Nurse Brockhurst's private hospital in Cranbourne

In May 1918, Mrs Isabella Brockhurst applied to the Cranbourne Shire Council to register a private hospital. Dr Langley, the Shire Health Officer reported to the Council meeting that whereas the building is not large and the rooms small, the place is very clean, and the rooms are quite suitable for the purposes of a maternity hospital. In the hands of Mrs. Brockhurst it will be well conducted, and a great benefit to the district (1).  The Hospital was called Kilora. It would be interesting to know who the first baby was born at her Hospital, the earliest birth notice I can find is this one of Mervyn Forster, born September 22, 1918.  

The birth of Mervyn Forster at Nurse Brockhurst's Hospital, 

September 22 1918.

The Age September 22, 1918  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/155133300

Sadly not all births had a happy ending and this is the notice for baby Leslie Westaway, who only lived 40 hours.

The Argus, November 12, 1923 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1997125

In February 1919, Nurse Brockhurst applied to register the building as a nursing home (2), I presume so she could broaden the scope of her services. The Hospital was advertised regularly in 1920 in the South Bourke & Mornington Journal. The advertisement was always on the bottom left corner of the front page. 

Mrs Brockhurst's regular advertisement in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal in 1920

South Bourke & Mornington Journal June 10, 1920 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66198223

In the last months of 1926 and throughout 1927, Mr Branston, the Dentist, ran this advertisement. He consulted at Nurse Brockhurst's Hospital on Monday between 1.00 pm and 5.00pm.

South Bourke & Mornington Journal September 23, 1926

 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article214585764

On June 8, 1927, Isabella was appointed the Registrar of Births and Deaths at Cranbourne (3). She held the postion until her resignation on November 24, 1931 (4). This means that she may have both delivered the baby and then registered the birth.

Isabella's appointment as Registrar of Births and Deaths at Cranbourne

Victoria Government Gazette June 15, 1927 

 http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1927/V/general/79.pdf

There was an article in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of June 1927 saying that Sister Gould had taken over the Hospital vacated by Nurse Brockhurst (5), however there are still references in the newspapers of Nurse Brockhurst's Private Hospital after this so either Sister Gould did not stay long or perhaps it was still referred by it's original name. 

What do we know about Mrs Brockhurst? She was born Isabella Suriez around 1884 in the Falkland Islands, that remote part of the British Empire in the South Atlantic Ocean. She is the first person I have ever come across born in the Falklands. Isabella was married to Frank Brockhurst on March 6, 1906 at St Stephen's Church of England, West Ealing, which is part of Greater London.   He was a 23 year old Dairyman, born in Alton in Hampshire and she was a 22 year old Spinster. Her father's occupation on the marriage certificate was listed as Shepherd in the Falkland Isles (6).

I believe Isabella's father was actually called Carlo not Claro. This is an excerpt from Isabella and Frank's Marriage Certificate showing his occupation.

London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London Church of England Parish Registers; 

Reference Number: DRO/148/01/009 - From Ancestry.cpm

Their daughter Isabella Mary was born November 2, 1906 at Godalaming, Surrey and their son Francis George (known as George) was born June 5, 1908, also in Godalaming (7).  The family were listed in the 1911 Census at Godalaming - Frank's occupation was a Dairyman; Isabella's occupation was 'assisting in the business'. The household also had two boarders and a servant living with them (8). 

I do not have a date for when the family came to Australia, but in 1914 they were listed in the Electoral Rolls at Tallangatta, then in 1917 at Spring Meadows in Cranbourne. They are listed at this address in 1927 as well (9).  Frank's occupation was a farm hand and they did not own the property. There was a clearing sale of cattle and some equipment held at Spring Meadows in February 1920 and the owner was listed as George Lehman (10)  and another sale in March 1928 when the property was auctioned. It was described as 327 acres, stocked 750 sheep and 80 cows were milked  - a large concern in those days. Sel. Kennon Esq., was the owner in 1928 (11). This was Selbourne Kennon, of  J. Kennon and Sons - the operators of a large tannery, leather manufactury and wool exporters in Richmond on the Yarra River (12). With Frank's experience as a dairyman in England, he would have been a valuable employee. After the farm was sold,  Frank and Isabella moved to Perivale,  a house in Childers Street,  Cranbourne (13).  Perivale is less than two miles from West Ealing where the couple were married - perhaps that was the location of their first home together.

Whilst the family was at Cranbourne their daughter, Isabella Mary, known as Molly was married on March 30, 1929 at St John's Church of England to Fred Whiteway of Northcote. The Church was filled, the bride being very popular said the report in the Dandenong Journal. Iris Stick was one of Molly's bridesmaids and later in 1929 she married Molly's brother George (14).

Frank and Isabella left Cranbourne in October 1931 - Much regret is expressed that Mr. and Mrs. F. Brockhurst, after a residence of 15 years in Cranbourne, are shortly leaving the district. Mrs. Brockhurst has conducted a private hospital for a number of years, and has won the affection of many residents. She and Mr. Brockhurst have taken an active part in local movements' for the welfare of the town and district. They have been especially interested in St. John’s Church of England, having been actively associated with the organisation of that church (15). 

The next I can find of the Brockhursts was that in 1937 they were listed in the Electoral Roll at Maffra.  Isabella died on October 6, 1954 at Maffra and Frank in September 1963. They were both cremated at the Necropolis at Springvale (16). 

Small private hospitals, like the one operated by Isabella Brockhurst were the mainstay of medical care in the suburbs and country towns at this time - almost always run by women, and they dealt with births, deaths and everything in between - including illness, accidents and caring for people after operations

Other examples of small hospitals in this region are -

  

Shepton Private Hospital in Berwick

Dandenong Advertiser January 29, 1914  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/8487638

Mrs Fink's Private Hospital in Dandenong

Koo Wee Rup Sun August 20, 1919.

Mrs Osborn was at Koo Wee Rup - I am unsure whether she operated a hospital in her house or if she attended to patients in their own homes.

Koo Wee Rup Sun August 13, 1919.

From 1911, Bush Nursing Hospitals were established in country towns. The Bush Nursing movement provided a country town with a qualified, experienced Nurse and the local community had to raise the money to fund the cost of the nurse’s salary, board, uniform and transport. The earliest Bush Nursing Hospital in this area was at Koo Wee Rup which opened in July 1918. It later became a Soldiers Memorial Hospital and later still the Westernport Memorial Hospital. Pakenham was established in 1926 and Berwick in 1940. I have written about these Hospitals, here. The first large public hopsital in the area was opened at Warragul in August 1908 and Dandenong was opened in April 1942.

Isabella Brockhurst and other nurses like her who operated their own hospitals in country towns provided a valuable service to the local area, where they were involved in community life and and even more importantly, won the affection of many residents (17).

Trove List

I have created a list of articles on Trove on Isabella and Frank Brockhurst and the Hospital, access it here.

Footnotes

(1) Lang Lang Guardian, May 11 1918 see here.

(2) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, February 6 1919, see here.

(3) Victoria Government Gazette June 15, 1927, p. 1910   http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1927/V/general/79.pdf

(4) Victoria Government Gazette December 3, 1931, p. 3348

http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1931/V/general/278.pdf

(5) South Bourke and Mornington Journal, June 16 1927, see here.

(6) I found out Isabella's maiden name and birth place from the Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages. This led to their Marriage Certificate, which is available on Ancestry.com and their entry in the 1911 Census, also available on Ancestry.com and these documents contained the details in this paragraph. 

(7) Isabella Mary's Baptism record in on Ancestry.com and that gave her date of birth. Francis' birth date comes from his Second Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947 at the National Archives. He enlisted in the Army on August 1943 and was discharged January 14, 1947.

(8) 1911 U.K Census is on Ancestry.com.

(9) Electoral Rolls available on Ancestry.com

(10) The Argus, February 21, 1920 see here.

(11) The Argus, March 14, 1928, see here.

(12) Articles about J. Kennon & Sons in the Australasian, August 25, 1923, see here and the Weekly Times of September 3, 1932, here

(13) Dandenong Journal, April 11, 1929, see here.

(14) The wedding was reported in the Dandenong Journal, April 11, 1929, see here. George's wedding date is from the Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages. Molly and Fred had two sons - Raymond and Robert. Raymond sadly died in July 1942, aged 12 years old. George and Iris had one daughter, Valma. 

Death notice for Raymond Whiteway, Frank and Isabella's grandson.

The Argus July 18, 1942 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11986395

(15) Dandenong Journal October 29, 1931, see here.

(16) Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust https://smct.org.au/deceased-search

(17) As the Dandenong Journal of October 29, 1931 wrote about the Brockhursts  (see here.)

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Bush Nursing Hospitals

The Bush Nursing Hospital Movement began in 1910 with the establishment of the Victorian Bush Nursing Association. At the time, the current medical system consisted of big hospitals such as the Royal Melbourne and St Vincents, which were run along charitable lines and whose role was to treat poor people, who could not afford to pay a Doctors fee.  There were also private hospitals which only the wealthy could afford. To help offset medical costs Friendly Societies or Lodges were established which people could join for a yearly fee. This gave them access to the Friendly Society doctor and access to medicine dispensed from the Friendly Society Dispensary. The problem arose when members of Friendly societies needed to be treated in Hospitals and thus most ended up in public hospitals, which were overcrowded, as most people could not afford private hospitals. There was also a growing move to nurse people in their own homes through what is now the Royal District Nursing Service.  People in the city and the suburbs could have a nurse visit them to help recover from confinements and general illness. This type of service took pressure off the public Hospitals. Lady Dudley, the wife of the Governor General, was aware of these visiting nurses and had also seen first hand the need for skilled nurses in the bush, so from these experiences came the idea of Bush Nursing Hospitals.

Lady Dudley spoke publicly of the need for nurses in the bush and a concert, with Dame Nellie Melba as the guest star, was organised to raise initial funds for the Bush Nursing Hospital Movement. This concert was held in November 1909 and Lady Casey’s mother, Mrs Charles Ryan (nee Alice Sumner), was one of the organisers.  An inaugural meeting was held in the December and the Draft Constitution for the Australian Order for District Nursing was drawn up. In the end, a nationwide system did not eventuate; however local areas took the idea on and began raising funds for their own Bush Nurse. The local community had to raise the money to fund the cost of the nurse’s salary, board, uniform and a ‘means of locomotion’. The salary was set by the Bush Nursing Association at the rate of around £80.00 per annum, the rate of pay for a hospital nurse with five or six years experience.

The first Victorian nurse was appointed to Beech Forest in March 1911 and other early appointments were Gunbower, Buchan and Panmure. Eventually some towns provided cottages for the nurses to provide accommodation for both the nurse and the patient. Koo-Wee-Rup was an early example of this where the original nurse, Nurse Homewood, started work in the bush nursing centre in July 1918; this was later replaced by a Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.

Koo-Wee-Rup Hospital, 1923

Photograph: Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp Historical Society

Both Pakenham and Berwick had Bush Nursing Hospitals which are still remembered by many locals. Pakenham was established in 1926 in a house in Rogers Street with Sister Kerville in charge.  In the first year the hospital treated 110 medical and surgical cases and 45 midwifery cases.  In 1928, a new hospital was built on the Princes Highway and in 1929 a nurse’s quarters was opened.  The Hospital was funded by the Community, by subscriptions and patient fees. There were with 190 subscribers in the first year. The Pakenham Race Club was a large supporter of the Hospital holding annual Charity Days to support both the Pakenham and Koo-Wee-Rup Hospitals. The Hospital provided medical services to Pakenham and the surrounding areas until the early 1990s.

The official opening of the Pakenham and District Bush Nursing Hospital on Saturday, February 11, 1928. The Hospital was opened by the State Governor, Lord Somers. The local scouts formed a guard of honour. 

Photograph: North of the Line: a pictorial record compiled by the Berwick-Pakenham Historical Society.

The Berwick Bush Nursing Hospital was opened on March 9, 1940 in a building on the corner of Gloucester Avenue and Gibbs Street. This building had been used as a private hospital for the previous thirty years and, for the twenty years before that, as a Private School. Membership fees were set at £1.10 per annum for a married man, his wife and any children under 18; membership for a single person was 15 shillings and this allowed the subscriber to hospital admittance for half the regular fee. A new building was opened in 1953 and called the Dr Percy Langmore Block in honour of the Berwick Doctor who provided medical services to generations of Berwick folk from 1907 until he retired after World War Two. The Berwick Hospital was taken over by the St John of God Health Care group in 2003.

Berwick Bush Nursing Hospital.

Photograph: Bush Nursing in Berwick: the first fifty years by Eileen Williams (see below)

Sources and more information:

• Bush Nursing in Berwick: the first fifty years by Eileen Williams (published by the Berwick Hospital, c.1989)
• Somebody’s Baby: History of the Pakenham and District Hospital 1926-1992 by Heather Shallard. (Published by the Pakenham & District Hospital, 1992)
• Bush Nursing in Victoria: 1910-1985 the first 75 years by Susan Priestley. (Published by Victorian Bush Nursing Association, 1986)

This article was first published in Pages from the past : snapshot histories of people, places and public life in Casey and Cardinia.

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