AGY-1995 | Waterfall Hospital for Consumptives (1909-1912) / Waterfall Sanatorium (1912-1958)

Full description

Waterfall Hospital for Consumptives was designed for the treatment of patients in the advanced and chronic stages of tuberculosis. The site, at 1,000 feet above sea level and 26 miles south of Sydney, was chosen as it was believed that tuberculosis patients needed a high and rarefied atmosphere in the country away from the grime and pollution of cities. The first patients were admitted on 14 April 1909. (1)

Provision was made for 180 male patients, but as no facilities were available for staff housing or administration, two of the hospital wards were used for these purposes initially.(2)

In May 1912 a new wing for 120 female patients was completed, with tuberculosis patients from Newington State Hospital transferred upon it's opening.(3) Additional chalet style accommodation was built, but demand for treatment for "the white plague" meant that the Sanatorium was often overcrowded, with emergency beds placed on verandahs. Treatment consisted of rest, relaxation, improved nutrition, and medicines to treat symptoms as they appeared, with the hope of increasing resistance.(4)

On 12 September 1912 the Waterfall Hospital for Consumptives was renamed to Waterfall Sanatorium. (5)

At 1 January 1927 there were 316 patients in hospital; 820 were admitted during 1927 with 816 discharged (235 recovered, 333 relieved, 333, 48 unrelieved and 200 died). A separate ward was opened in November 1927 for boys, separate from adult patients while girls were still housed in the women’s wards. The children had a school mistress, who supervised their time in school and their games during school hours. (6)

The advent of antibiotic treatment, together with thoracic surgery, and a national campaign to prevent tuberculosis, greatly improved the prognosis for the disease. Isolation was no longer considered a necessity, and tuberculosis patients were accepted into public hospitals for treatment.

By 1958 patient numbers at Waterfall Sanatorium had decreased to less than 100. As a result of the decreased demand for hospital beds for patients suffering from tuberculosis, Waterfall Sanatorium was closed in 1958 as a tuberculosis hospital. (7)

The site was re-opened under the name of Garrawarra Hospital to function as a hospital for long term and chronically ill patients as well as a unit for hospitalisation of babies up to 2 years of age suffering from abnormalities. (8)

Endnotes
1. Health Dept, Histories of various NSW Government Hospitals 1879-1980, Folder for Garrawarra (Waterfall Sanatorium), SRNSW Ref: 10/50590.
2. Ibid.
3. Report of the Director-General of Public Health for the year ended 31 December 1913 in Parliamentary Papers 1914-15, Vol 4, p.327.
4. Health Dept, Histories of various NSW Government Hospitals 1879-1980, Folder for Garrawarra (Waterfall Sanatorium), op cit.
5. NSW Government Gazette No.135, 18 September 1912, p.5749.
6. Report of the Director-General of Public Health, New South Wales for the year end 1927, p.175.
7. Report of the Director-General of Public Health, New South Wales for the year end 1958, p.152.
8. Ibid.