Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Rachel Forster Hospital

Women's hospital established in 1922 in Surry Hills by Lucy Gullett and Harriet Biffin before moving to Redfern. It was named for Lady Forster, the wife of the Governor General.

Milestone
Opened
1922
Closed
2000
Name
Commemorates
Alternate
The New Hospital for Women and Children
1922 - 1925
Position
1922
1922
1922
1925
1925
1925 - 1935
1939 - 1941
1939 - 1955
1941 - 1962
1950
Property
Occupied
1925 - 1990
Occupied
1941 - 2000
Relationship
had Patron
1926 - 1958
Type

Rachel Forster Hospital

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2015

The Rachel Forster Hospital has provided services to women since 1922 including training for female doctors, and later nurses. Until the 1960s its staff were almost exclusively female. It became a public hospital in 1930 and developed into a centre for innovation in the treatment of breast cancer and orthopaedic surgery before closing in 2000.