Historical information

Sister Hughes’ Private Hospital on the corner of High and Stanley Streets, Wodonga operated between 1922 and 1938. The building was constructed as a family home for Albert Schlink, a storekeeper in 1909.
The building was first used as a private hospital in 1919 starting with Nurse Eliza Browne. It had six or seven rooms, one of which was an operating theatre. There was a walkway, then three bedrooms and a bathroom that belonged to the hospital all in the one area. A small building at the back served as a self-contained flat.
Catherine Josephine Hughes' sister Mabel earlier married into the Schlink family and came from Bendigo to take over the Lease on the hospital in 1922.
Apart from Sister Hughes, there were Nurses Poyntz and Costello. Three domestic staff were also employed – a cleaner Elsie Enever, the cook Mrs Baker and Mrs Kimball who did the laundry.
Nurses Poyntz and Costello took charge of the hospital in 1938 and Catherine Hughes continued to be listed as a nurse on the electoral roll until 1954. In the early 1940s she conducted a business in the “lolly shop” in High Street, south of St Augustine’s Church. The Private Hospital in High Street possibly closed in 1954 with the opening of the Wodonga Hospital in Vermont Street.

Significance

The images are significant because they represent a building and nurses who served an important role in the Wodonga community in the early 20th century.

Physical description

A set of black and white photos of Sister Hughes Hospital in Wodonga and some of the staff. The architect's plans of the original house, designed for Albert Schlink are included.