Rydalmere Hospital


Rydalmere Hospital is a heritage-listed former orphanage, psychiatric hospital and now university campus at 171 Victoria Road, Rydalmere, in the City of Parramatta, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was formerly known as the Female Orphan School and Protestant Orphan School. It is now the Parramatta South Campus of the Western Sydney University. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

History

When the Rose Hill settlement was formed Surgeon Thomas Arndell became its resident medical officer. For this service he was granted 60 acres on July 16, 1792. The property was known as Arthur's Hill. This grant was later encompassed by the Orphan School allotment. Arndell established a hut and set about cultivating the land. The combination of poor land and natural disaster may have led Arndell to centre his interests on his Hawkesbury properties at Cattai Creek. As compensation, a site at Baulkham Hills was given to Arndell so that it likely that the Arthur's Hill site was resumed by the Crown rather than sold.
By 1800, it appears that the site had already been selected as the future location of a new orphan institute. Again in 1810 the site was selected for orphanage use. The first plans for the Parramatta Girls' Orphanage were almost certainly prepared by French settler Francis Barrallier. He spent three years in the colony from 1800-1803, as explorer, cartographer, ensign, artillery officer and engineer, aide-de-camp to Governor King, architect and ship designer.
In 1810 tenders for building were called for a Female Orphan School.

1813-1850 Female Orphan School

The foundation stone for the original Female Orphan School was laid by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1813 and construction finished in 1818. The design of the school is likely to have been supplied by Elizabeth Macquarie based on her remembrance of a gentleman's residence, Airds House in Scotland.
Access to the school was gained from the river by means of a stone jetty and ramped gravel drive that cut into the steep slope. Vehicular entry was from Orphan School Lane. It terminated on a loop laid out on the upper slopes of the hill. This loop is unlikely to have been the current carriage loop which was probably created in the 1840s or 1850s. The buildings encompassed a central three storey block surrounded on the east and west by two single wings linked to the main building. Francis Greenway was asked to submit plans to rectify serious building and joinery faults.
Work on the new facilities commenced in 1820 although the first extensions to the eastern and western wings may have been completed prior to that time. By 1826 the garden was said to consist of six acres and was well stocked with vegetables. However the structures and facilities experienced serious problems. A programme of work was undertaken to repair brickwork and drainage and new verandahs were built. An inspection of the water supply and sewerage were targeted for criticism. John Busby recommended the construction of a pump in the well with a barrel drain to be built to carry the water to the privies. At the same time serious faults were also being found in the administration and care of the orphanage.
During 1829 a new kitchen and store room was constructed. More additions and renovations were made during 1830 and 1831 including rectification of the poor water, sewerage and drainage of the school.
In 1833 the Church and School Lands Corporation was abolished and in the following year the Orphan School became an establishment managed by the state. During the 1830s and 1840s the surrounds were improved through visual contributions such as ornamental flower gardens, shrubs and trees. Plants were also sent from the Royal Botanical Gardens.
Until this time the Male Orphanage operated first at Sydney and then in Cabramatta. Rising costs, fewer children at the two institutions and the distance of the boys' school from Sydney led to the amalgamation of the two orphanages at Rydalmere in 1850. Although they shared the same site, the two schools remained separate and facilities such as bathrooms, dining rooms, school rooms and playgrounds were all replicated and clearly separated.

1850-1887 Protestant Orphan School

From 1850-1887 Protestant Orphan School developed immediately north of the Female Orphan School. It was not until 1854 that the hospital, the first purpose built structure for the combined orphanage, was added to the site. A report from the Inspector of Public Charities in 1865 found Rydalmere to be in need of great repair. Ceilings were falling down, floors had given way, skirtings were dirty and the whole place shabby for want of repainting and replastering. In 1868 a new kitchen was constructed and by 1870 a meat shed was attached to its northern side.
During 1870 an extensive programme of additions and renovations was carried out. The hospital gained a verandah on its southern facade and a new bathroom and the west wing a "new" dining room, boys' bathroom and laundry. Another laundry was added to the site. Two shelter sheds were moved to a new location and over their former sites was built the new school building which, in 1877, was described as a "model" building. The Master's residence may have been built at this time. It is shown complete in photographs of 1880. Many other changes and alterations were made to the site during this time.
The west wing housed most of the facilities for the boys' department including dormitories and attendants' rooms in the original section of the building, a dining room in the first extension and the Matron's kitchen and pantry at the rear of the wing. A verandah connected the latter with the main building.
The east wing was largely devoted to the girls' department which had its dining room on the ground floor of the first extension and dormitories above. The original section of this building was used as a servant's dining room, two store rooms and a scullery on the ground floor with an internal connecting stair to the upper floor. The infants' nursery was housed on the ground floor of the most northerly extension of this wing. It had a water closet in the north-western corner and an internal staircase in the south-western corner.
These extensive structural works were complemented by improvements made to the landscape. In 1870 twenty figs and twenty pines were sent to the school from the Royal Botanic Gardens. By this time, a circular carriage loop and gravel drive had been constructed in the foreground of the main entrance. A forty-bed dormitory was constructed on the south-west corner of the western wing during 1882.
Throughout the operational period of the combined orphanage great changes had been made in government policy for both the education and social welfare for destitute children. During the 1870s integration of orphans into the community at large, particularly through means of "boarding out" with foster parents began to be favoured over the austere environment of the "barrack" system used at Rydalmere. In 1882 Henry Parkes moved the passage of the State Children Relief Act. Amongst other provisions this Act created the State Children's Relief Board, inaugurated in 1882. This Board was formed with a specific mandate to foster children within the community. By 1886 in response to these political, administrative and philosophical changes there were only sixty-five children left in the Combined Orphanage at Rydalmere.

1888-1987 Rydalmere Psychiatric Hospital

In 1888 the site was transferred to the Department of Lunacy. The former school then became a branch of the Parramatta Hospital for the Insane.
The formal geometric layout of the working gardens was retained when the site became a psychiatric hospital in 1888. In contrast, the ornamental gardens were re-laid to reflect the more informal designs currently in vogue. This hospital took over the Orphan School complex, growing to the north-east and north in an unusual "village" arrangement of buildings, curved around a green, and what is called the "1900 Ward Range precinct". The period is associated with Walter Liberty Vernon, NSW Government Architect and health care advocates Frederick Manning and Dr Greenup.
When the old orphanage buildings were handed over they were found in be in a bad state. Immediately thirty patients were moved in to prevent further dilapidation and to commence tidying the site. Works carried out on the older structures included the alteration of the school house by infilling the verandahs and the construction of a new verandah in their place. Extensions were made to the old east and west wings and were both used for wards.
The former bakery was used for ward accommodation. A second storey was added to the Master's residence which was then used to house the new Superintendent.
In 1891 the site was granted independent status and renamed Rydalmere Hospital for the Insane. In 1895 a new boat shed and landing stage located on the main north-south axis of the central block was constructed. A Chief Attendant's Cottage was built on the slope leading down to the river frontage in the same year and a path ran from the cottage down to link up with the drive from the jetty and boatshed.
In 1895 the first female patients were admitted to the site. They were housed in purpose built wards constructed for them away from the former orphanage buildings. These new wards expressed evolving theories of patient care and needs.
Development of a new style of landscape emphasised the different nature of the hospital use, particularly towards the northern sections of the study area. Many of the new paths, bridges and plantations emphasised the new alignment away from the traditional visual linkages to the river. In 1893 and 1896 the Royal Botanic Gardens sent trees and shrubs for planting at the hospital site.
In 1905 a new stair block was added to the central block to coincide with the removal of the internal staircases to allow for more space for wards. The connecting passageways to the wings were altered to become two storey, topped by stone balustrades. A second storey was added in two stages to the former school block at this time. A water closet and verandahs were added to the buildings in 1907 and stair and toilet block to the east wing in the same year.
In 1909 a ward was built to adjoin the former Drill Master's residence. This was linked by a wall to a new two storey extension that replaced the former single storey matron's kitchen at the back of the old west wing.
After World War I resources were primarily spent on upgrading existing facilities and services, particularly sanitation and safety features, for example fire stairs. Electricity was brought to the site during this period.
By 1924 the site was considered to be antiquated in terms of contemporary management of mental hospitals. The former hospital was extensively remodelled in 1926 and a verandah and balcony were added to it in 1938. Additions were made to the Master's residence and Chief Attendant's cottage in 1926.
Symmetrical and formalised plantation design was expressed again in the inter-war period with the replacement of the federation period flower gardens and shrubs with grassed areas and Jacaranda trees and Camphor laurels.
Post World War II facilities were significantly expanded at Rydalmere in line with changing philosophies of patient care and accommodation. Existing facilities were upgraded or new structures created to take the place of older buildings that were too outmoded to update. Service aspects such as kitchens, factories, substations and workshops were generally located to the north and new administrative and recreational facilities in the centre of the site.
During the 1950s and 1960s additions and alterations were made to some buildings which considerably changed their form and appearance. A day room and ramp was constructed at the corner of the former hospital in 1949. A porch was later added in 1957. The entire southern facade was virtually obscured by the construction of a ward in 1959.
The central building was closed in 1969. Other buildings continued to be used but for storage and minor requirements such as a handyman's store.
During the 1960s and 1970s further planting of a more informal nature was undertaken throughout the hospital grounds. These plantings are particularly represented by a mixture of native plants, principally along the western boundary and partly to the northern boundary of the precinct.
Over the years following 1985 the south campus at Rydalmere was progressively closed. The existing environment both built and vegetated now exhibits a sense of decay.

1993-present Western Sydney University campus

The Parramatta South Campus of UWS was established on the site from 1993. In March 1998 UWS opened classrooms to students. Conservation works and adaptive reuse of parts of the complex have been undertaken by UWS for educational use. New buildings including the auditorium, library and student union have been added and in 2007 some heritage buildings required urgent remediation work.
The Female Orphan School has housed the University Executive administration and the Whitlam Institute since 2000. In June 2012 Prime Minister Gillard announced $7m in federal funding to complete restoration of the Female Orphan School and the Whitlam Institute.

Description

The Rydalmere Hospital area is bounded by Victoria Road to the north, James Ruse Drive to the west, Vineyard Creek to the east and Parramatta River to the South. This area contains a significant number of buildings, landscape features, archaeological sites, natural areas, gardens and vistas.
The original building is a fine symmetrically balanced composition with projecting central bay capped by a simple triangular pediment. It was designed in the Colonial Georgian style and constructed in face sandstock brickwork with sandstone window sills, quoins and string courses. When viewed from the south the principal elevation, which faces towards the Parramatta River is flanked with Palladian style two storey pavilions connected to the central building by two storey wings. The pavilions, which stand forward of the centre, were originally almost square in plan but were subsequently extended to the north in at least two different stages. The early hipped roofs were replaced by brickwork gables and projecting barges.
The Mortuary is a fine example of the Federation Free Style. It has a simple rectangular plan and hipped, ventilated slate roof which is topped by a finely detailed zinc lantern with an oriental character.
The original Orphanage hospital from the 1860s was built as a two-storey domestic style building with two storey verandahs on three elevations. Verandahs later enclosed and interiors gutted to form single open spaces.
The former Head Master's Residence is a large two storey Victorian house with extended rear additions containing service rooms.
The former Chief Attendant's Cottage is a small single storey house. It is clad in horizontal timber weatherboards and has a terra cotta tile roof.
The boatshed is a small single storey timber framed building. It is notable for the external timber stud framing and diagonal bracing supporting a gabled roof with slate covering.
The physical condition of the site was reported as poor as at 28 July 1997, prior to restoration work by the University of Western Sydney. The archaeological potential was regarded as medium.

Modifications and dates

The Female Orphan School Precinct as a component of the former Rydalmere Hospital is of outstanding cultural significance, primarily for its continued use and development, between 1813 and 1989 as a public welfare institution for the care and management of the disadvantaged.
As the first purpose built orphan school in the colony, it illustrates a milestone in the establishment of national social welfare and education policies.
The surviving original buildings, constructed between 1813 and 1818, provide evidence of the development policies of Governor Macquarie and illustrates the transfer of 18th century British architectural pretensions into the design and siting of functional buildings in New South Wales. The extant central block is the oldest three storey building in Australia.
The site as a whole, and particularly the Orphan School precinct, has outstanding historical and social significance because of its continuous occupation as an institution since 1814. The original complex and its garden setting have outstanding rarity value. Its landscape is of exceptional significance for its development as a Colonial institution sited within the cultural landscape of the Parramatta River valley and influenced by Elizabeth Macquarie together with the continuing recognition of the heritage values of the place up to the present.
The structure of the built and natural fabric of the place has been conserved despite the constant adaptation by institutional uses and alienation of its peripheral lands. As a complex of parkland landscape character with gardens, built form and remnant indigenous vegetation it demonstrates the evolution of different attitudes towards institutional care in NSW. The groundworks design and siting of the buildings is associated with Elizabeth Macquarie, Samuel Marsden, Francis Greenway and subsequent Colonial and Government Architects and individuals associated with health care such as Frederick Norton Manning and Dr Greenup.
Rydalmere Hospital was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.
The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.
It has been almost continually occupied since the early years of European settlement, initially by farming activities, but more importantly, by successive public welfare institutions for the care and management of disadvantaged members of society. It was the first purpose built orphanage in Australia and first combined orphanage to be managed by the state. The original central block is the oldest three storey building in Australia. The actual establishment of the orphanage at Rydalmere is associated with the governorship and development policies of Lachlan Macquarie, with his wife, Elizabeth, who is thought to have provided the design and with Samual Marsden who superintended the construction.
The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.
It is a fine but complex collection of 19th and 20th century institutional buildings set in extensive, landscaped grounds above the Parramatta River. The central two and three storey buildings of the orphanage are a fine example of Old Colonial Georgian architectural design. The extant south elevation, with the symmetrical pavilions, retains a particular clarity of architectural composition, despite subsequent alterations and additions. The same elevation retains a largely uninterrupted visual relationship with the river, sufficient to demonstrate the aesthetic intentions of the original decision to site the orphanage on Arthurs Hill, facing towards the river valley and the contemporary settlement at Parramatta. Surviving external forms of many of the buildings retain sufficient clarity to demonstrate a range of important 19th and early 20th century architectural styles including Old Colonial Georgian, Victorian Regency, Federation Arts and Crafts and Federation Free Style. Remnant flora and site works from successive periods now combine to create a rich and varied landscape.
The place has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
The history of the orphanage illustrates the evolution of interrelationships between private, ecclesiastic and state responsibilities for social welfare and education. The closure of the orphanage in 1888 reflected developing public policies to foster orphaned children into the community. The initial adaptations made to the old orphan school buildings to accommodate the Hospital for the Insane in the late 1880s, represented one of the last examples of a long-standing institutional approach in the care of the mentally ill, that of incarceration rather than hospitalisation. The marked changes of approach to the care of the insane, particularly the reduction in personal confinement, which took place after 1895, is clearly illustrated in the development of buildings and landscape, some of which took place within the Orphan School Precinct.
The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.
For the potential to reveal physical evidence on Aboriginal utilisation of the resources of the region. For the potential to reveal physical evidence on the agricultural aspects of early European settlement in the region. For the potential to reveal physical evidence of former buildings and other structures, living conditions and building utilisation, patterns of land use, planting and pasturage, drainage and water supply systems and other aspects of long term institutional use. For the potential to demonstrate building design, construction and repair techniques throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly from the early decades of the 19th century. For the potential to interpret the role of the Parramatta River as a major form of inland transport and communication in the early decades of European settlement.
The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.
The original, central block of the orphan school is the oldest three storey building in Australia.
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales.
As the first purpose built orphan school in the Colony, it illustrates a milestone in the establishment of national social welfare and education policies.

Attribution