Did you know: 500,000 babies were born on the same land as Science Gallery?
Science Gallery Melbourne is the front door to the major new innovation precinct Melbourne Connect, which encompasses the Melbourne School of Engineering, Faculty of Business, Economics student accommodation, artist-in-residence fabrication labs, and co-working and event spaces. Melbourne Connect will inhabit the former site of the Royal Women’s Hospital, which was established amidst the gold rush in 1856. Within a decade of the hospital first opening, half a million people had migrated to Victoria in hopes of finding fortune. Many women, however, found it a devastating time to be a mother, enduring great hardships with little access to medical services.
Four generations of women born at the Royal Women’s Hospital: L to R Mrs. Graf, Mrs. Whitmore, Mrs. Moran and baby Brenda. Photo from: Royal Women’s Hospital Photographic Collection, January 1967.
As Australia's first public women's hospital, the Royal Women's emerged as a place where disadvantaged women could give birth safely and receive proper medical attention. It quickly developed into Australia's busiest birth ward. Over half a million babies were born on this site.
Bricks from the demolished hospital walls will be repurposed as pavers for Melbourne Connect's outdoor space, while a digital mural wall will tell the story of the hospital's history.
“There is great historical significance affiliated with this site. That history is intertwined with an emotional connection. ”
1) Australia’s first IVF baby. Photo by: Australian Women’s Weekly) 9 July 1980. 2) A migrant mother holds her child in conversation with an interpreter. Photo from: Royal Women's Hospital Archives 1966. 3) Anna Bradbury, former patient and founder of Oncology 51, a support group for women with cancer. Photo from: Royal Women's Hospital Photographic Collection, 1999. 4) Relaxation clinic where anesthetist taught women breathing and relaxation techniques as well as how to inhale nitrous oxide, 1948 (Royal Women’s Hospital Archives). 5) Migrant workers in the hospital laundry. Photo from: Royal Women’s Hospital Photographic Archive, 1960s. 6) A volunteer riding her bike to the hospital. Photo from: Royal Women's Hospital archive, 1994. 7) Sister Rona Glynn (left) with Sister Liew Nyok Gi just after graduating from the Royal Melbourne Hospital, 1957. 8) Children’s party at the Royal Women’s Hospital, 1970Audio-Visual Department 1970, ‘Children’s party 1970’. Royal Women’s Hospital Photographic Collection. 9) Nurses with babies and humidicrib. Royal Women's Hospital Archives. 10) Royal Women’s Hospital from Swanston Street 2015, NMBW Architecture Studio.