Now and Then, the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Heritage Project, is run by a project team comprising RCH staff and historians from Context. Our guest bloggers from Context will be giving regular updates on their experiences as they delve into the rich history of the RCH.
The new Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) stands proudly on Flemington Road in Parkville. It is a colourful beacon of extraordinary patient care, world leading medical research and training. The state of the art facilities contain the latest equipment and embody cutting edge theories and practices in paediatric medicine. But the RCH is also a link between the present and the past; this hospital, despite its modern architecture and equipment, has been caring for sick children since the 1870s.
Many of us have stories of the Royal Children’s Hospital – experiences of visiting a sick friend or family member, or maybe spending time as a patient at the hospital ourselves. Perhaps we visited a specialist there. Or we might have trained at the RCH as a nurse or doctor, or worked there in another capacity. These stories are part of the history and heritage of the Royal Children’s Hospital. It is this heritage, these stories – both those that can be shared by the community that surrounds the RCH today, and those that can be uncovered in its archival collection – that are the focus of the RCH Heritage Project. The project aims to uncover, explore and celebrate the heritage of this remarkable hospital and community.
Over the next six months a team of consultants, including historians, heritage specialists and visual communication and graphic designers, will be undertaking a project specifically commissioned to explore the history and heritage of the hospital. The team will develop a plan that will guide the RCH’s approach to celebrating and communicating its history over the next decade, including its 150th anniversary in 2020.
Our first task is to get to know the Royal Children’s Hospital. We will do this by exploring the archival collection of this remarkable hospital. We have created this Heritage Blog so that we can share the stories we unearth with you. But we have also created this space so that we can invite you to share your thoughts, recollections and experiences of the Royal Children’s Hospital with us.
We will be updating the Heritage Blog regularly and asking you to contribute your own stories. We look forward to getting to know you and the Royal Children’s Hospital in the weeks and months to come.
The Context Team.
3 comments for “Bringing our history to life”
Mick Edgar
I was a burns patient there in 1958, and it all seemed horrific and scary, I was very young and I remember a sister telling me off for crying, she told me she was going to put me into the autoclave machine if I didn’t stop.
Thelma Dowson
I was a Polio patient at Mt Eliza around 1949 and continued as an out patient at Children’s Hospital into my teenage years. I would love to have some information on my records during those years. I was told recently that I was the face of the appeal maybe 1953? Would be interested if that is correct and if any photos would be in the archives Thankyou
Corporate Communications
Hi Thelma, thanks for your message. You can try getting in touch with our Health Information Services team, who look after our medical records. You can read about them, and find their contact details here https://www.rch.org.au/health-information-services/contact-us/. With regards to the Good Friday Appeal, we’d recommend contacting the team at the Good Friday Appeal as they may be able to assist you. Their contact details are available here, https://www.goodfridayappeal.com.au/about-us/contact-us/. Thanks again and all the best.