Archives



Heathcote

Heathcote began in 1929 on Point Heathcote at Applecross. It was first known as the Heathcote Reception Home, and was a government hospital for people with ‘recent and recoverable’ mental illness. Heathcote sometimes housed Children and adolescents. It closed in 1994. The Royal Commission into Lunacy recommended in 1922 that a new hospital be built…

Claremont Mental Hospital

Claremont Hospital for the Insane was established in 1903, becoming known as the Claremont Mental Hospital in 1933. It was a government-run facility that accommodated children and young people with intellectual and other disabilities until the hospital closed in 1972. Claremont Mental Hospital was Western Australia’s main mental health institution from 1903 to 1972. Children…

Victoria Hospital for Infectious Diseases

The Victoria Hospital for Infectious Diseases began as ‘little more than a tent outpost’ in response to an outbreak of smallpox in 1893. It was located in the Perth suburb of Subiaco (later known as Shenton Park). Children with infectious diseases were regularly admitted during the early life of the hospital. In 1938, ‘after many…

Princess Margaret Hospital for Children

Princess Margaret Hospital for Children (PMH) was established in 1909 in Subiaco as the Perth Children’s Hospital. It was common for children who were in out of home ‘care’ to be sent there for medical treatment, and children with intellectual disabilities or serious medical conditions sometimes lived at the hospital. On 10 June 2018 the…

Spencer Public Hospital

Spencer Public Hospital in Goldie Street, Wynyard, opened in 1918.Initially, it had a locally appointed board but, in 1929, the state government took the Hospital over along with the supervision of its board. In 1944, a new building opened for general hospital patients while the old buildings were retained for maternity care. In 1965, Spencer…

Burnie General Hospital

Burnie General Hospital, run by the government, opened in August 1951. Its maternity beds remained at the former Darwin Private Hospital, now a part of the new hospital. In 1965, the Burnie General Hospital merged with the Spencer Public Hospital in Wynyard to become the North Western General Hospital.

Darwin Private Hospital

Darwin Private Hospital, run by a group of doctors, opened in Burnie in 1933. It had 20 general and 10 maternity beds. The government bought Darwin Private Hospital in 1950 and it became part of the new Burnie General Hospital in 1951.

Mersey General Hospital

The Mersey General Hospital, run by the government, opened in 1958 at La Trobe. It was an amalgamation of the Devon Public Hospital in Latrobe and the Meercroft Hospital in Devonport. The maternity sections remained in Devonport. In 1995, the state government sold the Mersey to Health Care Australia P/L and it became the Mersey…

Meercroft Hospital

Meercroft Hospital opened as a convalescent home in Devonport in 1925. It was run by the Devonport Municipality until 1947, and then by the government. The work of the Hospital included maternity services from which adoptions are likely to have taken place. In 1958, Meercroft Hospital merged with the Mersey General Hospital. In 1920, Mr…

Devon Public Hospital

Devon Public Hospital opened in 1888 in Latrobe as the Devon Cottage Hospital. Initially, it was a private hospital but, on 24 July 1925, the government took it over. Although babies tended to be born at home, the Hospital’s work included maternity services from which adoptions are likely to have taken place. On 10 January…