Centenary of Maitland HospitalPrint Page

The tablet, erected in 1942, commemorates the centenary of the Maitland Hospital. The records of the centenary celebrations are behind the tablet.

A century of service to the sick and suffering was celebrated by Maitland Hospital this afternoon when the State Governor (Lord Wakehurst) unveiled a memorial tablet and opened the outpatients' department.  The modern institution, with its wide drives and lawns, which the Governor saw today came from a very humble beginning. Progress for many years was by no means rapid, and it is of comparatively recent years that the need has been felt for an extension of services. Figures for the last 15 years show a remarkable growth in the people's hospital-mindedness. For its current year Maitland Hospital treated 3716 in-patients, and there were 183 deaths, representing less than five per cent, of the patients treated, compared with 243 indoor patients and 26 deaths for the first year the hospital operated on its present site —it was completed on November 8, 1849, with ten patients.

Actually starting in 1928. when the hospital was declared a community hospital and new nurses' quarters, costing £12,000 were opened, the first step in the extension of the hospital accommodation came on December 19, 1932, when Mr. R. W. D. Weaver, then Minister for Health, laid the foundation stone of the intermediate block, which provided 32 beds and seven private wards. Until this time little had been done since March 22, 1905, when a new hospital was opened by the Premier (Mr. J. H. Carruthers). which provided for only 50 beds. Another extension of the nurses' quarters in 1936-37 was followed by the construction of a private ward block, providing an additional 24 private wards, which was begun in 1938. The opening of the out-patients' department will provide quarters for a service, which has shown remarkable growth in a few years. For the 12 months ended June, 1939, only 780 out-patlcnts were treated, while for its centenary year 1272 patients were treated.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW ), 
9 November 1942. 

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