Latest devices.
In 1932 there were plans for significant developments on the hospital site. They included the demolition of the existing kitchen block, and its replacement by a new two and three storey building.
On viewing the plans of the proposed block, the local newspaper enthused about the ‘latest type of boiler’, ‘up-to-the-minute workshop for the engineer’, ‘latest devices for quicker and efficient laundering’, ‘a latest pattern steam range [in the kitchen]’ and ‘a refrigerator’. It also noted that there were two dining rooms, one for nurses and one for domestic staff as well as, on the first floor, ‘14 maids’ bedrooms … of a nice size’. (Maitland Mercury, 15 Nov 1932)
There was, as well, an 80 foot high chimney attached to the boiler room.
The building was completed in late 1933 and opened for work in 1934.
In 1938 to 1939 alterations were made in order to incorporate walkways to and from other new buildings on the site, renovations were made particularly to the kitchen, and a new 120 ft chimney stack was constructed.
The new chimney stack under construction, 1938.
(Maitland and District Historical Society 2017.26)
This photograph was published in the Maitland Daily Mercury, 1 July 1938, with the following caption:
‘‘Workmen engaged with putting the finishing touches to the 120 ft chimney stack at the Maitland Hospital. The stack was erected outside the old 80 ft structure. The scantling has since been dismantled and the new chimney is in use. The chimney is estimated to have cost £946.’
The old chimney was inside the new stack and continued to be used while this new one was being constructed, hence the smoke pouring from the outlet part way down the chimney.
Sketch of the proposed developments from Maitland Hospital Year Book 1939.
(Newcastle Region Library Local Studies Collection)
The sketch shows the arched walkway designed to link the various buildings in this part of the hospital, including the proposed new block on the far right. The kitchen block is at the back of the complex.
In November 1939 the general public was invited to inspect the various alterations and new buildings on the hospital site. In encouraging visits, the Maitland Mercury provided descriptions of some of the features, including those that could be seen in the kitchen block.
Maitland Mercury, 3 November 1939, p.6.
As with all buildings on the hospital site, the kitchen block was adapted and changed over the following decades. In 1955 a cool room was added and, in the late 1970s, there were further extensive alterations and additions.
The chimney stack had become a focus for complaints about smoke and pollution. Described in 1972 as ‘Maitland’s dirtiest chimney’ caused by ‘the poor combustion in the boilers which are forty years old’, the problem was to be addressed by the construction of a new boiler house (Newcastle Morning Herald, 8 December 1972).
Photographs of the smoke billowing from the old chimney stack, and the new chimney being built, 1972-1976.
The new boiler house was a part of a bigger development plan for the hospital which included ‘construction of a new boiler house and installation of boilers, conversion of the hospital laundry to a cafeteria, provision in the kitchen for a plated meal service and the construction of a new ambulance entrance.’ (Maitland Mercury, 26 March 1976)
In 1992 the building housed the kitchen and staff cafeteria on Level 1, and the pharmacy, nursing administration, parents’ quarters and children’s isolation ward on Level 2. (Conservation plan, Building 11)
In 2018 the building housed the kitchen freezer and store room in the basement; the kitchen and cafeteria on Level 1; and the chapel and pharmacy on Level 2. (Maitland Hospital Directory 2018)