Mount Hawthorn Hospital

Statement of Significance

Hawthorn Hospital through its continuous operation demonstrates the development of a hospital and health services in suburban Mount Hawthorn, from private hospital to public hospital and later to permanent care. Alfred Kessell house was acquired by his sisters who founded and operated the hospital until taken over by the Health Department in 1957.

Physical Description

The hospital comprises a group of interconnected single storey buildings which vary in style from bungalow to contemporary and utilitarian buildings. The styles of the buildings are typical of their period but have been adapted with additions and changes. Materials are commonplace - painted brick, corrugated iron, asbestos and timber. The original building was a single bungalow form with a hipped roof and separate verandah, which was adapted with gabled and hipped extensions and extended with annexes in contemporary and utilitarian styles. The Flinders Street setback has plantings and garden. The Woodstock Street frontage is hard surface car parks. Extensive

History

The subject site was situated on the portion of Swan Location 724 and being Lots. 99, 100, 101, 102, 103 and 104. Woodstock Street was formerly known as William Street, which is first listed in the Wise's Post Office Directories in 1909. The subject place is listed as occupied by A. Colenso Kessell 'Alameda' in that year however no street number was located. A. Colenso Kessell is listed at the subject place until 1915 when C. A. Mayhall took up the residency. In 1917, William Street in Mount Hawthorn changed its name to Woodstock Street and the subject place was occupied by William Angle. William Angle stayed at residency until 1919. Alfred C. Kessell is then listed at the subject place between 1919 and 1933. Following the death of Alfred C. Kessell in 1933, sisters Alma Jean and Irene May Thomas acquired the house. The sisters were both trained nurses and they converted the house to a hospital, named Hawthorn Private Hospital. Street numbers was first allocated to the subject place as Nos. 14-16 in 1945. In 1947, the subject site was transferred to Silverton Angelo as the sole proprietor. Mrs. Frances Thomas, a relative of Alma Jean and Irene May Thomas, revealed the early history of the Hawthorn Private Hospital in an oral history interview. According to Frances, the subject place was built as a five-bedroom house when John Albert Thomas, the father of Alma Jean and Irene May Thomas, bought the house. After the subject house was converted into a maternity section of the hospital, an addition was constructed later to accommodate a general section. The hospital was also equipped with an operating theatre and an incinerator. A Metropolitan Water Supply Sewerage & Drainage Department (MWSSD) Plan dated 1928 indicates that the subject site comprised two brick buildings divided by an open passage. Another outbuilding was located to the north of the main buildings, with an incinerator to its east. In 1935, the hospital was extended with the construction of a separate building, built as a cottage style hospital with attic accommodation for the resident staff. The addition also featured an office, a bathroom and theatre. A new kitchen was constructed to the rear of the existing kitchen. In 1936, other additions were erected for sisters Thomas, which included a sun porch, garage and front room. An outbuilding, which was purpose built as a kitchen, was added to the western building in 1936. An extended portion was also built to the eastern building in that year which contained a ward and two bedrooms. At the same time, a wood and iron open verandah was erected at the rear of the existing outdoor kitchen. In 1941, an iron room was added to the outdoor kitchen by the builder A. E. Hoskins and in 1943, a convalescent area was built. The Hospital was taken over by the Medical Department in 1957, and leased out as a private hospital. It was leased to Melville Jeisman, as Matron/Administrator, until 1963. The place was then established as an annex of Royal Perth Hospital. Hawthorn ceased to take on maternity cases, these instead being transferred to Osborne Park Hospital, and W. Williams, Managing Secretary of the Osborne Park Hospital, became Managing Secretary of Hawthorn Hospital in addition to his existing role. Hawthorn Hospital was completely renovated in the mid-1960s. The Building Licence Plan dated 1965 shows that the two existing buildings were joined with an administration block and a new wing which accommodated a kitchen and scullery was constructed to the rear of the western building. A nurse's quarters was also built adjacent to the hospital. The Quarters were underutilised, except for a brief period in the 1960s, and in the early 1970s, they were allocated to Community Health Services. In March 1979, Hawthorn Hospital became a Permanent Care Unit, its first patients being transferred from the Extended Care Unit at Osborne Park Hospital. The building was used for aged care for some times and has been vacant since it closed in 2004. In 2006, the Council of Town of Vincent resolved to grant conditional approval to the proposed Change of Use from Hospital to Institutional Building and Associated Additions and Alterations to existing premises. The subject place was renamed as '˜Hawthorn House' and has been operational since December 2006 as an intermediate mental health care facility. Planning approval for the site was for a period of three years, and subsequently '˜Hawthorn House' is anticipated to cease operation by November 2009.

Integrity/Authenticity

Low

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.