The Mater Hospital is a 233-bed private hospital located in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Originally founded in 1906 as a cottage hospital, and operated both as a public hospital and maternity hospital on an adjacent site in Wollstonecraft, New South Wales, [1] between 1940 and 1982, the current hospital opened in 1990 and is now operated by St Vincent's Health. [2]
The hospital was established by the Sisters of Mercy in 1906 as the Mater Misericordiae Hospital for Women and Children with 12 beds and 12 cots on a site in Willoughby Road. In 1910, the sisters purchased and renovated ‘Wenona’, a large residence of a local bank manager on Lane Cove Road (now Pacific Highway), and by 1911 it functioned as a fully operational hospital.
A public Hospital, known as the "Mater General Hospital," was then erected and opened in 1914, adjacent to ‘Wenona," whereupon the cottage hospital was closed, and ‘Wenona’ then became the Mater Private Hospital. A major extension to the Mater Private Hospital was built on Sinclair Street Wollstonecraft in 1929. [3]
An adjacent Mater Maternity Hospital was built between 1939 and 1942 [4] [5] and an obstetrics training school was established. In 1942-1943, its first full year of operation, 1242 babies were delivered and 1318 mothers were treated.
In cooperation with Our Lady of Mercy Home at Waitara, unwed or destitute women were sent to the Mater to provide care before and after the birth of their babies, and from here, adoption also occurred. [3]
With increased government funding, the Mater became a public institution in 1946 and, in 1968, a teaching hospital, linked to the University of Sydney. Also in 1968, the first renal unit on the North Shore was established. By 1982, the buildings required renovation, but the government, wanting to respond to the needs of the western suburbs of Sydney, refused funding, and so the Public Hospital and Maternity Hospital were closed. [3] Responsibility for storing the medical records of the original Mater Hospital rests with the Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards. [6]
The Art Deco Maternity Hospital building remains a local heritage item, the Former Mater Misericordiae Maternity Hospital [1] for its architecture and as an early attempt to detach maternity facilities from the general hospital. The Queen Anne Federation style Resident Medical Officer's residence is also heritage listed. [7]
A new (and the current) private hospital was built and reopened (as the Mater Hospital) on an adjacent site in Rocklands Road, North Sydney in 1990. [1] In January 2001, the Mater Hospital was incorporated into a new entity, St Vincents & Mater Health Sydney Limited; together with St Vincent’s Public Hospital, Sacred Heart Hospice, and St Vincent’s Private Hospital. [3]
The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Roman Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute has about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They also started many education and health care facilities around the world.
Alexander Berry was a Scottish-born surgeon, merchant and explorer who was given in 1822 a land grant of 10,000 acres (40 km2) and 100 convicts to establish the first European settlement on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia.
Ashfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ashfield is about 8 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district.
Westmead is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Westmead is located 26 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of City of Parramatta and Cumberland Council and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.
The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, commonly known as the Mater, is a major teaching hospital, based at Eccles Street, Phibsborough, on the northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is managed by Ireland East Hospital Group.
The Prince of Wales Hospital is a 440-bed major public teaching hospital located in Sydney's eastern suburb of Randwick, providing a full range of hospital services to the people of New South Wales, Australia. The hospital has strong ties to the adjacent University of New South Wales. The Prince of Wales Hospital shares the Randwick Hospitals' Campus site with the Sydney Children's Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Women, as well as the Prince of Wales Private Hospital.
North Sydney Council is a local government area on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, established on 29 July 1890 through the amalgamation of three boroughs.
The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in the suburb of St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney and Australian Catholic University and has over 600 beds.
Mater Group was formed in 2016 by aligning Mater Health, Mater Education, Mater Research and Mater Foundation under a single, unified banner. Mater provides care for some 500,000 patients each year. Mater was established in 1906 by the Sisters of Mercy. In 2002, Mater became an incorporated body, charged with the responsibility to continue the Mission of the Sisters of Mercy to "offer compassionate service to the sick and needy".
Callan Park, with the heritage listed name Callan Park Conservation Area & Buildings, is a 60-hectare (150-acre) heritage listed site in Lilyfield, a suburb in Sydney's Inner West in New South Wales, Australia.
The Callan Park Hospital for the Insane (1878–1914) is a heritage-listed former insane asylum, which was subsequently, for a time, used as a college campus, located in the grounds of Callan Park, an area on the shores of Iron Cove in Lilyfield, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. In 1915, the facility was renamed as the Callan Park Mental Hospital and, again in 1976, to Callan Park Hospital. Since 1994, the facility has been formally known as Rozelle Hospital. In April 2008, all Rozelle Hospital services and patients were transferred to Concord Hospital. The Callan Park Act, 2002 (NSW) restricts future uses of the site to health, tertiary education and community uses.
St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney is a leading tertiary referral hospital and research facility located in Darlinghurst, Sydney. Though funded and integrated into the New South Wales state public health system, it is operated by St Vincent's Health Australia. It is affiliated with the University of Tasmania College of Health and Medicine and the University of New South Wales Medical School.
Mater Health Services North Queensland operates two private hospitals, one established by the Sisters of Mercy in 1945 named Mater Hospital Pimlico and the second purchased in 2007 named the Mater Women's and Children's Hospital Hyde Park.
Robert Smith (Robin) Dods was a New Zealand-born Australian architect.
The Sisters of Charity of Australia, or the Congregation of the Religious Sisters of Charity of Australia, is a congregation of religious sisters in the Catholic Church established in 1838. Sisters use the post-nominal initials of RSC.
Kenmore House is a heritage-listed mansion at 31 Ward Street, The Range, Rockhampton, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. The design is attributed to James Flint and it was built from c. 1894 onwards. It is also known as Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Pinehurst and The Mansion. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
The Mater Misericordiae Hospital is a 105-bed hospital in North Mackay, Mackay, Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. It is operated in the Mercy tradition.
The Ireland East Hospital Group is one of the hospital groups established by the Health Service Executive in Ireland.
Mary May Scollen (1887–1967), known by her religious name as Sister Mary Justinian, was an Australian religious who was notable for her nursing and hospital administration. She joined the North Sydney congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, professing final vows in 1907. Trained as a nurse, she served as matron of the Mater Misericordis Hospital in the north Sydney area, for 44 years. She then served as hospital administrator for four years, and concurrently was the superior for her convent. She was appointed M.B.E. in 1958.