Fight over historic Gympie Hospital nurses’ quarters demolition continues

Gympie council has been urged to step up its ‘inadequate’ efforts to save the historic Gympie Hospital nurses quarters as the countdown to their demolition continues.

The fight over the fate of the historic Gympie Hospital nurses’ quarters continues with former council top bureaucrat Spencer Slatter criticising plans to demolish the building as part of redevelopment of the hospital.

Mr Slatter said the proposal was a “tragedy” and the building should be refurbished to protect the region’s history instead of being bulldozed “in favour of a carpark”.

“It’s too good to be demolished,” Mr Slatter said.

The state government revealed plans to demolish the building in 2023 as part of a wider redevelopment at the site.

Following initial backlash against the decision, a spokeswoman for the Sunshine Coast Health and Hospital Service said the building contained asbestos.

This was a key part of the decision to demolish it.

Countdown to demo day: Memories wanted of historic health building

The battle over plans to bulldoze the historic Gympie Hospital nurses quarters continues, with former council CEO Spencer Slatter (left) criticising not only the plans, but that the building was omitted from heritage protection registers, as well as the response from Gympie Regional Council (Mayor Glen Hartwig pictured) and the region’s health service (Health Minister Shannon Fentiman pictured).

New staff accommodation has been built by Queensland Health near the hospital.

The nurse’s quarters are not listed on either the local or state government heritage registers.

Mr Slatter criticised the omission, especially “when you see some of the stuff that’s on these lists” like the public toilets at Caledonian Hill.

The toilets are listed “as a rare surviving example of an early public toilet featuring Art-Deco motifs”, the local heritage register, published in 2009, says.

Mr Slatter criticised the council’s position too, calling its response to the impending demolition was “inadequate”.

A council spokeswoman said the organisation had been pushing for the building’s protection.
“(The) council continues to advocate for the protection of the nurses’ quarters and is awaiting a response from the Queensland government,” the spokeswoman said.

She said the hospital “in its entirety” was identified in the council’s Heritage Places Study completed in 2021.

The fight over the fate of the historic Gympie Hospital nurses’ quarters continues with a former council CEO the latest to criticise plans to demolish the building as part of redevelopment at the city’s hospital.

The heritage register published online is dated 2009.

The spokeswoman said the document “can be reviewed and updated at any time”.

“New site inclusions require approval from the site owner which in this case is the Queensland government.

“(The) council recognises the heritage significance of the nurses’ quarters at the Gympie Hospital and has previously raised this matter with the Minister for Health … Shannon Fentiman.

“Mayor Glen Hartwig has also personally met with Minister Fentiman in relation to this.”

A Sunshine Coast Health spokeswoman said extensive consultation was undertaken on the plans.

“As part of this project, we have consulted with key stakeholders including staff, residents, Gympie Regional Council, and the Gympie Heritage Committee to understand the history and significance of the Gympie Hospital site,” the spokeswoman said.

“The building isn’t heritage listed or identified as a place of significance in the Heritage Place Study.

“The use of this location on the campus will form part of a broader site plan to support Gympie Hospital, its staff and community.

“We have undertaken significant assessments of the building and considered any possible future use.

“The building isn’t suitable for clinical or non-clinical spaces.

“All of our health workers deserve the best possible workspaces and due to the age of the building, it can’t be modified to meet the needs of our teams.”

Mr Slatter said the important point of the matter was some things, once done, could not be taken back.

“Once these buildings are gone they are gone forever,” Mr Slatter said.