“Strathairlie” Private Hospital, Taree

“Strathairlie” Private Hospital in Taree was one of several small private hospitals that once played a vital role in local healthcare but have since disappeared. In the 1900s, such hospitals commonly operated from private homes and were run by trained nurses. In Taree, examples include Nurse Cummins’ “Taree Private Hospital” in Manning Street (later known as Nurse Langley’s)¹ and Nurse Trotter’s “Allowah” in High Street.²

“Strathairlie” was established in 1908 by Nurse Elizabeth Henderson (nee Broomfield).³ After buying two blocks of land in Wynter Street in 1906, Elizabeth built two cottages, one of which – at 64 Wynter Street – became the hospital.⁴ Alongside raising five children, she ran the hospital, and her daughter Maude followed in her path, qualifying as a registered nurse and midwife.⁵

After Elizabeth’s death in 1930, Maude continued the hospital’s operation.⁶ In 1940 she handed management to the Bacon sisters, while retaining ownership; Nurse Heffernan later became manager.⁷ By the mid 1930s, Strathairlie had gained a reputation as a specialist eye hospital, with surgery performed by Dr Railton. Patients travelled from Kempsey, Forster and even Sydney, with records revealing an alarming number of eye injuries caused by children using guns or bows and arrows.⁸

The original hospital is thought to have closed in the early 1960s. Maude died in 1965,⁹ and in later years the site reopened as the Strathairlie Medical Centre. Today, no trace of the hospital remains, but each time you leave the Taree Central carpark, you pass through the legacy of Nurses Henderson.

Author: Janine Roberts