Established in 1937, Epworth Freemasons (formerly the Freemasons Hospital), located at 166 Clarendon St in

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ce ...

, was a practical expression of the work of

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

in the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

community. It is now run by

Epworth Healthcare Epworth HealthCare is a not-for-profit private hospital group that provides a wide range of acute medical, surgical and rehabilitation services in Melbourne, Australia under the auspices of the Uniting Church. Epworth commenced in 1920 as a 25 b ...

. It is a non-government, not-for-profit, charitable institution providing a range of inpatient and ambulatory care services including: Women's and related health services including

maternity A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestatio ...

, women's health and breast clinics, breast and gynaecological surgery and

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. Surgical services including

general surgery General surgery is a Surgical specialties, surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and Abdomen, abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, Appendix (anatomy ...

urology Urology (from Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:οὖρον, οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of t ...

orthopaedics Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

, plastic surgery,

ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

and ENT. Comprehensive cancer care covering diagnosis,

surgical oncology Surgical oncology is the branch of surgery applied to oncology; it focuses on the surgical management of tumors, especially cancerous tumors. As one of several modalities in the management of cancer, the specialty of surgical oncology has evolv ...

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and

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

. In October 2006 the hospital was purchased by ING Real Estate, which immediately leased the hospital to Epworth Healthcare. One immediate effect was the merging of two emergency departments, the previous Freemason's Emergency was closed while Epworth Richmond's still operates. The now Epworth Freemasons Hospital still operates as a hospital. The site is listed on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. ...

History

The Freemasons Hospital was established in 1937, as an initiative of Victoria's Freemasons in the 1930s to accommodate middle-class fee paying patients. The original five-level reinforced concrete building was designed by architects, Stephenson and Meldrum (later

Stephenson and Turner Originally known as Stephenson and Meldrum (1921–1937), Stephenson and Turner (1938–1995) was a prominent Australian architectural firm, best known for the pioneering modernism of their numerous hospital designs of the 1930s and 1940s. Percy ...

), in a Functionalist Modern style with its bold horizontal balconies, contrasting vertical service tower and minimal decoration. The white rendered exterior was trimmed with blue tiles and horizontal tubular steel balustrades. Between 1956 and 1958 the hospital was substantially extended by architects, Meldrum and Noad, to a design sympathetic to the original by continuing the sweeping balconies. Further wings to the east were added in 1968 and again in 1977 with the front entrance altered. The hospital is of historical and architectural significance to the State of Victoria.

Facilities

*234 inpatient beds *9 Delivery Suites *Day Procedure Centre *Intensive Care Unit

References

;Sources
East Melbourne Historical Society, East Melbourne Walk

Heritage Victoria, Victorian Heritage Register: Freemasons Hospital
{{Authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1937 Hospitals in Melbourne Freemasonry in Australia Masonic buildings in Australia Hospitals established in 1937 Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne 1937 establishments in Australia East Melbourne, Victoria Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA)

History

Facilities

See also

References