Royal Newcastle Hospital - The Club Building

Item details


Name of item:	Royal Newcastle Hospital - The Club Building
Other name/s:	The Club Building - Royal Newcastle Hospital
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Health Services
Category:	Hospital
Location:	Lat: -32.9287596132 Long: 151.7850481210
Primary address:	Pacific Street, Newcastle, NSW 2300
Parish:	Newcastle
County:	Northumberland
Local govt. area:	Newcastle
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Awabakal

Property description

Lot/Volume Code	Lot/Volume Number	Section Number	Plan/Folio Code	Plan/Folio Number
LOT	100		DP	883220

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Pacific Street	Newcastle	Newcastle	Newcastle	Northumberland	Primary Address
King Street	Newcastle	Newcastle			Alternate Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
Belcafe Pty Ltd	Private

Statement of significance:


	A distinctive Federation Queen Anne style domestic scaled building which provides an important townscape element within the Royal Newcastle Hospital group.
	Date significance updated: 25 Jan 01
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	GM McRae, Stephenson & Turner
Construction years:	1913-1917
Physical description:	The Club building is central to the hospital, with enclosed links between the Club Building, Nurses' Home and Wheeler House. A two storey domestic scale building in the Queen Anne style with an asymmetrical plan, achieves an appearance of a large cottage. Relatively intact interior. Forecourt contains two significant palms.
Modifications and dates:	Constructed in two stages evidenced by the change in brickwork and mortar, terracotta roof tiles.


Current use:	Currently used as clinical offices and medical recreation club.
Former use:	Aboriginal land, Nurses' Home, Hospital

History

Historical notes:

Newcastle Hospital
Newcastle's first hospital was established in 1817. The first hospital was originally a jail. Convicts, the general public and government workers were treated there. Many convicts were admitted for treatment for wounds received from floggings. Some used the hospital as a chance to escape, requiring guards at the entry. Coal miners working in nearby mines, were often brought in after industrial accidents and suffering from black lung. Medical treatment remained somewhat medieval and primitive, in the 19th century. Treatments were often ineffective and fatal. There were no antibiotics or antiseptic treatments. medical supplies were often in short supply. There were many deaths. Sometimes the hopsital was a place of last refuge, where people went to die. It also acted as an unofficial asylum for the mentally ill. Its location on a sand-covered hill was problematic. Windows had to be shut to prevent sand blowing in. This hampered the supply of fresh air for patients (Newcastle Herald, 9/11/17, 17).

In 1836 the hospital was basically stuck in the sand hill. And a few years later, the morgue area was completely covered in sand (ibid, 2017).

Nurses's Home (now Medical Recreation Club), c.1913-14
Originally built c1913 - 14 as a Nurses' Home and taken over in 1917 by NSW Government Architect GM McRae for the Hospital. Currently used as clinical offices and medical recreation club.

The 200 year anniversary of the establishment of Newcastle Hospital will be marked on 11 November 2017 at a Hunter Post-Graduate Medical Institute event, with a range of speakers reflecting on its medical past (ibid, 2017).

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Significant Places How are significant places marked in the landscape by, or for, different groups-Monuments and Sites
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Developing local, regional and national economies-National Theme 3
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Health-Activities associated with preparing and providing medical assistance and/or promoting or maintaining the well being of humans	(none)-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Health-Activities associated with preparing and providing medical assistance and/or promoting or maintaining the well being of humans	Caring for the sick in hospitals-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	19th century suburban developments-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Subdivision of urban estates-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Developing suburbia-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	19th Century Infrastructure-
5. Working-Working	Labour-Activities associated with work practises and organised and unorganised labour	Working in health care-
7. Governing-Governing	Welfare-Activities and process associated with the provision of social services by the state or philanthropic organisations	Hospital-
7. Governing-Governing	Welfare-Activities and process associated with the provision of social services by the state or philanthropic organisations	Hospital/nursing home phase-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups	Associations with George McRae, architect-

Recommended management:


	Requires reasonable care to protect external architectural integrity and the character of key internal spaces and structural systems.

Recommendations

Management Category	Description	Date Updated
Recommended Management	Produce a Conservation Management Plan (CMP)
Recommended Management	Prepare a maintenance schedule or guidelines
Recommended Management	Carry out interpretation, promotion and/or education

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of act	Description	Title	Comments	Action date
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Standard Exemptions	HERITAGE ACT 1977 ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) TO GRANT STANDARD EXEMPTIONS FROM APPROVAL I, Penny Sharpe, the Minister for Heritage, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales and under section 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977: revoke the order made on 2 June 2022 and published in the Government Gazette Number 262 of 17 June 2022; and grant an exemption from section 57(1) of the Act in respect of the engaging in or carrying out the class of activities described in clause 2 Schedule A in such circumstances specified by the relevant standards in clause 2 Schedule A and General Conditions in clause 3 Schedule A. This Order takes effect on the date it is published in the NSW Government Gazette. Dated this 29th day of October 2025 The Hon Penny Sharpe MLC Minister for Heritage For more information on standard exemptions click on the link below.	Nov 7 2025

Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register	00824	02 Apr 99	27	1546
Heritage Act - s.130 Order - Lapsed		23 Jan 81	19	475
Heritage Act - s.130 Order - Revoked		12 Jun 92	68
Heritage Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register	04/2/1/1000	01 Feb 92

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Department of Community Services - Preliminary s170 Register	1993	04/2/1/100	State Projects Heritage Group		Yes

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written	Newcastle Herald	2017	'Medieval medicine in our convict past', in 'Topics'
Written	Schwager Brooks and Partners	1992	NSW Health - Preliminary Heritage and Conservation Register	View detail

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

(Click on thumbnail for full size image and image details)

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Heritage NSW
Database number:	5045481
File number:	S91/00611; EF14/5056

Every effort has been made to ensure that information contained in the State Heritage Inventory is correct. If you find any errors or omissions please send your comments to the Database Manager.

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