Second Townsville General Hospital
| Second Townsville General Hospital | |
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Second Townsville General Hospital, shortly after closure, 2007
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| Location | 24 Eyre Street, North Ward, Townsville, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 19°15′08″S 146°48′47″E / 19.2523°S 146.8131°ECoordinates: 19°15′08″S 146°48′47″E / 19.2523°S 146.8131°E |
| Design period | 1940s - 1960s (post-World War II) |
| Built | 1945 - 1951 |
| Architect | Donoghue & Fulton |
| Architectural style(s) | Modernism |
| Official name: Townsville General Hospital, North Ward Hospital | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 26 April 1996 |
| Reference no. | 601388 |
| Significant period | 1945-1951 (fabric) 1930s-1950s (historical) |
 Location of Second Townsville General Hospital in Queensland
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The Second Townsville General Hospital is a heritage-listed former hospital and now an apartment building at 24 Eyre Street, North Ward, Townsville, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Donoghue & Fulton and built from 1945 to 1951. It is also known as North Ward Hospital. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 26 April 1996.
The first hospital in Townsville was opened in a cottage on The Strand in 1866 and was known as the Burdekin and Flinders Districts Hospital. In 1881 it was relocated to the present site on Stanton Hill. A two storied building was completed in 1882 and numerous buildings were subsequently built on the site.
The Second Townsville General Hospital was designed by Donoghue and Fulton between 1935 and 1939 but construction was delayed due to the outbreak of World War II. On 11 November 1945, the foundation stone was laid by the Queensland Treasurer, Ned Hanlon. On 21 April 1951 he officially opened the hospital in his role as Queensland Premier. The new hospital was to be the largest facility of its type in Australia outside a capital city and had been built at a cost of approximately £500,000 for building and equipment. It opened with approximately 270 beds. Dr Kiernan Dorney was the medical superintendent and the hospital claimed to have the largest staff of specialists outside Brisbane.
Between 1932 and 1945 was a period of rapid development in hospitals in Queensland. This was partly due to the passing of the Hospital Act in 1923 which laid the foundations for the Queensland Government to resume responsibility for financing and administrating public hospitals which had previously been run by voluntary committees. Under the Act the state was divided into regions and regions into districts. Each region was controlled from a base hospital which coordinated other hospitals in the region. Hospital boards, dominated by government representatives and excluding members of the medical profession, were created to oversee the administration of the hospitals. The Queensland Government was to provide 60% of the running costs while the remainder was to be met by local government. The boards had the power under the act to appoint their own architects. Ned Hanlon, who was minister for Health and Home Affairs from 1935 until 1944 and premier from 1946 until 1952, was responsible for many of the projects undertaken at this time. The Free Hospital Scheme was introduced to Queensland in 1946.
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