Corporate body

Geelong Hospital

1852 - current

A public meeting held at the Theatre Royal, Malop Street, Geelong on Thursday 22 February 1849 was called by the Trustees of the Irish and Scotch Relief Fund, on behalf of the subscribers, to deliberate on the necessary measures required to be taken to build a public hospital in Geelong. The meeting resolved that a Benevolent Asylum be established in connection with the Hospital. A provisional committee was established to pursue the objectives of the meeting. A Committee of Management was elected at a meeting held on 18 December 1851. The foundation stone of the Geelong Infirmary and Benevolent Asylum was laid on 1 May 1850. The Hospital opened in 1852, the first patient being admitted on 23 April of that year. The public hospital in Geelong has had four official names. It was known as the Geelong Infirmary and Benevolent Asylum in the period 1852-1923. The Benevolents were moved to Ballarat in mid-February 1923 and immediately the name Geelong Hospital came into use. Geelong and District Hospital became the official name on 13 March 1924. Finally The Geelong Hospital was gazetted on 12 October 1966. Some important dates in the history of The Geelong hospital are 1922 Foundation stone laid for new hospital building to be known as Geelong and District Hospital (Kitchener Memorial) 1924 New hospital opened and original building demolished 1931 First section of Nurses' Home erected 1940 Kardinia House, private and intermediate section, opened. In the same year the Josephine Kenny Wing was added to the Nurses' Home. 1943 Infectious Diseases Hospital opened. It was later known as Bellarine House and used for general purposes. 1950 The Oswald C. Hearne Wing added to Ryrie Street Nurses' Home and No. 2 Home, Myers Street, built 1954 Baxter House (Maternity Hospital) opened. 1956 Pathology block established 1959 New School of Nursing erected 1966 Title of hospital changed to The Geelong Hospital 1968 Plans for Geelong's third hospital, The Geelong Hospital, a multi-storey building, approved to replace the 1924 Kitchener Memorial 1969 First section of the new building commenced 1970 First section of the new building, known as the South Wing, completed and opened 1973 Affiliation with Monash University for medicalunder-graduate teaching 1974 Building of the Roy Birdsey Wing commenced 1975 The Roy Birdsey Wing completed with the first patient admitted in March 1976 1979 E.C. Dax House, the psychiatric unit, erected 1986 The Patricia Heath Wing was opened On 18 October 1974, The Geelong Hospital became the first hospital in Australia to be accredited by the Australian Council on Hospital Standards. The Council, a joint service of the Australian Hospital Association and the Australian Medical Association, was established to implement, inter alia, a national program of hospital accreditation involving surveys by a team of professionals in the health field.