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Swan Districts Hospital
After extensive years of the Midland community fighting for a hospital to be built in the Midland Junction area, the Swan District Hospital was finally given the nod. Health Minister Emil Nulsen officially opens the new £165,000 25-bed Swan District hospital on 22 September 1954.
The idea of a new hospital for Midland was discussed as early as 5 September 2005, the result of the State Government's huge $3.6 billion surplus.
On 12 November 2005, Health Minister Jim McGinty announces a new $182 million hospital will be built on the site of the old railway workshops. He envisions construction beginning in 2008, with the hospital completed sometime in 2011.
It's not until 2009 that the ball finally starts rolling, when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd attends the Swan District Hospital to promote his $180 million hospital commitment due to be completed in six years' time.
The big day arrives on 24 November 2015 at 7am. Swan District Hospital closes at the same time the Midland Health Campus opens. With the help of multi-governments and services, a record is broken. Eighty-three patients are transferred from the Swan District Hospital to the new facility in one day, with the first patient arriving at 8am.
Before the Midland Health Campus had even finished construction, the State Government was amped up about selling the land forming the Swan District Hospital and the surrounding area. As part of their Land Asset Sales Program, they were in pursuit of cash proceeds to cut the State debt. An Expression of Interest was launched on 16 March 2015.
Almost ten years later... taxpayers have been forking out $2 million to maintain the vegetation of the abandoned hospital, its fences and a security presence.
Negotiations to transfer the site as part of the South West Native Title Settlement with the Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation is ongoing, although the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage apparently have no plans to demolish the buildings.
Big shoutout to Iziah for helping me name the areas of the hospital.
Kitchen and Store
Demanding a New Hospital
1908
December 7: A meeting is held with representatives from local bodies in the Midland Junction Council Chambers, to discuss the question of establishing a general hospital in the Swan district area. A letter from the Colonial Secretary’s Office read, “If the people are willing to take over the hospital, the Government will give it to them as soon as they elect a responsible committee” (Swan Express, 12 December, p3).
1948
March 11: Some 11 local organisations are supporting the Midland and Swan Districts’ Hospital Committee’s fight for a hospital (Swan Express, p5).
April 1: The Midland and Swan Districts’ Hospital Committee meet, with the Chairman reporting to the Minister of Health. The Minister assures the committee that Midland will get a hospital but can’t say when. The Chairman urges the committee to keep going and maintain the pressure until they achieve their goal of having a hospital built. Action is to be taken to try and enlist the help of the Federal Minister for Health (Swan Express, p1).
April 2: The State Minister for Health is given a petition with 3,000 signatures collected by the Midland Branch of the Communist Party. The Minister said that a range of issues needed to be overcome, including a lack of finances and building resources, before the hospital could be started. Nearly every organisation and local governing body in the area is now represented on the Midland and Swan Districts Hospital Committee (Workers Star, p1).
April 23: The Midland and Swan Districts Hospital Committee write to the Federal Minister for Public Health, asking for his assistance in constructing the new Midland Hospital. In the letter, they make note of the public announcement that had been made by the Federal Government, stating their intention to set up clinic hospitals throughout Australia, starting with Western Australia. The site proposed had been the Blackboy Camp site, land of which belongs to the Commonwealth Government (Workers Star, p6).
June 4: A portion of Blackboy Hill, Success Hill in Bassendean and Spring Park in Midland Junction have been suggested as potential sites for the new hospital (Workers Star, p5).
December 21: The Spring Park Estate, located half a mile north west of Midland Junction, is suggested as a site that should be reserved for the future Midland-Swan districts hospital (West Australian, p6).
1949
April 7: The Swan Districts Hospital Committee now comprises of 27 organisations (Swan Express, p1).
April 11: The Swan District Board is denied the use of the Midland Junction Town Hall, due to the “disgraceful conduct shown by communists and communist members” of the board on March 21 (Daily News, p6).
May 12: The Midland Junction Council and Swan Road Board are attempting to acquire a temporary building to service as a public hospital for the district. A 12 room house on the corner of Spring Avenue and Great Northern Highway, known as Campbell’s, was suggested as a potential location. Experts from the Public Health and Public Works departments are actively investigating the proposal (Swan Express, p1).
November 18: The people of Midland and the Hospital Committee are said to be “fed up with the obstruction of the present majority on the Midland Council and their phoney Regional Hospital Committee”. When the Federal Minister for Health and Social Services, Senator McKenna, was asked why Midland couldn’t get a hospital, he stated that there was nothing preventing it but the State Government needed to make a request for financial aid for this to happen and without this, the Federal Government cannot act without the State Government, as their power is limited (Workers Start, p8).
1951
March 15: An area of land containing 47 acres has been gazetted as the site of the new Swan District Hospital. The particular location is chosen for its close proximity to the Midland town centre and sewerage. A geologist was consulted on the area chosen and he came to the conclusion that “there is a very strong geological probability that there is no usable brick making clay under the proposed hospital site” (Swan Express, p5).
