The former Repatriation General Hospital, commonly referred to as The Repat or just Repat, was a hospital in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, located in the inner-southern suburb of Daw Park. After complete closure in 2017, and followed by extensive refurbishment, it reopened as the Repat Health Precinct. Daw Park was an original bungalow on the site that became a

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

for many years.

Background

The Repat was one of a number of Repatriation General Hospitals set up by the

Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the prime ...

around the time of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to cater for returned serviceman. The various Repats were initially set up as

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

hospitals before becoming Repatriation General Hospitals administered by the Repatriation Commission, (now called the Department of Veterans' Affairs). In general, health in Australia is a

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

responsibility, and in the mid-1990s, the Commonwealth Government divested itself of these hospitals, and they became either public hospitals under state government administration, or private hospitals.

History of the Repat

Construction was agreed by the

South Australian Government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the highest ranking mem ...

in June 1940, with the intention of making it a repatriation hospital after the war. Cudmore House, a large bungalow and estate fronting onto

Daws Road Daws Road is a major arterial road in the central southern suburbs of Adelaide. It runs east–west between Marion Road in the west and Goodwood Road in the east. Pasadena High School and the Repatriation Hospital are on Daws Road. Route Daws ...

was commandeered under wartime regulations. The old house was renamed Daw House. Daw House was used as a

for many years. The Repat was closed in December 2017. Very soon afterwards in 2018, a consultation process was carried out looking to reactivate the hospital, with the decision made to do so soon afterwards. The site underwent major reconstruction and modernisation to eventually reopen as the Repat Health Precinct. A feature of RGH's complex was its easy accessibility and beautiful grounds. A timeline of major events in the hospital's history follows: * June 1940 – South Australian State Cabinet agreed to build a new army hospital. **Local architect Woods, Bagot, Laybourne-Smith and Irwin were commissioned to develop plans and oversee the building. **It was proposed that once the war was over, the hospital would become a Repatriation Hospital. ** Cudmore Estate was obtained under wartime emergency regulations. The large bungalow style home at that time fronting onto Daws Road was called Cudmore House. It still stands today in Lancelot Drive. ** Daw House commandeered * 10 June 1941 – 105 Australian Military Hospital (105 AHM) formed. Temporary HQ set up in Daw House * January 1942 – Building commenced. * 20 January 1942 – Site formally handed over to the Army. * 21 February 1942 – First patients admitted; the first wards were in tents and temporary huts. * 22 August 1942 – Administration Services moved from Daw House to the newly completed A Block * late 1944 – Last of the tents struck – "all 492 patients at that time housed more comfortably in completed buildings." * February 2015 – South Australian Government announces closure as part of its Transforming Health Strategy. * November 2017 – Last patients moved to other facilities and hospital closes. * October 2018 – Consultation process into reactivating the hospital completed.

Today

, the Repat Health Precinct includes a hospital ward known as the Bangka Strait Ward, as well as various other specialist units, such as the Specialised Advanced Dementia Unit.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{Authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1942 Hospitals in Adelaide Defunct hospitals in Australia Hospitals established in 1942 1942 establishments in Australia