Ipswich General Hospital

Ipswich Hospital is still a major hospital servicing the the West Moreton region and has been doing so, in various iterations, since its opening in the mid 19th century. 

Initial Construction

In January 1856, a petition requesting grants of land for public purposes, including the hospital was made to the governor-general in Sydney, including for a public hospital. Completing construction in November 1859, on the five acres granted in result of the petition; Ipswich hospital had a capacity of thirty-seven patients across its six wards. It officially opened on the 2nd of March 1860 and welcomed its first patient the next day.

This original design was two stories with a dispensary, storerooms both above and belowground and accommodation for staff. For sanitation, buckets were provided for in toilet areas, which would be emptied into the cesspit 150 yards from the main building, or the waterclosets directly over the pit could be used if visitors were able. Other outbuildings included the bathhouse, in which patients would be bathed before entering a ward, where able, a kitchen with cook's accommodations and a 'deadhouse' (mortuary).

This early iteration of the hospital functioned functioned off a system of voluntary annual subscription and serviced both paying and some non-paying patients.

Early Years

For the first 40 years of operation, Ipswich Hospital was the only hospital servicing the West Moreton District, until the construction of Boonah Hospital in 1900.

In addition to providing medical and surgical care, the hospital took on a role providing support for orphans and destitute people in the decade after its opening. No specialised government run institutions existed in Queensland at this time to provide accommodation for these groups.

The provision of 'outdoor relief' (off-site support) in the form of food, clothing and shelter among other things was a responsibility of the hospital, particularly in the latter part of the 1860s. In 1869 a peak of as many as 170 individuals including 45 families was receiving aid from the hospital at one time.

In-patients From July 1870, as a result of the institution's financial distress, this relief was discontinued and only in-patients were able to receive the hospital's relief measures.

Expansions to the hospital also occurred early on including the construction of a fever ward in 1872. There have been several significant periods of modernisation and change since the hospital's opening.

A Long History

In the long history of Ipswich hospital, every original building has been removed or replaced, and the property bounds have changed. There have been significant re-outfitting of parts of the hospital to modernise in its long history including the introduction of electricity in 1922-1923, through volunteer labour from railway workshop electricians and connection to sewerage in 1927.

In 1936, the voluntary subscription system ended at the hospital and it joined the growing number of public hospitals funded directly by the government, with a government-controlled hospital board.

The hospital remains in use today, providing medical care to Ipswich residents as it has done since 1860.

Notable Figures

Many notable figures in Ipswich local history have an association with Ipswich Hospital including:

• Dr David Trumpy
• Dr Kevin O'Doherty
• Matron Alice Wilcox
• Dr Henry Challinor