Yarloop Hospital Historic Site 1898
- 8 Barrington Knight Road, Yarloop WA 6218
- Open 24 Hours
In 1898, an eight-bed hospital ward with a kitchen, laundry and ablution block was built by Millars Timber and Trading Company and a matron and staff were employed. Dr Fred Lovegrove was the first resident mill doctor in 1900.
Workers contributed sixpence per week for their medical insurance, but only company employees were treated. Workers pressured the company to provide for women and children and, in 1911, they built another ward to cater for the company’s families.
In 1908, the Yarloop Hospital Committee was formed and then lapsed after seven years. During World War I, the hospital closed and then reopened in 1920.
The Yarloop Hospital Board was established in the early 1930s, employing a secretary in 1932. The Board remained in control until 1975, when Medibank was introduced and it came under government control.
The community strongly supported the Hospital Board through fundraisers, such as the popular Log Chop Competitions and Hospital Balls.
The Yarloop Hospital closed in 2006 and then it was run as a Community Health Centre offering medical and social services to the community. Later, the Community Resource Centre coordinated services to the community from the nurses’ quarters until the hospital complex burnt down in the 2016 Bushfires.