Silver Chain Nursing League Building

Values

The place in an example of a single storey residence constructed in the Federation Queen Anne style.

The place is rare for its associations with the Silver Chain Nursing League.

The place demonstrates the rise and growth of the Silver Chain Nursing League in Highgate, and its history from the early twentieth century until the mid 1980s.

Physical Description

The single storey red and white brick building, is topped with a large central gable and terracotta tiled roof, and the sign ‘Silver Chain Nursing Leagues’ written across the street front. A timber verandah shades the front entrance. Additions to the original c.1920 structure have been made to the rear and the north, making the building ‘T’ shaped in plan. The building sits to the north east of a larger medical facility. It is hard to distinguish the construction date and location of the other buildings on site, as the street view is obscured with trees and shrubbery. To the direct south of the c.1920 building is a car park.

History

In 1916 this property was leased by the Silver Chain Nursing League, which was used as a low care residential facility for the frail aged or those who could no longer live independently. The Silver Chain (the predecessor to Silver Chain Nursing League) was founded in 1905, initially as a club to support Perth’s sick and poor children, by donating money. As Silver Chain grew, its nurses treated patients across the metropolitan area from 1907, as well as providing nursing services in large and small towns across the state, through the Bush Nursing Society, from 1921. Silver Chain expanded considerably in the post war period, opening hospitals in Claremont and Hilton, and providing teaching courses for nurses from the 1970s. Silver Chain still operates today, providing home care and medical facilities in across the state, from Carnarvon to Walpole to Eucla. Silver Chain employed it’s first district nurse from 1907, who treated patients across the city for illnesses such as typhoid, pneumonia, cancer and whooping cough, and in 1910 the first maternity nurse was employed. From 1916 Silver Chain provided accommodation and facilities for aged care from a leased residence in Highgate In 1916 Silver Chain rented a property at 19 Wright Street, and was able to provide accommodation and facilities for aged care.

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