Heritage Information Please contact us for more information about this place: [email protected] -OR- phone 07 3403 8888 Mater Misericordiae Hospital Key details Addresses At 537 Stanley Street, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101 Type of place Hospital Period Federation 1890-1914, Interwar 1919-1939, Late 20th Century 1960-1999, Postwar 1945-1960 Style Arts and Crafts, Free Style, International, Queenslander, Functionalist Lot plan L2_RP185046; L1_RP11630 Date of Information — July 2014 Page 1 Key dates Local Heritage Place Since — 30 October 2000 Date of Information — July 2014 Construction Roof: Corrugated iron; Walls: Face brick People/associations Robert Smith (Robin) Dods (Architect); Sisters of Mercy (Association) Criterion for listing (A) Historical; (B) Rarity; (D) Representative; (E) Aesthetic; (G) Social; (H) Historical association The Mater Misericordiae Hospital was established by the Sisters of Mercy order in 1906 in ‘Aubigny’, a residence in North Quay. In 1910, they transferred to their new private hospital, designed by Robin Dods of Brisbane architectural firm, Hall and Dods, on the crest of ten acres at College Hill, South Brisbane. The following year, a public hospital building, also designed by Dods, was opened on the site. During subsequent decades, the hospital expanded further with the addition of several extensions including a convent and chapel on the western side of the private hospital (1926) and new buildings such as a chaplain’s residence (1924), children’s hospital (1931), medical school (1956) and maternity hospital (1960). Since the 1980s, the hospital complex has had major redevelopments and continues to deliver both private and public health services. History The Mater Hospital complex at South Brisbane had its beginnings in January 1906 when the Sisters of Mercy, an Irish religious order dedicated to the care of the sick and needy, opened the Mater Misericordiae Private Hospital in North Quay. The new private hospital was housed in ‘Aubigny’, an 1860s residence rented by the Sisters until a permanent hospital could be built on their ten acres of land College Hill at South Brisbane, overlooking the river. With Mother Mary Patrick Potter at the helm, the Order purchased the site, which became known as Mater Hill, in 1893. At this time, Brisbane was recovering from the severe flooding which devastated parts of the city and was in a deep economic depression. South Brisbane, once a rival to the town centre on the northern side of the river, was particularly affected by the flooding. It would be another fifteen years before the foundation stone of the new private hospital was laid by Cardinal Moran. Between the investments and fundraising of the Sisters and generous donations from the public, almost £25 000 was raised towards construction costs by the time of the laying of the foundation stone in 1908. There was some initial reluctance among the public and the medical fraternity to embrace a new hospital on the south side of the river as the northern side was more populous and perceived by some as more respectable. In the early 1900s, the sisters engaged the prestigious Brisbane architectural firm of Hall and Dods to design the new hospital which would include a 50 bed private hospital and a public hospital with 40 beds. Robin Dods had already designed the much admired Lady Lamington Nurses’ Home (1896) at the Brisbane Hospital after winning the design competition. The new three storey, brick hospital at Mater Hill shared some design features with the Date of Information — July 2014 Page 2 nurses’ home at Herston, including the timber detailing on the extensive verandahs and careful planning for Brisbane’s humid climate such as cross ventilation and roof vents. The hospital layout was also informed by the latest scientific theories of hygiene and germ control, ensuring a constant flow of fresh air. The contractor for the hospital was Mr Cockburn and it was furnished by Finney’s, John Hicks and Trittons. The Mater Private Hospital was officially opened on 8 August 1910 by the Queensland Governor, Sir William McGregor, at a ceremony attended by some 12 000 people. The building was of a very high quality, featuring elegant silky oak interiors, leadlight windows with an “MM” motif and decorative plaster ceilings. It also possessed two modern operating theatres behind the eastern end of the main building and the most up to date medical equipment as well as steam heating, gas and electricity. The ground floor contained a doctor’s consulting room, Sister-in-Charge’s room, single and double patients’ rooms, a pantry and kitchen (at the western end. The second floor (reached by three separate staircases) housed more patients’ rooms, pantry and store room, as well as a refectory and temporary chapel for the nuns. The third floor was reserved as sleeping quarters for the nuns. Each floor had its own ‘sanitary block’ connected by a passageway: “In these all that science has deemed necessary for absolutely hygienic conditions has been done”. (Brisbane Courier, 17 Aug 1910). The building also contained servants’ quarters with a sitting room and balcony and the modern convenience of laundry chutes for soiled linen. Work at the site was ongoing with the substantial, two storey, brick public hospital opening in February 1911. This building boasted a modern operating theatre and French doors leading onto the ward verandahs allowing beds to be pushed out into the fresh air. The single and double rooms of patients in the private hospital were replaced by four wards of ten beds each with the traditional ‘Nightingale’ layout of a row of beds along opposite walls. Verandahs and windows ensured a constant flow of fresh air which was thought to be of great benefit to the patients. A terraced area between the two wings provided an additional outdoor area for recuperating patients. Public donations continued to assist with the costs of the developing hospital. An unknown donor furnished the female wards and the men’s wards were furnished by Brisbane’s jockeys and horse trainers. As the hospital became more popular with Brisbane’s medical fraternity and the public, both wings were extended in 1914 to provide additional accommodation for patients. Today, the building houses administration functions and is named the Whitty Building in honour of Mother Mary Vincent Whitty, the first Mother Superior of the Mercy nuns in Brisbane in 1861. In 1914, the first 14 lay nursing probationers commenced at the hospital’s training school and St Mary’s Nurses’ Home and a kitchen were constructed. Both the public hospital and the nurses’ home building were also designed by Robin Dods. Together, the three buildings formed the largest hospital project designed by Hall and Dods. The nurses’ home was demolished in 1980 and its site is now marked by a statue of “Mary, Mother of God” that was unveiled by Sister Alphonsus Mary on 8 November 1981. The statue rests on a plinth made of bricks from the original carriage entrance from Raymond Terrace. Another edition to the growing hospital was a timber public outpatient’s department which faced Annerley Road and opened in 1912. This was demolished in the 1970s when a new wing was added on the southern end of the children’s hospital. Despite the initial misgivings of the medical fraternity, the Mater Private and Public Hospitals soon proved to be a valuable addition to the health services of the city. This was particularly the case during World War I, when the hospital treated a constant stream of returned servicemen and in the influenza epidemic of 1918-19 when the Mater played an important role in coping with this health emergency. The hospital shared nursing staff with the Brisbane General Hospital and nursed influenza patients in tents in the grounds and at the neighbouring St Laurence’s College as well as within the hospital. Date of Information — July 2014 Page 3 Further developments took place in the hospital complex during the 1920s. Planning for a permanent chapel began during World War I but the chapel and new convent were not added to the western side of the Private Hospital until 1926. The convent, which adjoins the private hospital, was built in a similar architectural style to the earlier building. The chapel is a striking, two storey brick building which is perpendicular to the front of the convent. Although Robin Dods had moved to Sydney, he was consulted on this development. Another addition during the 1920s was a timber residence for the hospital chaplain. This building, named ‘Loyola’ was constructed on the slope between the two hospitals in 1924 but moved to its current site to the east of the former private hospital in 1926. The public hospital was extended again in 1920 with the construction of a new wing to the south. Numerous additional changes have been made to the building which in 1987 became the hospital’s administration centre. A new entrance to the hospital was constructed on the front façade of the private hospital building circa 1920. This entrance completed Dods’ original plan for the building which included a vestibule in this position. The new entrance which includes a porch and waiting hall, extended the original entrance hall of the 1910 building. It is built in a polychromatic brick design which is sympathetic to the main building. Numerous other extensions have been added to the building notably the 1937 Atkinson and Prentice wing to the east and during the 1980s at the rear. The 1937 wing necessitated the demolition of the old operating theatres at the rear of the original hospital building and new theatres were constructed. The depression of the 1930s may have slowed planned expansion of the hospital but changes continued to be achieved.