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Queensland - Organisation

Lady Bowen Hospital (1867 - 1938)

  • Lady Bowen Lying-In Hospital on Wickham Terrace, Brisbane

    Lady Bowen Lying-In Hospital on Wickham Terrace, Brisbane, c. 1912, courtesy of Picture Queensland, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
    Details

From
1867
To
1938
Categories
Adoption Agency, Hospital and Maternity Home
Alternative Names
  • Lady Bowen Lying-In Hospital (Also known as)
  • Queensland Lying-In Hospital (Also known as)

The Lady Bowen Hospital, situated in Ann Street, Brisbane, was previously known as the Queensland Lying-In Hospital. It was renamed the Lady Bowen Hospital, after the wife of Queensland's first governor, in November 1867. The Lady Bowen Hospital provided hospital care for indigent, unmarried and destitute women of Queensland and their babies. On 29 December 1889, the new Lady Bowen Hospital, located at 497-535 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, was opened. A Ladies Committee ran the hospital from 1864 to 1924 when the government's newly created Brisbane and South Coast Hospitals Board took control. The Lady Bowen Hospital closed on 25 March 1938 when the new Brisbane Women's Hospital was opened at Herston.

Details

The Ladies Committee encouraged paying clients to make use of the hospital's facilities, as the income would help fund the running of the hospital.

Medical officers advocated the benefits of a hospital birth in an effort to reduce the maternal and infant mortality rate.

In 1913, Florence Featherstonhaugh resigned as Matron of the Roma Hospital to take up the position of Matron of the Lady Bowen Hospital. She was the Matron of the Lady Bowen Hospital from 1913 to 1938, and Matron of the Royal Women's Hospital, Brisbane, from 1938 to 1943.

Robert Allan was Acting Medical Superintendent at the Brisbane Hospital in 1917. On returning home from World War I, he practised as a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology in Brisbane from late 1919 to 1925. He was appointed honorary obstetrician to the Lady Bowen Hospital and assistant gynaecologist to the Brisbane General Hospital.

Location

1867 - 1889
Location - The Lady Bowen Hospital was situated in Ann Street, Brisbane. Location: Brisbane
1889 - 1938
Location - The Lady Bowen Hospital was situated in Wickham Terrace, Brisbane. Location: Brisbane

Timeline

 1864 - 1867 Queensland Lying-In Hospital
       1867 - 1938 Lady Bowen Hospital
             1938 - 1967 Brisbane Women's Hospital
                   1967 - Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital

Related Archival Collections

Publications

Books

  • Patrick, Ross, The Royal Women's Hospital, Brisbane : the first fifty years, Boolarong Publications, Brisbane, 1988, 186 pp. Details

Online Resources

Photos

Lady Bowen Hospital in Brisbane, ca. 1875
Title
Lady Bowen Hospital in Brisbane, ca. 1875
Type
Image
Date
c. 1875
Source
Picture Queensland, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland

Details

City skyline including Lady Bowen Hospital, ca. 1885
Title
City skyline including Lady Bowen Hospital, ca. 1885
Type
Image
Date
c. 1885
Source
Picture Queensland, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland

Details

Lady Bowen Lying-In Hospital on Wickham Terrace, Brisbane
Title
Lady Bowen Lying-In Hospital on Wickham Terrace, Brisbane
Type
Image
Date
c. 1912
Source
Picture Queensland, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland

Details

Lady Bowen Hospital in Brisbane, 1934
Title
Lady Bowen Hospital in Brisbane, 1934
Type
Image
Date
1934
Source
Picture Queensland, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland

Details

Sources used to compile this entry: Patrick, Ross, The Royal Women's Hospital, Brisbane : the first fifty years, Boolarong Publications, Brisbane, 1988, 186 pp.

Prepared by: Lee Butterworth