Elouera House is a heritage-listed former nurses' home in the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. The property, located on Darling Street, was designed by

Cobden Parkes Cobden may refer to: People * Ellen Melicent Cobden, British writer and suffragist * Harry Cobden, British jockey * Richard Cobden, British manufacturer and politician Places ;Australia * Cobden, Victoria ** Cobden Football Club ;Canada * Cobden, ...

in his capacity as

New South Wales Government Architect The New South Wales Government Architect, an appointed officer of the Government of New South Wales, serves as the General Manager of the Government Architect's Office (GAO), a multi-disciplinary consultancy operating on commercial principles ...

and built in 1937–39. It is also known as Wollongong Hospital Nurses Home and Eloura House. It was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999.

History

It was opened in April 1939 by Acting Minister for Health

Athol Richardson Athol Railton Richardson (15 May 1897 – 22 May 1982) was an Australian politician and judge. Richardson represented the Electoral district of Ashfield for the United Australia Party and the Liberal Party from 11 May 1935 until 5 February 1952 ...

and named "Elouera" for the 'native name' for the

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal Regions of New South Wales, region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region. It encompas ...

. The building had 69 rooms, with a separate room for every member of the nursing staff, spacious balconies, a spacious recreation room and "all necessary sitting rooms, studies, etc." It had been first announced in February 1937, with construction starting in November that year; while completed at its 1939 opening, it was still not furnished at that time. It was built by contractors Hogden Bros at a cost of approximately £22,000, financed on a 50-50 arrangement between the state government and hospital, which took out a loan to cover the cost. By 1940, the nurses' home was found to be not big enough, with 21 more rooms needed. It was subsequently extended in 1941. In 2011, it was being used for obstetrics, gynecology and administration, although at that time it had fallen into a state of disrepair. In that year, the Wollongong Hospital released plans for an $86 million expansion of the hospital. It proposed to demolish the 1941 extension on the building's western side to make way for a new six-storey, 120-bed hospital wing. The Heritage Council responded that retention of the wing was "desirable in view of its heritage significance", but noted the arguments that it was in a poor state and was not part of the original building. The state planning department subsequently agreed that it would not have a significant heritage impact and approved the demolition of the wing. It was demolished by March 2013.

Description

Elouera House is a three-storey nurses' home with round ended cantilevered balconies. It is built in the Inter War Functionalist style, with cream facing bricks, Marseilles pattern semi-glazed terracotta tiles and reinforced concrete slab. It is the oldest structure on the Wollongong Hospital site. It was reported to be in fair condition as at 18 December 2000. By 2011-12, it was described as "dilapidated", with many rooms unable to be occupied due to the state of internal disrepair.

Heritage listing

Wollongong Hospital Nurses Home was listed on the

on 2 April 1999.

References

Bibliography

Attribution