– 150 years of history at The Royal Children’s Hospital –

A concise and chronological record of the rich and diverse 150-year history of The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH).
Please feel free to scroll through all 150 years or easily filter information via categories or tags.

The historical images have been sourced from the RCH Archives and Collections, unless stated otherwise.
Images have been chosen to illustrate the subject matter and may not necessarily reflect the date of the event.

The RCH has produced such an immense amount of groundbreaking achievements and we cannot assume to have captured them all here.
Do you think an achievement, person, or event is missing? Please send your suggestion to: archives@rch.org.au. We hope you enjoy exploring!

Showing Events Tagged with: Convalescent Home

1884
Brighton Convalescent Cottage
Opened in Holyrood Street, a short walk from Brighton Beach, the seaside location was intended to provide fresh air and sunshine to patients who were usually accustomed to life in inner-Melbourne slums.
1910
Hampton Convalescent Home
'Edgecliff' on Beach Road in Hampton was purchased after the Brighton Convalescent Cottage was burnt down. Convalescent care was provided in Hampton until 1957.
1925
Heliotherapy Introduced to Australia
Doctors who had worked in Europe during the war brought the concept of heliotherapy to Australia. Mr Wilfred Kent Hughes was a particularly strong advocate for the treatment style and a heliotherapy ward was opened at the Hampton Convalescent Home.
1936
Sherbrooke Convalescent Home
Established with funds generously donated by philanthropist C M Wilson, the Sherbrooke Convalescent Home operated until 1957 and worked as a significant load relief for The Children's Orthopaedic Hospital.