Hospital (fmr)

Statement of Significance

The building is significant not only for the original Federation Bungalow building, but also for the later building/additions, that served the Bridgetown and district communities from 1899 - 1978 as a rural hospital. Aesthetic Value The camp school remains aesthetically like a hospital. The street vista is of the separate nurses quarters/house, the northern wing and the southern wing, which contains the original residence/hospital. The cluster of original buildings remains as a strong visual reminder of the importance that the Old Bridgetown Hospital once had to the entire community, which served a large district. Historic Value Contains the first hospital in Bridgetown. Research Value The Old Bridgetown Hospital and nurses quarters are of research value for the architecture and materials of the 1887 residence and Public Works architecture, technology and workings of a developing rural hospital from 1899 to 1977. The high degree of extant fabric throughout the buildings, including fixtures and equipment, as well as the original house and hospital layout, make for a very high research value. Social Value The Old Bridgetown Hospital was of great social value, just like any other, but has remained very socially important, bringing school children to Bridgetown, often for their first time, as part of the Camp School experience.

Physical Description

Old Bridgetown Hospital (camp school) contains the original residence which was converted into the hospital (1887), the wing extensions of the hospital (from as early as 1936), the nursing quarters (1936) and a transportable office (2015). The original residence which still exists inside the current camp school building, is constructed of jarrah and corrugated iron. This central original portion retains its two double door entries, the left one flowing into its original hallway and three rooms to the left, all retaining many original materials such as skirtings, upper breezeway windows and air vents. The right front entry hall and three rooms were removed and completely remodelled in order to create larger communal spaces for the camp school. The northern, eastern and southern verandahs of the original building have been enclosed by the hospital additions, but remain as wide hallways. The 1936 additions included “a maternity wing, operating theatre, X-ray and dark room, staff quarters, and a septic tank system.” These additions form the northern wing of the overall building, plus the separate house to the northern front of this wing. These original rooms remain and there are numerous signs of their original use. The metal wall plate in the operating theatre (now a dormitory) to connect to oxygen, nitrogen and suction, is still in situ. The southern wing was added in 1941 due to overcrowding, and mostly consisted of new patient rooms. To the side of this wing there is what is thought to have been the isolation room. The camp school has recently added a transportable office to the front of the building, which although altering the street vista of the old hospital buildings, does not alter the form or fabric of the historic buildings.

History

The building contains the remnants of the original residence built for the Regional Surveyor in 1887. This was thought to be a private ownership. In 1899, the building was converted into a hospital, seemingly with very little alteration to the floor plan. Minor renovations were completed in 1914. On 30 April 1936, major additions to the Bridgetown Hospital were officially opened by the Minister for Health, Mr SW Munsie. Further renovations were undertaken in 1941, including additions to the nurses’ quarters. The Old Bridgetown Hospital closed in 1978, with the new hospital built in Peninsula Road. It is now a Department of Education Camp School.

Integrity/Authenticity

Low to Moderate Integrity: The Old Bridgetown Hospital has had three uses, from residential to hospital, and now camp school. Moderate to High Authenticity: The internal walls and fabric of the original residence remain in situ to a large degree as well as the additional hospital wings. The extant fabric has remained largely untouched since the 1936 and 1941 extensions, including skirtings, doors and vents, from both the original residence and the 1936 and 1941 extensions.

Condition

Good to very good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update