FIRST - Hospital in Central Australia, Alice Springs, NT, Australia
Posted by: 
denben
S 23° 41.983 E 133° 52.950
53K E 386070 N 7378571
One of Alice Springs oldest remaining buildings, Adelaide house is located in Todd Mall, next to the John Flynn Memorial Church.
Waymark Code: WMN5N5
Location: Northern Territory, Australia
Date Posted: 12/30/2014
Views: 5
Adelaide house was designed by Reverend John Flynn in 1916-17 and opened as a hospital-hostel in 1926. The design was amended three times during the seven year construction period although the basic concept remains the same.
The information board at the entrance reads:
"THIS WAS THE FIRST HOSPITAL IN CENTRAL AUSTRALIA.
It was built by Rev John Flynn's Australian Inland Mission (A.I.M.) and opened in 1926. The A.I.M. built 14 of these hospitals for the people of the inland between 1912 and 1939. Each was staffed by two nursing sisters.
A GREAT BUILDING EXPERIMENT
In 1920 John Flynn said he would build something in Alice Springs, specially designed for the outback climate. It would have a cooling system to help staff and patients survive the long, hot summers.
FLYNN'S ORIGINAL DESIGN
Warm air escapes from the building through openings under the roof. Fresh air enters each room from the cellar. Wet bags, hung in the cellar, cool the air and remove dust.
Adelaide House is considered one of Australia's most impotant 'heritage' building because of this innovative design.
It was also the first building in town with electric lights and a sewerage system."
"Since 1939 Adelaide House has been used variously as a hostel, as accommodation for nurses during the war, a manse for the Presbyterian Church, a meeting place for church groups and, more recently, a haven for senior citizens. It was restored in 1983 and is now a museum of local history.
A radio room at the back of the building is where the first test radio transmission was received from Hermannsburg by Maurie Fuss in November, 1926, when Flynn and Traeger were experimenting with radio for the Flying Doctor Service. The museum has some fine displays including the story of the Australian Inland Mission, early journals, maps and publications of the Reverend John Flynn, radio equipment built by Traeger, diagrams of the building and its unique concept, and an extensive collection of historic photographs." (
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