Our History

Prince of Wales Hospital acknowledges the Bidjigal/Bidiagal people of the Eora Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet and work.

Many ancestors of the Traditional Owners of the Randwick area still reside within La Perouse and surrounding suburbs.

Prince of Wales Hospital is founded on a unique and proud history. 

Watch our video which tells the history of Prince of Wales Hospital and Community Health Services.

 

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The origin of the Prince of Wales Hospital dates back to 1852, when the Society for Destitute Children formed to establish an asylum for children under the age of eight.

The foundation stone for the Asylum was set in 1856 in Avoca Street, Randwick on a grant of 60 acres secured in 1854 by the first Mayor of Randwick, Simeon Pearce.

The Asylum opened in 1858 and a new wing was added in 1868 to accommodate 400 more children.

The Catherine Hayes Hospital opened on the site in 1870.

In 1915, the Asylum was converted and renamed the Fourth Australian Repatriation [military] Hospital.

In 1953, the facility was renamed The Prince of Wales Hospital and managed as an annex of Sydney Hospital.

In 1961, the hospital was restructured under one board with Prince Henry Hospital (1936 to 2002) at Little Bay (initially the Coast Hospital 1881-1936).

The Association between the Prince Henry Hospital, (formerly The Coast Hospital), Little Bay and The Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick began in 1927.

In 1934, the Prince Henry Hospital was renamed The Prince Henry Hospital of Sydney to compliment the visit of the Duke of Gloucester.

In 1936, the Prince Henry Hospital Act was passed and altered the control of the hospital to the NSW Hospitals Commission. This fulfilled the need for a postgraduate teaching hospital.

The 120th (Special) General Hospital was built in 1941 on the old Coast Hospital site.

In 1963, Prince Henry Hospital and the Prince of Wales Hospital were brought under one board allowing the Hospitals to operate as a single unit.

In 2001, the final services at Prince Henry Hospital are transferred to the Randwick campus.

The Prince of Wales Children’s Hospital was established in 1976.

In 1993, NSW Government announced a $160 million upgrade of the Randwick campus.

In 1996, the emergency department and gastroenterology wards at Prince Henry Hospital relocated to the Randwick campus.

The following year, the Royal Hospital for Women transferred to the Randwick campus from Paddington. The campus' 19 operating theatres suite opened in October.

Sydney Children’s Hospital was redeveloped in 1998.

On 18 April, 2017, Prince of Wales Hospital celebrated the official opening of the $114 million Bright building at the Randwick Hospitals Campus.

The Bright building houses Prince of Wales Hospital’s Nelune Comprehensive Cancer Centre (NCCC); UNSW Sydney's Scientia Clinical Research (SCR) project and an expansion of Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network (SCHN).

The NSW Government has also committed an unprecedented $802.5 million investment for the Randwick Campus Redevelopment.

The campus is being transformed into a state-of-the-art health, research and innovation Precinct with high quality co-located clinical services.

The redevelopment delivered the first major upgrade of Prince of Wales Hospital in 25 years with the opening of the new Acute Services building in early 2023.