Brief History 

Medical services in the Wimmera began in the 1860s.  Doctors on horseback treated their patients if they could reach them in time, travelling over long distances and difficult tracks.  They could not give patients long term trained care or carry the range of equipment needed for every case.  Nor could Doctors be sure that uneducated bush families would continue care and treatment after their visits.  Hospital accommodation was essential in such an isolated area.

There had been doctors in the Wimmera since the 1860s or earlier.  No town hospital existed when the three Duff Children (Jane, Frank and Isaac) were lost in the bush near Horsham in 1864.  They survived against all odds to become a story which is now the Wimmera’s favourite legend.  The children needed many months to recover, which would have been quicker if Horsham had a hospital back then.  Today, a similar bush drama would end with “They were admitted to Wimmera Base Hospital where their condition last night was satisfactory”.  Read the Duff children’s story “Lost in the Bush” 

Horsham’s hospital story began in a hotel.  The hospital was born in the Carrier’s Arms, Horsham, on 10 September 1873.  A public meeting agreed to ask for five acres of land, suggesting the police paddock which had been used to rest and feed the horses for the town’s mounted troopers.  Letters went off to the surrounding sheep runs and stations explaining the hospital plan and seeking money. 

Almost a year later, on 27 August 1874, another public meeting at the same hotel elected a committee and appointed trustees.  The Rev G W Adam became chairman of the first Committee of Management and thus first Hospital President.  Government funds, always needed but always with district support, had been arranged and everything was ready for the first meeting. 

The Horsham District Hospital , as it was known then, was opened in 1874 with 12 beds, a medical officer, a nurse and a wardsman.

 

The Horsham District Hospital was constructed in 1873 and opened in 1874

 

 

“The Open Door” this was the first photo to appear in the 1937/38 Annual Report

 

Doctors arrived in larger numbers as the settlers arrived to take up small parcels of the old settlers’ runs, making settlement across the plains much closer than in any rural area of the Wimmera today.  The demand continued through the years of the century.  The first major extension was the fever ward in 1876, which was used to house scarlet fever patients.

The pressure of demand for new buildings within the first two years has continued to the present day.  Each time building has caught up with the calls for growth, there has been a new need to fill.  The hospital’s building development is linked to the growth of the community and its needs.

 In 1882, a four bed wing for women was added “to give female patients the same privacy that had been enjoyed by males”.

 

In 1889, the hospital’s three wards were lit by gas.  One of the earliest pieces of specialised equipment was an incinerator, a subject which filled the minute book for a year.  In early days, the general committee handled everything, right down to the details of an incinerator.  The burner was one of its big triumphs. 

The hospital grew to 33 beds in 1893 and by June 1894, cold water was piped to the operating room.  By 1902, there was a new wing, a new nurses’ home and a new operating room.  It was in this year, that Dr Robert Ritchie performed a spinal analgesia at Horsham Hospital, Read about Dr Ritchie Article*² the first recorded in Australia.  In 1927, when new buildings were opened, it then became the Horsham Base Hospital .

 

The new operating room where Dr Robert Ritchie performed the first spinal analgesia in Australia

Many problems were encountered along the way.  There were changes to plans, problems with money and coping with a different community life because of a second world war.  There were problems with the foundations, the familiar battle with shifting foundations which has worried every builder and house owner in Horsham. 

Work stopped soon after war began because of the problems of raising 10,000 pounds to match 40,000 pounds in grants.  In February 1940, the hospital committee gave up their ideas of a major development and revised their plans to work for a building in keeping with funds in the bank and to allow more beds.

Five months later, work stopped for three months.  The war dominated public and private life and the hospital knew it could not manage without government support.  The old main block was priced at 40,000 pounds.  It was to be the first section of a complete new hospital – four floors from the entrance to sunroom, a new boiler house with two wood fire boilers.

 In 1943, the four storey red brick building opened its doors, however, the complete new building was never finished.  The building was quickly fully utilised for beds and services and the old hospital buildings remained in use. 

 

The new four storey building was completed in 1943

 

In was not until 1960, that the hospital changed its name to Wimmera Base Hospital to reflect the region from which the hospital received more than half its patients.

 It was an historic occasion on 24 April 1996 with the opening of the new $12.5 million hospital in Horsham.  The new hospital has been designed with the flexibility to meet the growing demands and health care needs of a modern community.

 On 1 November 1995, Wimmera Base Hospital and Dimboola District Hospital amalgamated to form Wimmera Health Care Group.  This merger has further improved the availability of health care services to residents throughout the Wimmera.

 From its humble beginnings over a century ago, the past Board and staff members, health professionals and local community groups have strived to meet the challenge of ensuring Wimmera families have access to the highest standard of health care available.

 

*Material derived from “Since Adam Was The Man” written by Mr Alan Finch 

*² Spinal Anaesthesia-Early Australian Experience
   LJ McBride
   Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Vol. 33, Supplement 1, June 2005

An early photo of the maternity ward 


 

Male patients recuperating in the fresh air on the veranda – this was common practice in the early days

 

 

The staff at Horsham District Hospital in the early days

Aged Care

In 1976, Wimmera Base Hospital added a new nursing home “The Sir Robert Menzies Nursing Home ” to the range of services provided in Horsham.  This wonderful new 40 bed facility for residents with high care needs was officially opened on 17 December 1978.

To cater for the growing demand for aged care services in Horsham, a new 30 bed wing “ Matron Arthur Manor ” was constructed nine years later to complement the existing service. Matron Arthur Manor was officially opened on 22 November1987 (Read about the official opening).

(“Matron Arthur” was Miss Gilbert Mary Arthur. She was appointed Matron of the Horsham Base Hospital on 19 August 1928 and continued in this role for 25 years. To read her story, please click here).

In 1996 the two Nursing Home s were renovated with the six bed rooms being made four bed and ensuites being built into the revamped rooms. The two Nursing Home s were joined by the corridor and a reception area and Nurse Unit Managers office built.  They were registered as a single entity  - Wimmera Nursing Home .

 Today, the Wimmera Nursing Home , which still comprises of the two wings – the Sir Robert Menzies Nursing Home and Matron Arthur Manor – provides high quality shared accommodation for 70 residents with high care needs.

To further complement our aged care services, Kurrajong Lodge hostel was relocated to its current site – the rebuilding was completed completed in 1997 and officially opened on 11 April of that year.  This low care hostel facility provides single room ensuite accommodation for 36 elderly residents who are no longer able to live in their own home or requirement short term respite.  The hostel comprises of three co-joined houses with 12 residents to each house.