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1864 - Women-only hospital

Queensland’s first hospital for women opened in 1864, on Leichhardt Street, Spring Hill. Originally known as the Queensland Lying-In Hospital, it was later renamed Lady Bowen Hospital after the wife of Queensland’s first Governor.

Although there had been general hospitals in the region before this, the opening of a women’s hospital was a clear indication of the growing prosperity and population of Queensland.

Pioneering work in women’s health was conducted by Dr Lilian Cooper; the first woman to become a registered doctor in Queensland. She was also recognised for her association with the Brisbane Hospital for Sick Children and the Lady Lamington Hospital for Women.

Following Dr Cooper’s death in 1947, her companion donated the present site for the Mount Olivet Hospital of the Sisters of Charity.

Rules of the Lady Bowen Hospital, c 1868 Queensland State Archives Item ID 1139517, Digital Image ID 2929 Lady Bowen Hospital Committee

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Rules of the Lady Bowen Hospital, c 1868
Queensland State Archives Item ID 1139517, Digital Image ID 2929 Lady Bowen Hospital Committee

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