History of Sydney Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital

Sketch of Sydney Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital

Sydney Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital is proud to be:

the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788 and at the Macquarie Street site since 1811
associated with Florence Nightingale and Lucy Osburn
a symbol for Australia's medical and nursing history
an important part of the historic precinct of Macquarie Street comprising a collection of fine buildings reflecting the crafts of the 19th century

Moving to the present site in 1811, Governor Macquarie's 'Rum Hospital' comprised three main buildings fronting Macquarie Street. The hospital now stands on the site of the Central Pavillion, the original North Wing is now Parliament House, while the South Wing became the Colonial Mint and in turn, the Mint Museum. The majority of the Hospital's buildings were opened in 1894. The Sydney Hospital site was also home to the first nursing school in Australia, founded by Lucy Osburn, who was sent to the colony by Florence Nightingale following a request by the colonial government.

The new Clinical Services building was completed during 1995 to complement the existing architectural style and was officially opened on 30th October 1996.

Sydney Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital have moved with the changes to the NSW Health system. Currently the hospital comprises 113 inpatient beds and offers quality health care to city residents, workers, visitors and tourists. Our specialist services attract patients from all over NSW. Services are complemented by three academic departments affiliated with the University of Sydney and/or University of NSW, namely hand, eyes and sexual health, as well as visiting medical staff, staff specialists and resident medical officers covering inpatient and outpatient services in general medicine, general surgery, orthopaedics, ENT (ear, nose and throat), hand surgery, ophthalmology, drug and alcohol and sexual health.