- Entry type: Place
- Entry ID: AWE4210
St Margaret’s Hospital
- Previous name St Margaret's Maternity Home
Previous name St Margaret's Hospital for Women
Summary
St Margaret’s Hospital, known initially as St Margaret’s Maternity Home, was founded by Gertrude Abbott in 1893. Located in Elizabeth Street in Strawberry Hills it was founded ‘to provide shelter and care for unmarried girls of the comparatively respectable class. In 1904 the hospital started an outpatients service, and in 1910 St Margaret’s Hospital for Women moved to its final location on Bourke Street in Surry Hills. The work of the maternity hospital and midwifery training was continued from this base until 1998. At its peak, St Margaret’s was the third largest maternity hospital in Sydney. The site was continually extended and rebuilt and specialist services and training courses added, including obstetric and gynaecology training of doctors.
St. Margaret’s Private Hospital was opened in 1946 to assist in the funding of the public facilities. St. Margaret’s Children’s Hospital operated from 1967-1979 for the specialist care of infants and children, particularly the intensive care needs of neonates.
St. Margaret’s Public Hospital closed in June 1993, followed by the closure of the Private Hospital in June 1998. The site of the Children’s Hospital, reused as the Gertrude Abbott Nursing Home, opened in 1982 and remains in operation