Primary contact
321 Cardigan Street, Carlton Postal address: Locked Bag 300, Parkville, Victoria 3052Melbourne, Victoria 3053
Identity area
Identifier
daa/377
Authorized form of name
Royal Women's Hospital Archives, Melbourne
Parallel form(s) of name
Other form(s) of name
- Previously known as Tracy Maund Historical Collection, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne
Type
Contact area
Manager, Health Information Services
Type
Address
Street address
321 Cardigan Street, Carlton
Postal address: Locked Bag 300, Parkville, Victoria 3052
Postal address: Locked Bag 300, Parkville, Victoria 3052
Locality
Melbourne
Region
Victoria
Country name
Postal code
3053
Telephone
03 8345 3905; 03 8345 2626
Fax
Note
Description area
History
The Royal Women’s Hospital specialises in areas such as antenatal care, maternal and neonatal infection control, gynaecological disease diagnosis and treatment, family planning, newborn intensive care and infertility management.
Its beginnings were as a ‘charity’ hospital, serving the needs of women unable to afford private medical care. Known as the Lying-in Hospital, it opened in 1856, the second hospital in Melbourne (the first being Melbourne Hospital). It was first located in a leased terrace house in Albert Street, Eastern Hill (East Melbourne), close to where the Victorian Parliament now stands.
The hospital’s establishment was led by a committee of women, led by Mrs Frances Perry, the wife of the then Anglican bishop of Melbourne, and two doctors, Dr Richard Tracy and Dr John Maund.
In 1884, its title was simplified to the Women’s Hospital and the ‘Royal’ title was conferred on the hospital by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 6 September 1954.
After moves to and in Carlton in the nineteenth century, the hospital moved to its present site in Parkville in 2008.
For further information about the history of the hospital see: https://www.thewomens.org.au/about/our-history/history-overview/
Its beginnings were as a ‘charity’ hospital, serving the needs of women unable to afford private medical care. Known as the Lying-in Hospital, it opened in 1856, the second hospital in Melbourne (the first being Melbourne Hospital). It was first located in a leased terrace house in Albert Street, Eastern Hill (East Melbourne), close to where the Victorian Parliament now stands.
The hospital’s establishment was led by a committee of women, led by Mrs Frances Perry, the wife of the then Anglican bishop of Melbourne, and two doctors, Dr Richard Tracy and Dr John Maund.
In 1884, its title was simplified to the Women’s Hospital and the ‘Royal’ title was conferred on the hospital by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 6 September 1954.
After moves to and in Carlton in the nineteenth century, the hospital moved to its present site in Parkville in 2008.
For further information about the history of the hospital see: https://www.thewomens.org.au/about/our-history/history-overview/
Geographical and cultural context
Mandates/Sources of authority
Administrative structure
Officer in charge: Archivist
Records management and collecting policies
Buildings
Holdings
The records in the Women's archival collection include scanned and reproduced records of patients who were treated at the hospital more than 100 years ago.
Information about women’s health through the 19th and 20th centuries can be drawn from, for example:
. Midwifery books, 1856-1858
. Honorary physician case books, 1878-1910
. Labour ward case books and registers,1888-1982
(See https://www.thewomens.org.au/about/our-history/patient-records/)
Note that most 19th and early 20th century patient records are not indexed and still exist only in their original bound volumes, which makes it very difficult to find a specific patient’s record unless specific admission dates are known.
Birth records are comparatively easy to find, if birth dates are known.
Information about women’s health through the 19th and 20th centuries can be drawn from, for example:
. Midwifery books, 1856-1858
. Honorary physician case books, 1878-1910
. Labour ward case books and registers,1888-1982
(See https://www.thewomens.org.au/about/our-history/patient-records/)
Note that most 19th and early 20th century patient records are not indexed and still exist only in their original bound volumes, which makes it very difficult to find a specific patient’s record unless specific admission dates are known.
Birth records are comparatively easy to find, if birth dates are known.
Finding aids, guides and publications
Background information about hospital staff, board members and benefactors is available at: https://www.thewomens.org.au/about/our-history/biographies/
A biographical compendium of people associated with the hospital is available as a PDF on the website at: https://thewomens.r.worldssl.net/assets/images/Biographical-Compendium-December-2023-web.pdf
A biographical compendium of people associated with the hospital is available as a PDF on the website at: https://thewomens.r.worldssl.net/assets/images/Biographical-Compendium-December-2023-web.pdf
Access area
Opening times
Open by appointment only.
Access conditions and requirements
Accessibility
Services area
Research services
Reproduction services
Public areas
Control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Revised 28 February 2024
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Maintenance notes
Access points
Access Points
- Medicine and Health (Thematic area)