MARYBOROUGH GENERAL HOSPITAL

                        Maryborough general hospital ca. 1910. 

                        Source – Maryborough, Wide bay and Burnett Historical Society

John Purser was the first secretary of the Maryborough Hospital Board and recorded the hospital’s early history until his death in 1910.

When the hospital opened in 1887 it was built to cater for the needs of Maryborough at that time. By 1922, as the population of Maryborough grew steadily, it became evident that additional work would have to be carried out to cater for the growing demand, especially in the men’s wards.

At this time a decision was made by the Hospital Committee to move the nurse’s quarters to the western wing of the hospital. The renovations were carried out using a gift of ₤500 from a man named Maurice O’Reagan and also a state government subsidy of ₤250. When the renovations were completed, the nurses were housed in twenty-two rooms. There were also rooms for domestic staff and the inclusion of a large sitting room. Further additions to the complex were completed in 1977 and opened by the then Health Minister, Doctor Llew Edwards.

Doctor H.C. Garde was appointed the first resident surgeon at Maryborough General Hospital. Henry Crocker Garde was educated at Middleton College and Queen’s University, and in 1877 at the age of twenty-two qualified to become a licentiate of the Apothecaries Hall Dublin. The following year he became a licentiate of the Royal College of surgeons (Edinburgh) and of the Royal College of Physicians. In 1886 while qualifying as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh) he also gained a diploma as lecturer in midwifery from the King’s College of Physicians (Ireland). Garde arrived in Maryborough in 1879 after serving several years as a ship’s doctor aboard various vessels. Upon arrival in Maryborough he opened a private practice until his appointment as resident surgeon.

Doctor H.C. Garde died at St Mary’s hospital, aged seventy-seven years and five months, on Tuesday 9 August 1932, his death certificate revealing that he had suffered from, ‘senility, and asthenia and cardiac failure.’

Since first opening in 1887, the Maryborough hospital has played an important role in the city’s social and economic development as the most important medical centre in the Wide Bay region. It was also one of the city’s largest employers and has played a significant role in nursing and medical training.

Source

Matthews, Tony. (1995). River of Dreams: a history of Maryborough and District. Maryborough (QLD): Maryborough City Council.