Stockton Private Hospitals - Gwandalan Private Hospital: 1926

For most of the first half of the 20^th century, suburban private hospitals provided important medical services to the community. In an era where the Royal Newcastle Hospital and the Mater Misericordiae Hospital were challenging to access, the suburban private hospitals became a crucial lifeline for local residents. These local medical facilities offered a broad range of services, from minor injury care to surgical procedures. However, it was their dedication to providing maternity care that earned them their most significant accolades. Join us as we delve into the rich history of Stockton's suburban private hospitals and their essential contributions to the community.

Image courtesy of Carol Morgan (pictured!)

From the end of the 19^th century, nursing was becoming an increasingly formalized profession. While midwives could still undertake community-based training, nurses in Australia were increasingly undertaking hospital-based training, with regular exams in general nursing and the option to undertaken specialist training in areas such as midwifery and mental health. An important milestone for nurses was the ability to join the Australasian Trained Nurses’ Association, which acted as the registration body of hospital trained nurses. The importance of this registration is demonstrated in advertisements of the day where the initials “A.T.N.A” were proudly displayed after the names of nurses associated with these private hospitals.

The most famous of these hospitals in Stockton was the Gwandalan Private Hospital, which was also popularly known as Sister Brown’s hospital.

There appear to have been two major phases to the life of Gwandalan. The first phase, under nurses Ruby Brown and Elsie Phillips saw the establishment of the hospital and the second phase, under nurse Susan Ogden continued until the closure of the hospital.

Phase 1 – Establishment under Sister Ruby Brown – 1926 - 1947

Nurse Brown started her nursing training in psychiatric nursing at Callan Park Hospital, Sydney in 1917[1], where some of her patients were soldiers returning from World War One. In 1925 Ruby Eliza Brown was the first graduate from the War Memorial Hospital at Waverley. She graduated as a general nurse, with plans to undertake private nursing and then study obstetrics at the Royal Hospital for Women[2]. In 1926 Ruby Brown passes midwifery exams in June 1926, working at Crown Street Hospital[3].

"An Acknowledgment." Methodist, 27 June 1925 1925, 9. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article155276347.

In 1922 Elsie Jane Phillips passes her examinations for the A.T.N.A after training at Manning River District Hospital[4]. In 1926 she qualified in midwifery[5]. In 1926, nurses Brown and Phillips set up Gwandalan Private Hospital in Newcastle Street, Stockton. It was located on the left-hand side of the block, north of King St[6]. Between 1926 and 1928 both were, at various times, the licensee and resident manager of the hospital[7].

Gwandalan Private Hospital was certified as a medical, surgical and lying-in (maternity) hospital[8]. Gwandalan was the only one of the private hospitals in Stockton licensed to offer all three levels of care. These types of hospital were run under the supervision of a licensee, generally a trained nurse. While doctors maintained some hospitals, these were a small percentage of this type of hospital. In the case of Gwandalan, the licensee was a nurse, with the doctors associated with the hospital changing regularly.

An advert for the Gwandalan Private Hospital, where both Nurses Brown and Phillips emphasise their training and certifications.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, 19 February 1927, 16. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137656591.

As this advertisement indicates, both women took great pride in their profession and qualifications. Additionally, since they feature so prominently in this advertisement the qualifications were seen as an important signifier of quality within the community. Sometime between this advertisement and 1930, Nurse Phillips was said to have contracted tuberculous and had to leave the hospital[9].

While I've been unable to find any documentary evidence for the exact address of the hospital in Newcastle St (no need to list the address as everyone who would need its services knew where it was located!!) information from previous occupiers and neighbours record that the house was the home located at 41 Newcastle St, Stockton.

41 Newcastle St, Stockton - original location for Gwandalan Private Hospital.
Image courtesy of Google Maps.

Around 1930 the hospital moved to its more famous location on a corner of Mitchell and Monmouth streets, the address - 139 Mitchell Street. There is one issue that needs to be noted, in the electoral rolls for 1936 through to 1943, there is a “Ruby Eliza Brown” listed as living at 121 Mitchell St, with an occupation of home duties[10]. In every other electoral roll for Ruby Brown before this break and including well into the late 1970’s when she was long retired, her occupation was always listed as nurse. It is possible this is a different person as we know that during this period between 1936 to 1943 she was working as a nurse.

The other possibility to account for this discrepancy in house numbers is the re-numbering was necessary due to blocks of land in the areas being sub-divided into smaller plots. Nurse Brown, as required by the 1926 Nurses’ Registration Act, maintained her certification and is listed as working at Gwandalan Private Hospital[11]. The size and services offered by the hospital makes it unlikely that Sister Brown was the only nurse working at the hospital. A number of women in Stockton listed their profession as nurses, one of these, Madge Thoroughgood worked at Gwandalan[12].

"Family Notices." Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, 09 April 1927, 4.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137663397.

Life at the hospital is mostly reflected in the newspaper through a regular flow of birth and death announcements in which the hospital is mentioned and the medical and nursing staff thanked for their support and assistance. This assistance was especially appreciated during the Great Depression, when:

“Perhaps her greatest service was to the women of the community as the resident midwife. It was said that during the depression years, she went to her patients on foot, taking a pinch of tea and a slice of bread and jam, not to sustain herself, but to give to the mother after delivery. She was well aware there was often very little food in the home.”[13]

"10 Little Stockton Babies." Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate,
12 February 1947, 1. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article132865118.

Sister Ruby Eliza Brown

Phase 2 – Handover to Sister Susan Ogden – 1947 - 1961

In 1947, Sister Brown left Stockton to take care of her aging parents[14]. Sister Susan Ogden became the new matron[15] in March 1947.

In 1932 there is a Susan Blackley was registered as a general and midwifery nurse. In 1934 she married Allan Ogden in Sydney and in 1936 she gave birth to a daughter, Susan Elizabeth. Her nursing registration was updated to reflect her married name. This is very interesting as it was generally accepted that women would cease nursing when they married, many hospitals having formal policies requiring married nurses to resign. The fact that she updated her registration would indicate that she intended to keep practicing nursing. The 1949 NSW Electoral Rolls indicate that both she and her husband, Allan (a coppersmith) were living at 139 Mitchell St[16].

In 1951 a new resuscitator was installed at the hospital:

“New Resuscitator At Stockton: An E. and J. resuscitator had been installed at "Gwandalan" Private Hospital, near Stockton Beach, and its use had been demonstrated to doctors, staff and officer-in charge of Stockton police, the City Engineer (Mr. Baddeley) reported to Newcastle Council Beaches Liaison Committee last night. The Chairman (Ald. Norris) said the equipment was installed by the council because delays on Stockton punt were likely. All Newcastle Ambulances were equipped with it.” [17]

This replaced the previous resuscitator was initially installed at the hospital the previous year due to alleged misuse by the Surf Club (using it for training without permission). The hospital was called “Dr Muller’s private hospital in Mitchell-street”[18].

"Gwandlan" Private Hospital sign - A photo of a photocopy of a photo of a brass? sign! I have no idea where I got this image form. I don't know which hospital this sign is associated with.

In 1956 Sister Brown returned to Stockton but did not return to nursing[19]. We know that she died in her house at 139 Mitchell Street (in 1995 aged 97). However, there may be some issue with that timeline as we know Sister Brown was active in Stockton where she was involved in the 1952 Methodist Church Jubilee celebrations[20]. The reason these dates are important is that at some stage the hospital moved to a location at 29 Crown Street. Did this happen when Sister Brown first left Stockton in 1947 or at a later date. The references to the Mitchell Street hospital would indicate it remained in the location until at least after 1952. So it seems that the Sister Brown retained ownership of the house when she left but sub-letting it to Sister Ogden. A check of who the licensee/manager was would help clarify this.

Irrespective of the date, it seems likely that the event precipitating the hospital’s move to Crown Street was the return of Sister Brown and her desire to use the hospital as her residence.

29 Crown St from the Newcastle City Council,
Newcastle City Wide Heritage Study 1996-97 - Vol. 3 prepared by Suters Architects

The building at 29 Crown Street from first appearances would seem a much more likely site for a hospital. The size and layout of the building appear more suited to the purpose. The history of the location is sparse. The 2001 Heritage Assessment conducted for the Newcastle City Council is one of few sources to address this issue, stating that: “…it had been a doctors residence and probably incorporated the doctors surgery”[21]. During at least 1929 and 1930 the house was the residence and possibly surgery for Dr. H. A. Annetts[22]. Later in the 1930’s it was home to George Lorger and Thomas Houston. So it seems that the only doctor associated with the site is Dr Annetts who was only in residence there for a few years (he moved to 97 Mitchell Street from 1932).

It appears it was a private residence until sometime in the early 1950’s when the Gwandalan Hospital transferred to the site. Sister Ogden and Gwandalan Private Hospital remained at the site until 1961 when the building was converted to 4 flats/units[23]. The Ogden’s then moved to Warners Bay.

Review of Heritage Studies

Both Sister Brown’s Hospital and Sister Ogden’s Hospital have both been identified as significant in several heritage studies conducted by Newcastle Council. However, the best reference to the private hospitals in Stockton appears in the Draft Newcastle LEP 2000 – Heritage Review. Where the following does a good job of identifying the individual elements related to the history of the hospitals but doesn’t make some important connections:

“However, the justification for listing Sister Ogdens was also questioned on the basis that it only operated as a hospital for little more than a decade from c.1947-1961. Prior to that it had been a doctor’s residence and probably incorporated the doctor’s surgery. Since c.1961 it has been flats. It was at least the fourth private hospital in Stockton. The previous one was Sister Browns, as noted above, which operated from c.1932-1947 and is probably the best known of the former hospitals amongst the local community and is also included in the Draft LEP schedule. Prior to that there was one in Dunbar Street and before that one in Newcastle Street, both of which survive today as private houses, and the Historical Society can probably confirm their details. Private hospitals such as these were principally used for maternity cases, and so played an important role for most of the local community in the life cycle."

And so while the building operated as a hospital for only a short period of time, it represents an ongoing history of private maternity hospitals in the suburb and so contributes to the historic and social history of Stockton, as does the other listed former hospital building at 139 Mitchell Street. Its prior use as a doctor’s residence and surgery is also of limited significance. It makes an important contribution to the historic character of the streetscape and retains its basic form and much original fabric intact. As such I have no hesitation in recommending the item be kept on the LEP schedules.”[24]

29 Crown St as it is today, courtesy of Google Maps

1 – While it identifies four private hospitals in Stockton’s history, it doesn’t make the connection that three of them are in fact the one entity, Gwandalan Private Hospital, it was just that it moved locations from Newcastle St (Sisters Brown and Phillips), then to Mitchell St (Sr Brown, then Sr Ogden) and finally, Crown St (Sr Ogden). Thus, while the hospital may have only operated for a decade in each physical location, the continuity of care provided lasted for 35 years.

2 – Not identifying the actual level of care provided by Gwandalan. While a major part of the services it offered was maternity care (a specialty with a much higher risk factor than today), it was the only hospital to also be registered to offer general medical and surgical care.

Significance

The difficulty when assessing the significance of the Gwandalan Private Hospital is that it existed in at least three different physical locations, but the entity of the hospital existed for a time period of 35 years. Heritage assessment can be very physically focused.

I think the other thing that needs to be remembered is that while the suburban private hospitals were common, the significance for Stockton has the additional element of physical isolation. For the entire time of the existence of the private hospitals in Stockton there was no timely road access to Newcastle and therefore the Royal Newcastle Hospital. Access was either by ferry or punt or road via Raymond Terrace. Additionally, there was no Stockton based ambulance until after the hospitals ceased operation, so having access to even the limited services available at this local hospital was literally potentially lifesaving. Thus, these hospitals played a critical role in the local community, a role that is still felt today as without much contest, the most common question asked of the Stockton Historical Society is for information about the hospital.

139 Mitchell Street as it it today

History of Stockton