Australian Country Hospital Heritage Association

Australian Country Hospital Heritage Association

The Australian Country Hospital Heritage Association Inc was formed in 1998 with the aim of collecting and preserving a wide range of material that reflects hospital life in country hospitals in the latter part of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

Custodians of the collection are members of the ACHHA who oversee the ongoing care and documentation of the collection.

Address: 
Rockhampton Heritage Village, North Rockhampton QLD 4700, Australia
Tel: 
+61 7 49223314
Fax: +61 7 49223315
Hours: 
9:00 am to 4:00 pm daily except public holidays.
There are special Sunday Market Days 5 times per year as advertised.
Website: 
http://www.achha.org.au/
Email: 
secretary@achha.org.au
Admission: 
Rockhampton Heritage Village admission costs are $8 adults, $6.50 concession, $5 children or $24 family. The Country Hospital Museum is included in this charge. Market day admission by gold coin donation.
Facilities: 
A selection of items from the Association’s Collection is displayed in the Lakes Creek Cottage at the Rockhampton Heritage Village. However, the Association is in the process of refurbishing a much larger building which has been moved to the Heritage Village site after providing many years of service as the Nurses' Quarters at the Mt Morgan Hospital. The relocation was undertaken with the support of a grant from the Queensland Premier’s Department. The next stage of internal refurbishment is being undertaken by the Queensland Department of Works (QBuild) with the aid of funds set aside to prepare for the celebration of Queensland’s 150th birthday as a State which occurs this year.
The Rockhampton Regional Council, which owns the Rockhampton Heritage Village also provides a large amount of in-kind support, as do the members of the volunteer group Friends of the Heritage Village. These contributors are undertaking external painting of the building with the support of Work for the Dole Scheme funds.
The Association plans to have the new building and its displays open to the public before the end of 2009. Separate rooms will be available to recreate a number of the separate parts which made up a typical country hospital between the 1850’s and the 1950’s.
Overall, the Rockhampton Heritage Village is a living museum with examples of buildings and operating vehicles covering early Queensland history. There is a cafe and shop on-site and most of the display areas have wheelchair access.
Collection: 

The Collection includes artefacts, memorabilia, photographs, records and stories from nursing, medical, dental and pharmaceutical sources as well as all other aspects of hospital life in the Central Queensland region.

The former Rockhampton Base Hospital Museum Collection has been incorporated into the ACHHA Collection. This means that the process of putting the material together has been underway for over 30 years. A selection of the material is on display in the Lakes Creek Cottage at the Rockhampton Heritage Village. This includes:

¨ An Iron Lung previously from the Rockhampton Hospital;

¨ An equipped operating theatre;

¨ A doctor’s office;

¨ A dentist’s treatment room;

¨ A selection of historic photographs;

¨ An infant care room;

¨ Artefacts from 150 years of Central Queensland Nursing History.

A large component of Collection is in secure storage until the new museum building is opened later this year. This includes collections of original and replica nurses' uniforms, the pharmacy collection, medical and surgical instruments, ward furniture and many years of nursing records.

With almost 300 square metres of space available in the new Museum building, the collection will be displayed in context in separate areas. These include a typical four-bed ward, a labour ward/mothers' room, operating theatre, pan room, Doctor/Matron's office, dental surgery, pharmacy, Westwood Sanatorium/X-ray room and a medical and nursing exhibit.

There will also be a separate library research and resource area to facilitate access to the document collection by researchers.