Bishop Sydney KirkbyPrint Page 
The Bishop Kirkby Memorial Hospital commemorates Sydney James Kirkby (1879 - 1935), an Evangelical Anglican clergyman.
He tramped Australia, often `humping his bluey' in the interests of lonely settlers in the outback and he became invaluable because he knew his fellow-Australians so well. The unusual spectacle of a clergy man carrying a swag and footslogging through the Gippsland forests in 1920 raised doubts in the minds of the local people and police as to S.J. Kirkby's bona fides as a parson.
In a letter in 1906 to his former College Principal, S. J. Kirkby noted the long and lonely distances to be travelled by sulky in the parish, and noted with joy that his nearest clergyman neighbour lived only 15 miles away, thus enabling them to meet every five or six weeks and break down the isolation. He understood the outback settlers, their way of looking at things and doing things, and, in turn, was trusted by them.
He was a keen photographer, making and tinting his own glass slides, a good pianist, pen sketcher, and modest poet.
He enjoyed joining in the fun and promoting social activities whether travelling by ship or amongst communities. On his death, the New Soth Wales Government gave permission for his burial in the grounds of historic St. Philip's Church Hill, Sydney.
The Bishop Kirkby Memorial Hospital was built on the Trans-Australian Railway in 1937 and continues to be operated and staffed by the Bush Church Aid Society.
Bishop Kirkby Hospital Opening 1937Location
| Address: | Main Street, Cook, 5701 |
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| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -30.612531 Long: 130.413256 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Structure |
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| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Religion |
| Link: | http://adb.anu.edu.au/ |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Saturday 18th September, 1937 |
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Hospital
Bush Church Aid Society f Australia
Anglican Church
Bishop Kirkby Memorial Hospital
This Hospital opened on 18th September 1937 in memory of the Rev`d S. J. KIRKBY the first organising Missioner of the Bush Church Aid Society of Australia.
The Society has been caring for the spiritual, medical and social needs of people in the isolated parts of Australia since 1919.
Plaque :
Bishop Kirkby Memorial Hospital
In 1932, Sydney`s Archbishop made a public appeal for a doctor to head up a brand new bush hospital, to be built at Cook. "A munificent salary cannot be paid", he warned. "But the man who accepts the post will be provided with an aeroplane." The new hospital was to be named after the late Bishop Kirkby, who had laid the first plans to build a medical centre on the Nullabor Plain to serve a district spanning more than 800 kilometres. The Bishop Kirkby Memorial Hospital opened its doors in 1937 and served the community for six decades. In any given year, it treated more than 900 patients from Cook and its surrounds.
For many years, the building doubled as Cook`s weather station, with nursing staff keeping the official meteorological records.
