Cessnock Hospital turned 100 this year. Advertiser journalist Jessica Willard spoke to Neville Bates, son of former hospital director Edward Bates, about his proud family connection to the hospital.
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It has been 100 years since a group of Aberdare miners got together and decided it was about time that Cessnock got its own hospital.
Raising the majority of the funds themselves, several acres of land at McGrane Estate was bought with a later government grant allowing a cottage hospital to be built and officially opened on June 14, 1914.
To say that the hospital had a modest beginning is an understatement.
There were only two wards with 10 beds each – one for men and one for woman – and that was about it.
Sterilisation had to be done with water heated over a primus stone and sanitation was primitive.
Over the years the hospital grew and flourished.
By 1917 a hot water system and sterilising system was installed and a nurses’ quarter was also built.
From 1920 onwards a greater demand for the hospital became greater as too did the acquisition of funds.
In 1931 the Abernethy Hotel was purchased after the closure of Aberdare South colliery and was transformed into the Abernethy Home and used for accommodation for the chronically ill.
During the ‘hungry thirties’ the hospital played its part and by 1937 a children’s ward was constructed, before the progress of the hospital was put on hold with the outbreak of World War II.
But by 1945, the long awaited two-storey brick building that still stands today was finally built.
In a booklet celebrating the hospital’s 50th birthday in 1964, the then-president of the hospital board, Edward Bates commented that the hospital had well and truly earned its place as the pride and joy of the Cessnock community.
“I am glad of this opportunity to say how honoured I feel to be president of your hospital on the occasion of its fiftieth birthday,” he said.
“Down the years a long line of directors, aided by the service organisations and kindred bodies, and with the cooperation of the citizens, has been able to provide for the district the best that is offering in hospital services.
“We the present directors, along with the citizens, wish to express our gratitude to its members of the medical, nursing, administrative, technical and domestic staffs for their devotion and loyalty to the hospital over a long period.
“I am sure it is with warm affection and a genuine glow of pride that we all reflect upon the achievements of the hospital.”
Mr. Bates was the longest serving director for Cessnock District Hospital, serving on the board from April 1955 to July 1977, including 15 years as chairman.
Like many of the men involved with the operation of the hospital, he made a living in the mine but his son Neville said his real passion was always the hospital.
“Even after he retired he would drive around town in a truck collecting bottles to help raise funds,” Neville said.
“He put in a lot of work over the years.”
When Mr. Bates did step down from the board, an article from the Cessnock Eagle recalled him describing his time with the hospital as being “very gratifying” and something that inspired him to do greater things.
A plaque commemorating Mr. Bates’ service hangs on the walls of Cessnock Hospital.
Mr. Bates passed away in 1977, shortly before his 70th birthday.
