclaim this brought them, Lucy Osburn and her staff faced much resistance in their efforts to reform the infirmary. In addition to the appalling conditions, they met with hostility and opposition from doctors and the Board. The idea of gentlewomen working as hospital nurses was still novel, and to many people shocking. Lucy was continually obstructed by the surgeons and personally attacked in the Parliament.
A Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
on public charities in 1873 condemned the Sydney Infirmary, accusing the management committee of neglect and interfering in the duties of the nurses. Osburn was vindicated and the commission praised her work toward the improvement in the standards of nursing. Most of the Lucy Osburn sisters took up positions as matrons at various hospitals. By these means the Nightingale teaching and standards became accepted practice in the hospital system of the colony. By the time she returned to England she had laid the foundation of modern nursing in New South Wales.
Lucy Osburn retired from nursing in 1878 and in 1881 the Infirmary's name was changed to the Sydney Hospital. She left Sydney in 1884 and returned to London. After some years nursing among the sick and poor in London, Lucy died of diabetes at her sister’s home in Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
on 22 December 1891.
Ms Osburn was described by her successor at Sydney Hospital, Miss McKay, as "an exceptional woman" who regarded nursing "as the highest employment" to be entered with "a spirit of devotion". One of her common recommendations to those taking up the profession was reported as being "you nurses should exist for patients, not they for you".
The Nightingale Wing
Nurse training in Australia began on site in 1868 when Florence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
sent out Lucy Osburn and five other English sisters. The brick and sandstone Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
Nightingale Wing of 1869 off the central courtyard, with its colourful fountain, was built to the plans of Florence Nightingale to house the first nursing school.
Restoration
By 1984, restoration of the old Rum Hospital building was complete. Together with its "twin" the former MintSydney Mint
The Sydney Mint in Sydney, Australia, is the oldest public building in the Sydney Central Business District. Built between 1811 and 1816 as the southern wing of the Sydney Hospital, it was then known as the Rum Hospital. In 1854 a mint was established on the site with the hospital building used...
, it remains the oldest building in Macquarie Street and the oldest public building in the City of Sydney. Arguably of all Sydney buildings, none have had a longer or more central influence in the affairs of the state than the North Wing.
Recent work
The Sydney Eye Hospital started at Miller's Point in 1882 and moved to WoolloomoolooWoolloomooloo, New South Wales
Woolloomooloo is a harbourside, inner-city eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woolloomooloo is located 1.5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney. The suburb is located in a low-lying, former...
in 1922. It joined the Sydney Hospital campus in 1996.
Recent work includes the construction of an eight level car park, ground floor emergency with eye hospital outpatients, two levels of wards and an operating theatre on the top floor. The new work enabled the demolition of the Travers building, long considered an eyesore, thereby allowing the campus to be opened up to The Domain
The Domain, Sydney
The Domain is 34 hectares of open space in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the eastern edge of the Sydney central business district, near Woolloomooloo. The Domain adjoins the Royal Botanic Gardens and is managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens Trust, a division of the New South...
.
The new Clinical Services building was completed during 1995 to complement the existing architectural style and was officially opened on 30 October 1996.