Cadogan House

Architectural and Builders Journal of 10 June 1933, issue of the, tenders closed for the construction of a “Private Hospital”, Nundah. and the Builder B.J.Bartlett was accepted. (Bartlett was also the successful tenderer in 1937 when brick additions were made to the same hospital. James Campbell supplied materials for the hospital). An application was made, and subsequently approved, to the Brisbane City Council in June 1933 for a “Private Hospital” costing £4,500/0/0.

The selection of C.E.Plant as the architect was clearly reflected in the intention of the required building. Primarily Plant, and later during his later partnership with R.W.Roller, concentrated upon residential work. This particular hospital has a number of unique aspects that reflect this residential preference. The hospital is presented as an enlarged suburban residence. Plant’s intention was to design a hospital that fitted into its suburban surroundings, while producing a hospital which did not visually appear as a large medical institution to the local community and importantly to patients and their families.

At the time of its construction the hospital had the capacity to hold 30 patients and the hospital was hailed as being modern in its design and facilities, many of which are found within present day hospitals. It was equipped, with electric light and a bell system, a steam drying laundry and operating theatre. However the modern design aspects of the hospital went even further to provide facilities for the use of motorised transport, as the paper noted;

A special feature is a separate ambulance entrance, which enables ambulance cars to shelter under a porch connecting the street frontage with the main corridor.1

This hospital was erected at a time when the area was undergoing immense growth, particularly during the latter part of the interwar period. The construction of a hospital at this location and at this time clearly demonstrates that investors had commercial faith in the future development of the Nundah and the potential for further population growth. The addition in 1937 clearly indicates that this faith was not ill founded. The Courier-Mail in an article describing the opening of the new hospital hailed it as;

A striking illustration of the development of Brisbane’s suburbs...(T)the Nundah Private Hospital....occupies a situation in the heart of a suburb which is of comparatively recent growth.1

By the mid 1960s the building was known Cadogan House. During the 1970s some small additions were made to the building. Its use now has changed from a hospital into a medical chamber offering a number of professional services to the community.

1. The Courier-Mail, Brisbane 15 December, 1933. p.4

2. Ibid

3. The Architectural and Building Journal of Queensland.10 June, 1933.p.23; August, 1937. p.23;and September, 1937. p.21

4. Brisbane City Council Building Registers. June 1933. p.135

5. Brisbane City Council Detail Plan No: 1337

6. Brisbane City Council Electronic Records; Building Cards No: M50.68.028

7. Kennedy, Michael Owen. Domestic Architecture in Queensland Between the Wars. Unpub Thesis. Master of Built Environment. 1989

8. Post Office Directories.

9. Watson, Donald and Judith McKay. A Directory of Queensland Architects to 1940. (St. Lucia: U of Q Press, 1984)