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The making of Wellington Hospital: an introduction
A significant collection of historic digital content from and about Wellington Regional Hospital, providing valuable insights into what was required to create an effective public hospital for a capital city.
Wellington Hospital opened in September 1847 in Thorndon and was one of the first public hospitals to be established in New Zealand. Eventually a larger site was needed, and a new hospital was built in Newtown in 1881. Many changes and additions have been made to the hospital since then, including the provision of a dedicated children’s hospital.
Wellington Hospital was the first in New Zealand to establish a training school for nurses. Nurses lived in specially built accommodation and were trained to be efficient, obedient, clean, hard-working and sober. Fascinating oral histories detail their lives and conditions of work, where nurses worked long hours with little leave and pay, but enjoyed tight-knit communal life.
The rich material gathered here provides valuable insights into what was required to create an effective public hospital for a capital city: fit-for-purpose buildings with the latest technology combined with highly trained and dedicated people.
Stephanie Gibson
Kaitiaki Tāhuhu Kōrero / Curator NZ Histories & Cultures
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The rich material gathered here provides valuable insights into what was required to create an effective public hospital for a capital city.
As part of Health New Zealand’s ongoing evolution, we are excited to hand over a significant collection of historic content from Wellington Regional Hospital to Our Health Journeys. This historical content highlights the vital role that District Health Boards have played in New Zealand’s healthcare history, and more broadly, the evolution of one of our largest hospitals over time since its inception in Newtown in 1875.
The preservation of healthcare history is exciting, not only for future generations to learn from but also to recognise the foundational work that has shaped our health system.
By passing this historical material to Our Health Journeys, we are ensuring that the legacy of Wellington Regional Hospital is preserved, allowing us to both honour our past and look forward to the future. In memoriam of Ron Easthope, Wellington Hospital’s honorary archivist, who was instrumental in pulling this information together and maintaining it for many years.
Tracey Macleod
Senior Communications Advisor
Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand
New nurses' home opened on 26 October, 1904 by Lord Plunket, the Governor. The new home is dominant in relation to other Wellington hospital buildings of that time. Published in Supplement to the Auckland Weekly News, 18 August 1904, p.12. Reproduced with permission from Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19040818-12-04.
This article is part of a significant collection of historic digital content about Wellington Regional Hospital, providing insights into our history of health. It was gathered by Ron Easthope, honorary archivist and retired cardiologist at Wellington Hospital.
Discover more:
Find out more about accommodation for student nurses at Wellington Hospital in times gone by.
Read about historical nursing teaching facilities at Wellington Hospital.
Discover more about student nurses at Wellington Hospital in decades gone by, including a history of ‘wastage’.
Read a selection of historical nurse recollections from Wellington Hospital.
Find out about the matrons of Wellington Hospital during its early history.
Discover the history of Thorndon Hospitals and the first colonial hospital.
Explore the history of the first Newtown Hospital.
View the early expansion of Wellington Hospital.
Discover Wellington Hospital’s services for sick children 1886 – 1912 (Part 1): before the building of a children's hospital.
Read about Wellington Hospital’s services for sick children 1912 – 1988 (Part 2): the first children's hospital - the King Edward V11 Memorial Hospital for Children.
Find out about the history of specialist dental services during the early years of Wellington Hospital.
