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The need for
a hospital in Temora was felt very early in the days of thegold rush period, a
public meeting was held on the 31st August 1880 to consider the
establishment of a hospital in Temora. This was deemed necessary because there
was a significant increase in the permanent population of Temora. Three months
later a marquee was sent from Sydney to be used as the first hospital in
Temora.
On May 4th 1881, a bonus of ten pounds was offered for the best design of a wooden building to be Temora’s second hospital, and to cost not more than three hundred and fifty pounds.
Picture 1 - Wooden Hospital (first stage)
Subsequently a tender was accepted for three hundred and fifty nine pounds. This new wooden hospital is believed to have been constructed in the Twynam and Vesper Streets precinct. Sometime after the initial construction a brick extension was added, this doubled the hospital’s capacity. After being in use for twenty seven years, the original wooden section of this building became entirely unsuited for the requirements of that time. However there is a school of thought that the brick extension of this building was kept, and then became part of the new hospital (possibly the nurse’s quarters) that was opened in 1908.
The new hospital in 1908 was constructed of brick, at a cost of one thousand eight hundred pounds was built on the hill between Vesper and Twynam Streets, the main entrance faced east overlooking a then blossoming township of Temora. The new hospital was complete with operating theatre, nurse’s quarters, a laundry facility and tennis court. A well was dug to catch the water run-off from the newly constructed buildings and this well served as the water supply for the hospital. Temora’s third public hospital became a training hospital for general student nurses this started 27th July 1926
Picture 2 - Original Wooden Hospital left of picture with brick extension to the right.
After many years of use, this hospital fell into a state of disrepair, it was said to have become so dilapidated that the Government of the day, then Minister for Health the Hon H.P. Fitzsimmons refused to spend any more money on it, and was heard later in a speech to describe it as the worst he had ever seen. Consequently a new hospital was required, to this end the Hospital Board purchased a block of land on Young Hill on the opposite side of the township.
However this was not to be the end for the old Temora District Hospital. There was still one more role for it play out in Temora’s history. Although it was declared to be in a state disrepair, this magnificent building was then divided up into small public housing units. This enabled up to five families to call this place home. Some were living in the main hospital building, while others lived in the nurse’s quarters that were nearby. The Air Force Women who were stationed here during the war years called this place home too. It is thought they accommodated there just to distance them from the Air Force men who were here in Temora at that time doing their elementary training. Rent was paid for the use of these housing units and buildings, it is believed to have been paid to Public Housing Department of the day, as this land is still owned by the crown. Eventually the building fell into such a state of disrepair, it became unfit for people to live there, and stood derelict until it was demolished in the 1970’s.
Picture 3 - Early view of Temora District Hospital
Picture 4 - Later view Temora District Hospital showing patients in beds on the veranda
CURRENT TEMORA DISTRICT HOSPITAL
Exactly fifty eight years to the day after that inaugural meeting had taken place to establish a hospital in Temora, the foundation stone was unveiled 31st August 1938 for Temora’s fourth public hospital, it was completed by the end of 1939 at a cost of seventy six thousand pounds and came into use 16th March 1940. Originally it was built as 76 bed hospital, at the time many opponents branded it to be a white elephant that would never be filled.
Picture 5 - 1940 view from Loftus St showing a gravelled Gloucester St and gardens in the foreground, together with newly constructed hospital and nurses quarters in the background
The architect of this so called white elephant was Mr Leighton Irwin, it is believed that the plan for Temora’s new hospital was originally conceived for Manly. There is some conjecture that the hospital was built back to front where it now stands, the rounded section of this building on the northern side that once was the Children’s ward is thought to have been designed as an entrance. Looking at the aspect of the building one could easily come to this conclusion, however there is no evidence to suggest that this is correct.
Picture 6 - View looking toward Gloucester St showing rounded children’s ward ground floor, with resident Doctors two room flat second floor next to lift tower.
Mr W.A. Reichstein, a member of the Board of Directors, also at that time the Chairman, took it upon himself and began to design an extensive garden that contained many trees including cedars, gums, wattles, poplars, cypresses, ironbark’s and fruit trees, a task made even harder as the hill on which the hospital was constructed was strewn with quartz rock. There were hard clay soils to contend with as well, never the less his plan was realized and the gardens were established. This can do attitude of the Hospital Board of Directors was necessary because upon completion of the new Hospital there was no money left for the furnishings. Therefore it was incumbent on the community to band together and go about the mammoth task of raising the funds to acquire them. It was reported at the time that this was done with great gusto.
The new Temora District Hospital was well equipped, with its children’s and maternity wards on the ground floor, the female ward (west wing) together with the private ward (east wing) on the first floor, its male ward and later a solarium on the second floor, with an operating theatre, pathology laboratory, X-ray room, casualty department, offices and thirteen person lift, and also boosting a resident doctor’s two room flat. With all the dedicated staff and extensions to the eastern wing of the hospital in the late 1950’s, then again in the late 1970’s. Temora District Hospital grew to have a total of 110 beds. There was at least one occasion when 110 beds proved to be inadequate, the recollections of one of the domestic staff of that time has the matron coming down to the kitchen and instructing them they would have to prepare a few more meals that day, as they had just placed patients beds in the aisles.
On 25th July 1960 Temora District Hospital was accredited as a training hospital for nursing aides. This then meant that that there up to twenty nurses for a morning shift, up to ten nurses for the evening shift, and up to seven nurses for the night shift working every day, all of whom were under the strict control of a Matron who lived on the hospital grounds in a flat on the lower floor of the nurses quarters. The Matron then, was virtually on call 24/7, and whenever the Matron was on leave, the senior head sister would take over in her absence. The nurses were given various tasks (some not so pleasant) to perform as part of their training. Occasionally when in the operating theatre they were required to place an arm over a difficult patient who was resisting the anaesthetic being administered to them. The nurse had to hold the patient down with all her weight, until the anaesthetic, (which was ether in those days) would take effect. Sometimes these tasks they were given were not always explained as well as perhaps they should have been. A trainee nurse working in the male ward was sent to prepare a patient for a simple appendectomy. She was told to shave him in readiness for this operation. She did not just shave the abdominal area which was required for this procedure, she went above and beyond, (let’s just say beyond), when the hospital gowns were lifted in the operating theatre, there was much discussion and amusement at the man-scaping that had taken place. It is thought that this particular gentleman went on to live a perfectly normal, healthy and happy life, not at all scarred by his close encounter.
There weren’t just appendectomies carried out at Temora District Hospital, there were procedures such as hysterectomies, mastectomies, hernia’s, amputations, and countless tonsillectomies, needless to say the doctors and nurses were always kept very busy in maternity delivering the baby boomers of that era. The Hospital was always full, bearing in mind, there were no age care facilities at this time, these facilities came in the middle of 1977 with the completion of Greenstone Lodge, then later again with the completion of Narraburra Lodge. Nurses would arrive in Temora from everywhere, places like Marrickville in Sydney and neighbouring towns like Gundagai, in some cases from overseas, to take up their training at Temora District Hospital. Many stayed on in the Temora District to marry local men and raised their families. With all these dedicated nurses and doctors going about their daily business, the recollections of the nurses that worked at the Temora District Hospital at this time, indicate it was a very enjoyable place to work. Inevitably all good things end, with the last intake for trainee nurses in 1979.
Apart from the many nurses, doctors and administration staff that were required to run the Temora District Hospital smoothly. There were the very important and sometimes forgotten domestic staff. Numbering around twenty three, their job was not just keeping the hospital clean and sterile, theirs were also the cooking and preparing of up to and sometimes over three hundred meals per day, then delivering them to all parts of the hospital, not only catering for the patient’s needs, the staff as well, and there were all those very necessary cups of tea. Also part of their duties was cleaning of the matron’s flat along with the nurse’s quarters. This in itself was quite a task, as there were up to forty nurses living there, many of whom had to sleep on the louvered veranda. Sleeping space was at a premium back then. When nurses went on holiday they were required to clear out their rooms to make way for other nurses, or just to get nurses off the cold veranda in the winter months.
There was an old house that originally stood on the block of land before the hospital was built, it was located to the east, near where the rear car park for nurses is now situated. The old house was renovated, and divided up into small rooms, it then became the Sister’s quarters. This also had to be kept clean and tidy by the domestic staff.
There was a laundering facility at the Temora District Hospital, washing all the linen, bed covers, towels, and surgical gowns, anything that was soiled in the day to day procedures of a very busy hospital. There were several maintenance men, a painter, electrician, plumber and carpenter to take care of any repairs, or general maintenance that was required. The hospital had to be in top working order and kept running efficiently. There was also a large amount of gardening too. There was a full time gofer, his correct job title is unclear, however his job was to simply run errands, deliver massages, take scripts down town to the chemists, then return with the much needed drugs, or any other requirements of the hospital from down town. Apparently he carried out these errands by push bike, up and down the hill several times a day, with just a hessian bag strapped over his shoulder to carry his freight.
There were engineering staff whose job it was to operate the boiler. The wood fired (tubed type) boiler of that time was a very essential part of the day to day running of the Temora District Hospital. It was necessary for the central heating system of the entire hospital. Also there was a smaller boiler at the ready just in case there were any issues, or maintenance requirements of the main boiler. Hot water with a special chemical added to prevent oxidisation was pumped through an elaborate plumbing system to the numerous radiators placed throughout the hospital. Throughout the colder months of the year the boiler would be manned by three shifts twenty four hours per day, there were two shifts during the warmer months. The heat generated by the boiler was also used by the steam cookers in the kitchen, and to heat the dryers in the laundry, as well as a hot water supply for the showers and bathrooms of the hospital. The heat was also used for the sterilisation of surgical instruments and equipment which were used in the operating theatre.
The hunger for wood by this boiler was insatiable, consuming up to one and a half tons in an eight hour shift. It was the responsibility of numerous contractors over the years to keep a steady supply of wood to the Temora District Hospital, the last of these contractors was Ken Smith, who recalls that he alone had delivered approximately ten thousand imperial tons. At a maximum length of six feet and with the preferred length of five feet averaging five loads per fortnight, two long stock piles of wood appeared and grew so big it could have been said they were a landmark feature in themselves. Two rows were necessary as dry wood had become very hard to find due to the appetite of this boiler. One row was continually added to with green wood, while it was drying, the other row of seasoned wood supplied the boiler. Green wood weighs a bit heavier than when it has seasoned. For example ten tons of green wood once seasoned will weigh approximately eight tons, with the princely sum of two pounds six shillings and eight pence on offer per ton, green wood proved to be quite a financial windfall for these wood carting contractors. However the hospital board were well aware of the unavailability of dry seasoned wood, and were happy to pay for this tonnage shortfall, it was very necessary have a large stock pile of wood in reserve due to the importance that this boiler played in the day to day running of the Temora District Hospital. The stock piles of wood were gradually allowed to run down and from 1975 through to 1978 there was a gradual transition from wood fired heating, to a diesel fired system of heating for the boiler.
Picture 7 - View showing one of two stock piles of wood in foreground, with fruit trees and hospital in background.
Thank you to all the people who helped compile this story. With a very special thank you to the people who are listed below for their recollections of a time when working in what they believe to have been the best years of our Local Hospital
Sr. Pat Newman
Lindsay Myers
Pauline Matthews
John Hingerty
Gwen Letson
Ken Smith
Maureen Pinney
Lyn Sutton
