PORT Macquarie's first hospital was a military one established for the penal settlement in 1823, it would later be gazetted as a public hospital, believed to be the first of its kind in New South Wales, but closed in 1867 due to lack of public support.
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By the late 1890s the need for a public hospital for Port Macquarie was recognised by the community and a committee formed to raise the necessary building funds. Port Macquarie's Cottage Hospital of eight beds was officially opened on the King's birthday, November 11, 1901. Over the years additional beds were added to meet the town's growing needs and population and by 1940 the hospital had grown to 28 beds.
In the mid 1940s it was decided to build a new 80 bed general hospital, the Hastings District Hospital, and again the community dug deep to raise funds. The Nurses Home was opened in 1947 and the first patients were transferred to the new hospital on 4 July 1949.
In 1991 when the NSW Government announced that a base hospital for Port Macquarie would be built on a new site and that the hospital would be designed built and operated by the private sector, there was much controversy but the development proceeded and the Port Macquarie Base Hospital opened in November 1994.
In early 2005 the hospital returned to public sector ownership and management, and has recently undergone a major redevelopment. The Port Macquarie Base Hospital celebrated its 20th anniversary earlier this month. Former Hastings District Hospital staff will meet at a reunion dinner on 29 November.
We can only imagine the stories they will recount.
Photographs are from the Port Macquarie Historical Society collection.
