Royal Alexandra Hospital For Children

The Royal Alexandra Hospital was established in 1880 as the Sydney Hospital for Sick Children at Glebe, Sydney. It was run by a private committee and board of management. In 1904 its name was changed to the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, and in 1907 it moved from Glebe to Camperdown. In 1995 the hospital at Camperdown closed, and was merged with the Westmead Hospital to become the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

In the hospital’s earlier years, while at Glebe, it provided medical care for up to 40 children between the ages of 18 months and 12 years, primarily for infectious diseases. The extended treatment and recovery time required for children with infections like poliomyelitis and tuberculosis, as well as complex orthopaedic issues, was an issue for the hospital and it’s limited bed numbers. These children were typically transferred to other, larger hospitals for their convalescent period after receiving their initial treatment at the Glebe hospital, opening up beds for new patients.

The move to Camperdown in 1907 alleviated the issue of overcrowding, bringing the total number of beds up to 150. Children were able to be admitted for longer convalescent stays, and the hospital also began accepting infants. However, pressure on the hospital’s bed numbers soon returned, and beds and nurses were continually added to keep up with demand. In 1921, following the donation of a property at Collaroy, the hospital was able to open its own Convalescent Home for up to 30 long-term patients, once again reducing pressure on short-term beds at the hospital. From 1919 the NSW Education Department ran classes for children at the hospital, and from 1922 at the Collaroy Convalescent Home.

During the 1950s and 1960s (and possibly also at other times) the Royal Alexandra Hospital was involved in the forced removal of children from their parents. Submission 223 to the Senate Inquiry into Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices discusses a case where the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children was involved in the removal of a baby from his young, unmarried mother. In a 2022 interview with ABC News, Aboriginal elder and Yuin woman Aunt Lindy Lawler spoke about how she and her twin sister were placed at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children after being taken from their parents, without their consent, following a check-up at a local hospital. From the Royal Alexandra Hospital they were then placed in children’s Homes and foster homes for the remainder of their childhood. In 2023 Sydney Children’s Hospital Network issued a formal apology to Aboriginal people for the Royal Alexandra Hospital’s role in the removal of Aboriginal children from their families. The apology reads:

The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network acknowledges in the days when the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children was located at Camperdown, some Aboriginal children admitted to the Hospital were discharged to the care of government agencies which meant that for many children they did not return to their families.

The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network acknowledges the hurt and trauma this would have caused Aboriginal children and their families and sincerely apologises for the part it played in the removal of Aboriginal children at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children at Camperdown.

In 1995 the hospital at Camperdown closed. It moved to Westmead where it was merged with the paediatric services of Westmead Hospital, and became known as The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.