Colonial Hospital

From the beginning of the Swan River Colony in 1829, most settlers thought the Government would have at least some responsibility for medical and hospital services. This was very different to Melbourne and Adelaide, where such services developed through philanthropy and charity. One outcome of this was the Colonial Hospital which opened in 1855.

Governor James Stirling had decided on some kind of hospital being established even before landing, since his instructions to the Colonial Surgeon depended on one being built speedily. However, there was a difference of opinion between successive Colonial Surgeons, who believed that such a hospital should be for everyone, and the Government, who believed it was only for the poor. This argument influenced the pace of development of the Colonial Hospital.

Several hospitals, some very temporary, opened and closed at various locations during the 1830s and 40s, mainly because of the precarious state of the Colony’s finances. In 1850, though, the scandalous conditions of the then Colonial Hospital on Irwin Street was exposed, and this spurred Governor Hutt to order the building of Perth’s first purpose-built hospital. Hutt chose a site on an elevated, but accessible position, to the east of the main settlement.

Plans for the new Colonial Hospital were drawn up in 1852 by James Austin, the Superintendent of Public Works. However, Austin was succeeded by Richard Roach Jewell in 1853, who is thought to have influenced the final design of the building, although the newspapers at the time were very critical of the way a ‘so-called architect’ was handling the project.

Construction of the Colonial Hospital was delayed due to a shortage of skilled labour and materials, a situation only relieved once convicts were deployed in 1853. The Colonial Hospital finally opened in 1855. It was a two-storey with an imposing entrance at one end and wards at the other. Apart from the entrance, the building was surrounded by verandahs. The wards were partitioned, with small groups of patients in separate confined spaces. The basement contained the kitchen, scullery, and stores, as well as cells for ‘lunatics’ that were added late in the design. Unlike the previous Colonial Hospitals, the new establishment did not admit Aboriginal patients.

As a Government hospital, there was little incentive or money to improve infrastructure or patient care. Between 1855 and 1890, the only structures to be erected at the hospital site were a mortuary in 1857 and an isolated infectious disease ward in 1885. The pressure on the Colonial Hospital was slightly relieved with the construction of a hospital in Fremantle in 1883.

However, during the 1890s after the discoveries of gold at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie led to a dramatic increase in the colony’s population, it became necessary to extend the hospital to cope. The 1890s also brought significant changes to the management, administration and size of the Colonial Hospital. In the mid-1890s, the hospital was renamed Perth Public Hospital, at which time it was stated that the hospital was to cater exclusively for those who could not afford private health care.

Today, although difficult to see behind the modern additions to the building, the 1855 Colonial Hospital is still part of Royal Perth Hospital, and a reminder of the role of government in providing health care for Western Australians.

Gazette 24 September 1852

Gazette 8 October 1852

Inquirer 6 September 1854

Gazette 29 June 1855