The Quambi Nursing Home, North Adelaide, was established as a Home for sick babies under the age of two in 1913 by The Babies' Hospital Association. Babies whose mothers could not afford the fees charged by the Nursing Home were cared for in a tent in the grounds of the Home. Due to overcrowding the Association established the Babies' Hospital, St Peters, in 1915 and it took over the role of caring for sick infants from the Quambi Nursing Home.
The Quambi Nursing Home at Pennington Terrace, North Adelaide, was established a Home for sick babies in 1913 by an Association of prominent philanthropic ladies and concerned Adelaide doctors, The Babies' Hospital Association. Lady Galway, the president of the Association, had lobbied for a special ward for sick babies under the age of two at the Adelaide Children's Hospital and when this attempt failed the sick infants were cared for by a Mrs Bartels at the private hospital known as Quambi Nursing Home. According to newspaper reports from the time, babies belonging to mothers who could not afford the fees of the private hospital were cared for in a tent in the grounds of the hospital arranged for by the Association.
Overcrowding became a problem at the Nursing Home and so the Association leased a large property in Winchester Street, St Peters. In 1915 this became the Babies' Hospital, St Peters and took over the role of caring for sick infants from the Quambi Nursing Home.
1913 - 1915 Quambi Nursing Home
1915 - 1917 Babies' Hospital, St Peters
1917 - 1960 Mareeba Babies' Hospital
1960 - c. 1969 Mareeba Children's Annex of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Sources used to compile this entry: 'A Deserving Cause', The Register (Adelaide, South Australia), 24 September 1915, p. 4, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59625371; 'The Babies' Hospital - A visit to Mareeba', The Mail (Adelaide, South Australia), 25 August 1917, p. 11, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64043227; George, Karen, Finding your own way, Nunkuwarrin Yunti of South Australia Inc., 2005, http://nunku.org.au/resources/.
Prepared by: Karen George and Gary George
Created: 10 June 2014
Last updated: 7 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/sa/biogs/SE01363b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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