St Stephen's Hospital

St. Stephen's Hospital (Source Publication of same name)

The history of the private hospital St Stephen's began in 1905.The original facility was known as St Mary's hospital.  In 1946 St Stephen's Presbyterian Church took over ownership and management by the congregation and community followed. In 2006 Hervey Bay opened a day hospital which has developed into a the facility that is there today.

St Margaret's Private Hospital Corner of John and Sussex Street, Maryborough.

St Margaret's Private Hospital was a second private hospital and was located in John Street Medical Precinct.

Dr H.C. Garde arrived in Maryborough in 1879. He opened a private practice in John Street, Maryborough and in 1884 was appointed resident surgeon at the Maryborough General Hospital. He remained in this position until he was elected to parliament in 1902. He moved to Brisbane for a short period but returned to Maryborough in 1904 and re-commenced his private practice. Apart from a period during the first world war when he served in Egypt he continued to practice medicine in Maryborough until his death in 1932. His John Street home was later used as the nurses' quarters for the staff of St Stephen's Private Hospital. (Image from the Maryborough Wide Bay & Burnett Historical Society Collection)

Dr H.C. Garde originally purchased the land from the AMP society to build a private hospital.Dr Garde's nephew Lee Garde then owned it in 1914. In 1923 Miss SS Francis became matron and with four nursing sisters ran the hospital for general care of patients.

St Stephens became a training hospital in 1927. Five year training schedules were offered. Many local nurses did their training at St Stephen until recent times. In 1928 Miss Francis and her sisters became owners of the hospital.In 1929 a second storey was added and became a maternity wing with a childcare centre.

In the mid 1940s the Presbyterian Church took over running the hospital. John Flynn flying Doctors fund raised for the purchase of the hospital.

Matron Alston was another matron that dedicated her life to nursing at this hospital and she had a wing named after her.

In 2014 St Stephen's Hospital Maryborough closed and St Stephen's Hospital Hervey Bay opened.

References
St Stephens Hospital Our History retrieved on 9.10.2018 from http://ststephenshospital.com.au/about-us/our-history

St Stephens Hospital publication Fraser Coast Libraries Vertical Files.

Tags #Ststephens #hospital #garde #private #presbyterian