Stead House was opened at Marrickville in 1973 by the Salvation Army in 'Hopeleigh', which had been part of Bethesda Maternity Hospital. Stead House was opened as Bethesda House but its name was changed to honour the founding matron of the hospital. Stead House was a hostel for working girls and students and a home for unmarried mothers. It was closed in 2007.
Stead House occupied the historic house Hopeleigh, which had served as nurses' quarters and a laundry for Bethesda Maternity Hospital since 1956. It was named after the founding matron of Bethesda Maternity Hospital, Lieutenant Colonel Doris Stead.
Stead House remained a hostel for women students and low income earners until the mid-2000s, when economic and fire regulation compliance issues became insurmountable. The Salvation Army sold the entire site in 2007 and between 2010-2012 the Bethesda Maternity Hospital building and Stead House were converted to apartments.
c. 1910 - 1956 Hopeleigh Maternity Home
1957 - 1973 Bethesda Maternity Hospital
1973 - c. 2007 Stead House
Sources used to compile this entry: 'Bethesda House; Stead House', in State Heritage Register, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, 18 March 1999, https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=2030296; 'Apartment of the Week: 26/12 Leicester Street, Marrickville', Domain: Sydney Morning Herald, 25 August 2012; 'Stead House', in Wikipedia, 2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stead_House; The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory, 'Submission 46: EASTERN TERRITORY SOCIAL CENTRES: A list of openings, closings, and function', in Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care - Submissions received by the committee as at 17/3/05, Senate Community Affairs Committee, Commonwealth of Australia, June 2003, http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sublist.
Prepared by: Naomi Parry
Created: 9 August 2013, Last modified: 28 November 2013