Toowoomba Museum of Health: Hutchinson Builders starts work on heritage site near Baillie Henderson

What was a once a dilapidated heritage-listed property will become a showcase of the region’s health history. Here’s a look inside the $8.5m Museum of Health:

Creating a beautiful museum, cafe and office space out of a 125-year-old building is no easy feat — but Sean Lees and Hutchinson Builders are relishing the opportunity.

“I’d say they’re more technically challenging, but they present amazingly (once finished),” the firm’s Toowoomba team leader said.

Hutchie’s has already started work on converting the old Baillie Henderson superintendent’s building fronting Hogg St in Cranley into a space showcasing the history of the health sector in the Darling Downs.

Overseeing the creation of the Toowoomba Hospital Foundation's new health sector museum near Baillie Henderson are (from left) Hutchinson Builders Toowoomba team leader Sean Lees and THF CEO Alison Kennedy.

The three-stage $8.5m project, called the Museum of Health and spearheaded by the Toowoomba Hospital Foundation, will include a museum featuring some of the best pieces from Darling Downs Health’s extensive archive, along with a gift shop, cafe, office space for the foundation and amphitheatre for live performances.

Mr Lees said more than 200 tradies would work on the project, including specialists in remediating and revitalising historical buildings like the superintendent’s quarters.

“It’s thrown up plenty already, we’ve had some geotechnical conditions on-site that we didn’t anticipate, and some structure in worse conditions than what we’d contemplated, so we’ve had to do more remediation, but that’s both an opportunity and challenge,” he said.

“You know long-term it’s going to lead to a better building.

“There will probably be approaching 200 jobs supported by this project, and there are some specialist trades like brick remediation – there are only a few people in Queensland who can do that.”

Concept art for the approved Darling Downs health museum near the Baillie Henderson hospital by Toowoomba Hospital Foundation on Hogg Street in Cranley.

Hospital foundation CEO Alison Kennedy said a tribute to the region’s health services was the perfect reuse of the heritage-listed building, after it spent years of falling into disrepair.

“It’s to not only bring this beautiful building back to life but also to make sure we can showcase the rich history of health in this region, which is super exciting,” she said.

“The building will be extraordinary, and stage two will bring the gift shop and cafe into it, along with the amphitheatre.

“It means people can stay longer and actually sit on these grounds, which are beautiful and peaceful.

“There will be so many opportunities for this place to be used by the community.”

The first stages are expected to be finished next year.

Overseeing the creation of the Toowoomba Hospital Foundation's new health sector museum near Baillie Henderson are (from left) Hutchinson Builders project manager Alec Noble, site manager Brod Koina (back), Toowoomba team leader Sean Lees and THF CEO Alison Kennedy.