Sydney Hospital is celebrating 200 years of history on Sunday!
Sydney Hospital has been on its present site in Sydney’s historic Macquarie Street since 1811 and is Australia’s first hospital. It is also home to the first nursing school in Australia.
At exactly 12.45pm, October 30, 1811, Governor Lachlan Macquarie laid the foundation stone for the hospital in Macquarie St.
Between 1811 and 1816 the two free-standing northern and southern wings were added to the main building. The new hospital became known as the Rum Hospital, since it was built by private contractors in exchange for an exclusive license to import 45,000 gallons of rum, which eventually turned into 60,000.
But the hospital we see today is not the original one.
Shortly after it was built the government architect, Francis Greenway, reported it was poorly constructed. In the late 1880s, the main hospital was demolished and the new one built in 1894. In 1829, the northern wing was reclaimed by the government to become the first parliament and in 1854 the southern wing became the mint.
The oldest remaining building on the hospital site is the Nightingale wing.
On October 30, NSW Governor Marie Bashir will commemorate the laying of the first foundation stone by re-enacting the gesture.
Will you attend the open day?
Source and image credits: NSWNA and The Wentworth Courier
Don’t forget to enter our Nurse Uncut Christmas Contest! You could win an Ipad 2 worth $894!
