A Healthier Future Today: Bundaberg Hospital - Queensland Health

Bundaberg Hospital
AHealthier Future Today
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Changes through history
The newly redeveloped Bundaberg hospital bears little resemblance to the original built in 1881 after residents became concerned the local chemist’sministrations weren’tadequate.
Original hospital was afour-room timber cottage with akitchen
AS residents walk through the doors
of Bundaberg Hospital today they are
walking towards astrong and healthy
future.
But spare athought for early residents
of Bundaberg who didn’t have
these multi-million dollar facilities
available to them. They relied instead
on the local chemist, Mr CCoffey, to
treat all ailments.
Thankfully,in1878 concerned residents
addressed the problem by
forming a hospital fund committee
whose elected trustees received permission
to create atemporary hospital
in 1879 in the Immigration Barracks in
FinemorePark, opposite today’sBase
Hospital.
From there apermanent hospital
was built by Mr Midson with construction
completed in February 1881.
Known as the Cottage Hospital, it
was afour-room timber cottage with a
kitchen, although over the years with
the help of agovernment grant, additions
were made to the building including
awell, windmill and infectious
diseases ward.
The first appointed surgeon, Dr
D’Arcy Sugden, certainly earned his
salary of ?80 because the infectious
diseases wardsaw its fair shareoftyphoid
cases.
He was followed later that year by
Dr THMay who was medical superintendent
until his death in 1916.
It seems that in 1898, the hospital
faced many of the same questions it
does today as it attempts to meet the
needs of agrowing population and limit
the number of cases that must be
sent to Brisbane.
In 1898 ateam of trained nurses
were engaged and it was proposed
the hospital should assume atraining
role, while the need for alarger space
was also acknowledged.
By 1911, alarger hospital finally became
areality after architect FHFaircloth
designed atwo-storey building
with three sections all connected by
passageways.
The plan had female wards in the
eastern wing, executive offices in the
central section and male wards in the
western wing.
Both wards had two floors with of
eight beds, as well as two private
wards in the executive section.
The main entrance had the surgery
on the right, and operating theatreon
the left, with adispensary at the rear.
Other facilities included two dining
rooms on the ground floor and akitchen
with two lifts –one for patients and
one for catering.
Matrons’ and nurses’ quarters were
on the second floor of the executive
section, as well as more wards.
Ceilings were steel, and alayer of
felt was laid between the ground and
second floor to deaden the noise.
The hospital was expected to be
completed in 15 months, and the
foundation stone was laid on November
16, 1911, by Sir William MacGregor,
Governor of Queensland.
Bundaberg had apublic holiday to
mark the occasion, with all shops
closing at noon.
The Bundaberg Daily News considered
the event “... an important one,
in that it marks an epoch in the history
of the Bundaberg Hospital, and
should be fittingly observed”.
And it was, with a procession
through town of bands, school children
and local organisations.
It is amusing to note the considerable
fundraising efforts of the time with
local citizens tireless in their efforts,
even having performances of M’liss,
the Miner’s Daughter by the Gordon
Club Dramatic Society to raise funds.
The newspaper each day recorded
the growing list of donors and fundraising
events and urged even more
enthusiastic contributions,
“The Government endowment is at
the rate of £2 for every pound raised
by private subscription ...
“In its finished form, the structure
will represent an expenditureinmoney
of £13,500, which means that the citizens’
contributions will require to
reach ... say £5,000 including fitting
and furnishings. Considered in the
lump, this is asubstantial figure; distributed
over acommunity such as
ours, as is right it should be ... it is a
mere bagatelle.
“And therefore, the burden is one
that should sit upon the community
very lightly ... and thereshould be the
resolve of every man and woman
whose heart beats responsive to the
sacred claims of charity.”
By 1914 the new building was finished,
and thanks to the fundraising
efforts of the hospital committee and
local residents, it was opened free of
debt on July 9.
At the time, the nurses’ quarters at
the rear of the hospital werestill under
construction at an expected cost of
£1,944, but the ceremonies went on
regardless.
Governor MacGregor made areturn
trip to Bundaberg to officially
open the hospital for which he had laid
afoundation stone in 1911.
The State Government had made
endowments of £8,838 toward the
hospital, while the Bundaberg district
had raised £5,145.
The governor told acrowd of thousands,
that the opening would probably
be his last official engagement as
arepresentative of the Crown, and
noted the changes in the medical profession
and public hospitals since his
years as asurgeon under the late Lord
Lister.
Bundaberg Library’sSue Gammon,
when researching the hospital’shistory,said
that with the latest upgrade of
the hospital, it borealmost no resemblance
now to those original plans ac-
cepted by the committee back in
1911, 100 years ago.
“Fortunately, images preserved over
the years remind us of what abeautifully
designed and constructed
building Mr F. H. Faircloth and Mr N. C.
Steffensen presented to the Bundaberg
people on its completion in
1914,’’ she said.
The redevelopments of the hospital
today mark asignificant update in the
services provided locally.
Residents have access to ateam of
exceptional health professionals covering
avariety of medical fields in
modern, spacious surrounds.
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