NO MEMORIAL, NO HOSPITAL The Canowindra Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital Centenary Celebrations
28 June 1922 - 2022

Dr Jennifer R Wythes
Delivered on behalf of the Canowindra Historical Society and Museum, 28th June 2022

The citizens of Canowindra and district have always had a long, deep and close bond with this hospital. Their enthusiasm for a memorial public hospital was extraordinary.

It can best be summed up as - no memorial, no hospital.

It was even more remarkable, because many years earlier, Father Patrick Doran of St Edward’s Catholic Parish at Canowindra had tried in vain to enlist support for a public hospital.

The change of heart by the community was chiefly the desire to build a memorial to the servicemen of the Great War from this district… all of whom were volunteers. It is a dedicated war memorial. It honours especially the 56 men who gave their lives for our freedoms and democracy.

Hence, it became a place of mourning and remembrance for the families who lost their husbands, fathers, sons, grandsons, brothers, uncles and friends. Many residents still have close relatives listed on the Honour Roll.

It brings to life in a practical way, the epitaph written by John Maxwell Edmunds in 1916 for a friend’s headstone:
“When you go home, tell them of us and say,
For your tomorrow, we gave our today.”

The hospital is a source of succour - of aid and healing. It has given, and continues to give, strength and relief to all in need of medical help and especially to the families of veterans.

These are the reasons that we guard the name of our hospital so jealously. The other major catalyst was the lessons learnt from the pneumonic (Spanish) influenza outbreak in early 1919. From concept to a functioning public hospital took just three years - June 1919 to June 1922. Much of the money was raised locally. The community built the hospital and kept it “alive” financially for decades.

The story of our hospital began in July 1919. The recently appointed Methodist pastor Reverend Stanley Drummond, the leading advocate and moving spirit for a memorial hospital, told his congregation that: “The best should be done to help our soldiers and their children; It needs to be practical.", and that "Nothing better could be done than to erect a hospital as a memorial.” From that germ of an idea came the drive to raise the money and build the hospital.

Nearly three years later at the opening ceremony on 28th June 1922… a hundred years ago today… Father Patrick Doran stood in this very forecourt garden and quoted Spanish Bishop Masona Emeritia from c.580 AD that:
“whenever a sick man, slave or free, Christian or Jew,” was found, “they should carry him in their arms to the hospital and provide him with a bed and proper nourishment.” “This”, said Father Doran, “is the spirit that has led us to make the sacrifices that we have made to furnish this beautiful home for the sick and afflicted.”

Two other men worked tirelessly to turn the community’s vision for a memorial hospital into reality. They were:
• Mr Frederick Matthews, owner of “Boridgeree” and the first Chairman; and
• Cr Hugh McDonald Brown, President of the Boree Shire Council.
The local women too played vital roles… in raising much needed funds. For example, at a special afternoon tea in early June1922, they put together the entire linen supply needed for the hospital. They continued to supply the linen for years… everything from sheets and towels to table doilies.

The struggle to survive
At the opening ceremony the chairman, Mr Matthews, summarised the very unsatisfactory financial position: a balance of only £67 after paying debts of £900. He urged the New South Wales Minister for Health, the Nationalist Charles Oakes, to honour fully the government’s promise to pay all costs above the £3,000 raised locally. They did so - eventually.

Mr Matthews indicated that approximately £2,000 was needed to run the hospital each year, with half of this to be raised locally. He did not consider this would be a difficult task. Indeed, Canowindra people continued to support the hospital financially. Their persistent efforts and energy balanced the books. They raised money… for operating costs, for repairs and maintenance, and for extra facilities… all to guarantee its survival.

The Women’s Auxiliary is still fund-raising to provide extra equipment to improve patient care and treatment. A recent donation was the ultrasound machine. Thankfully, for them, they no longer supply the linen.

A Grand Ball was held on the evening of the opening ceremony at the new Strand Theatre. The “Canowindra Star” described the ballroom as “full to overflowing with a gay throng of the ladies in their beautiful gowns”.

The funds to build and maintain the hospital came many sources, including donations and bequests. Many people generously gave one or two guineas … a guinea being £1/1/- or $2.10 … at a time when the basic wage was just under £4. Other money was raised from the sales of town land, livestock and bags of wheat … cake stalls, eggs collected by the school children, as well as special sports carnival days in 1920 and again in 1929.

The 1920 program (shown in the hospital booklet) makes fascinating reading… for example… competitions for the best decorated car, best rabbiter’s and comic turnouts; admission - vehicles 6d, wheel extra. saddle horses 6d; seating accommodation for the street functions at night… 3d per seat for 15 minutes for each person, mothers with babies in arms free!

At the opening ceremony for the hospital, the chairman, Mr Matthews, summarised the very unsatisfactory financial position: a balance of only £67 after paying debts of £900. He urged the New South Wales Minister for Health to honour fully the government’s promise to pay all costs above the £3,000 raised locally. They did so … eventually.

Indeed, Canowindra people continued to support the hospital financially. Their persistent efforts and energy balanced the books. They raised money … for operating costs, for repairs and maintenance, and for extra facilities … all to guarantee its survival. Through much of the 1920s and 1930s the end-of-month balances were less than £20. In May 1929, the Canowindra Star commented that the words “hospital carnival are synonymous for… hospital needs money”.

Some other early examples are also given in our commemorative booklet:
• In 1930 the original home for the nurses became the isolation ward and a new home was built for them. A bequest paid for part of that cost of £2439
• Other bequests paid for the hot water service and provided regular income and donations.
• Each year school children conducted an egg drive.
• The local Country Women’s Association raised £17 towards a refrigerator in 1929 and £200 for the X-ray machine in 1937.
• A Hospital Carnival in May 1929 raised £400, which the Board considered a very good outcome.
• The Back to Canowindra Week in 1937 was organised principally to raise funds for ordinary running expenses and maintenance, as well as for emergencies.
• In the early 1950s Canowindra and district residents funded the nursery ward, which honoured the memory of ex-service women.

Just over 101 years ago on 26 May, 1921, when laying the foundation stone, the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Walter Davidson, declared that the “hospital should be a memorial – a beacon upon a hill.” These commands still resonate.

The hospital has undergone many changes over its 100 years of operations. The surgical operating theatre has gone, as have the maternity, nursery and isolation wards. Two very important additions have been the Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Department in 1991 and the Canowindra Health Centre in 1994. More recently, the aged care wards were closed, but a new emergency department opened. The hospital has lost its “chook” yard and vegetable gardens. No one has to milk the cows each morning.

Three general practitioners now work at the hospital, still assisted by dedicated nurses and other staff.

The hospital still serves the people of Canowindra and the surrounding districts. It is still a war memorial. The local RSL hold a remembrance service here each Anzac Day. The descendants of the servicemen still use the hospital and its allied health services. Many of us were born … in this hospital; have been patients here; and our parents and other relatives have passed away here.

The beacon still shines.

“Let us hold high the lamp of service to the welfare of our hospital”
“Lest we forget - Lest we forget”

External Links
Entry at NSW War Memorials Register

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