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Tuesday 10am - 2pm Sunday 10am - 3pm

Prince Henry Hospital Nursing and Medical Museum

Name: Prince Henry Hospital Nursing and Medical Museum
Address: 2 Brodie Avenue, Matraville, NSW, 2036, AU
Telephone: +61290190784

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Prince Henry Hospital Nursing and Medical Museum

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Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Prince Henry Hospital Nursing and Medical Museum, Museum, 2 Brodie Avenue, Matraville.

The museum was established in 2003 to preserve, educate and display the history of nurses, medical staff and infectious diseases throughout the hospital’s 122 years of operation.

18/10/2026

Bedpan diaries PHH

The Things No Chart Will Ever Record
The chart will record
the numbers.
The medications given.
The treatments completed.
The changes in condition.
But it will never record
the things that mattered most.
It will never say
how long I held a frightened hand.
How I stayed a few minutes longer
because someone needed not a nurse,
but a human being.
It will never capture
the courage behind a smile,
the tears hidden after a difficult loss,
or the silent prayers whispered
outside a patient's room.
It will never show
the comfort given without words.
The hope restored.
The fear carried away.
Because some of the greatest parts of nursing
cannot be measured,
documented,
or signed.
They live in memories.
In grateful hearts.
In the quiet moments
where a patient felt seen.
The chart may tell the story
of what I did.
But it will never fully tell
how much I cared

12/10/2026

🩺📅 Planning Your 2027 Outings? Book a Guided Tour at Prince Henry Hospital Nursing & Medical Museum!
Looking for a meaningful, fascinating and easy day out for your club, seniors group, Probus, U3A, social organisation or community group next year?
Our guided tours for 2027 are now open for bookings!

Explore the rich history of the former Coast and Prince Henry Hospitals through a timeline of events in our permanent exhibition with engaging stories from our tour guides.
Our volunteers bring the past to life with warmth, knowledge and a genuine passion for preserving the history of the hospital.

✔️ Heritage‑listed site in beautiful Little Bay
✔️ Coach & bus parking right at the front door
✔️ Level access throughout the museum
✔️ Optional visit to the Coast Chapel Nurses’ War Memorial (if available)
✔️ Perfect for groups seeking an educational and enjoyable outing

Tours run for 1.5–2 hours, with cafés and restaurants just across the road, ideal for a relaxed lunch afterwards.

📞 For Bookings & Enquiries click the link on our page or see our website
Secure your preferred date for 2027. We’d love to welcome your group.

11/10/2026

The Secret of the "Upside Down watch”@
If you wore a fob watch pinned to your chest, you know it wasn't just jewelry—it was your most trusted clinical partner!

The View from Above:
"Why
is your watch upside down?" a patient would always ask. Little did they know, it was perfectly positioned for us! One quick flip while counting a pulse, and you had the precision you needed without ever touching a germ-filled wristband.

The "Pulse" Ritual:
Who remembers the silence of the ward as you held a patient’s wrist, eyes locked on that tiny ticking second hand? You didn't have a digital monitor to do the counting for you—it was just you, your watch, and your fingertips.

Do you still have your original nursing watch?

08/10/2026

Weekly Art Classes every Wednesday!
Join Sonya at Henry’s Trading Post for two hours of creativity, colour and community.
Classes run 10.30am – 12.30pm every Wednesday, and everyone is welcome.

See below for details and bring a friend for a fun mid‑week creative break.

04/10/2026

Bedpan diaries PHH
You could tell an experienced nurse by their pockets.

Before computers followed us everywhere, our pockets carried half our shift.
At least two pens.Usually three.And somehow, one of them always disappeared before the night was over. We wroteeverything by hand.
Vital signs.
Notes.Medication times.
Tiny reminders to ourselves.
And heaven help you if you grabbed the wrong color pen.
Every unit seemed to have its own unwritten rules.
One color for charting.
One for updates.
One reserved for something important.
And there was always a doctor, coworker, or student asking…
"Can I borrow a pen?"
You already knew the answer.
You'd probably never see it again.
By the end of the week, your uniform pockets told their own story. The fabric was stretched.
The pen clips left permanent marks. And there was always that one mysterious ink stain that refused to wash out. Back then, those weren't just stains. They were proof you had been busy.
Proof you had spent another shift taking care of people.
Nursing has become more digital over the years, but many of us still remember the feeling of carrying those pens everywhere we went.
Funny how something so small can bring back so many memories.
Nurses... how many pens did you carry, and did anyone ever return the one they borrowed?

01/10/2026

Looking for a great outing this long weekend?🌞
Visit us at Prince Henry Hospital Nursing & Medical Museum in beautiful Little Bay, the perfect spot to explore local history, wander down to the beach, and enjoy a lovely lunch at one of the cafés just across the road.
Make a day of it and come say hello and our fabulous Nurses and Tour Guides Anne and Carol will show you around.

🕙Open Sunday 10am - 2pm

Photos:
Top: Flowers Ward - Coast Hospital c 1914 - 1918
Bottom: Little Bay Beach

27/09/2026

Bedpan Diaries PHH
My Heart was fixed at Prince Henry Hospital.
A Blast from the Past
Prince Henry Hospital provided these teddy bears for cardiac patients to hold across their chests after major heart surgery.
They hugged the bear close to them stopping any trauma to chest area.
It was theirs to keep!
Bear supplied by Allan Peacock President PHHTNA.

20/09/2026

Bedpan diaries of PHH

Who Remembers When Nothing Was “Just Throw It Away”? 🩺

A syringe wasn't automatically finished after one use.

Glass syringes were part of the routine.Metal needles had to be cared for.

Equipment went through the long cycle of being washed, prepared, sterilized, and put back into service.
And then there was the thermometer.
That little glass thermometer had to be handled carefully because dropping one on the floor wasn't a minor inconvenience.
CRACK.

Everything stopped for a moment.
Someone had to deal with the broken glass and mercury.
In early the nurse had to take to Matron and then docked her pay.
It was a completely different era of healthcare.
So much of the equipment was cleaned, processed, and used again instead of being opened fresh.

Remember CSSD where everything was sent. Some wards had their own autoclaves.

What do you remember most about the days of reusable equipment?

13/09/2026

A big thank you to Rachael Francone our Office Administrator for our wonderful History Week presentations. We hope you enjoyed them as much as we love volunteering at the Prince Henry Hospital Nursing and Medical Museum.
Currently we are digitalising our wonderful photo collection. We will be able to catalogue and sort them so we can present them to you all.
Next week back to Bedpan diaries of PHH!

11/09/2026

Day 7 History Week – Keeping Stories

World Class Nursing and Medical Care

As we celebrate the last day of History Week 2026 and its theme Keeping Stories, we honour the remarkable journey of the Coast and Prince Henry Hospital, founded as NSW’s first government run infectious diseases hospital and later transformed into teaching hospital and a centre of world class medical and nursing excellence.
From the graduation of the first five nurses in 1896, through to the establishment of the Nurses’ Education Centre in 1962 and the admission of the first undergraduate medical students in 1964, the hospital became a powerhouse of learning, training and innovation. Prince Henry achieved major milestones including NSW’s first kidney transplant in 1965, the opening of the hyperbaric chamber in 1971, and in 1987 the launch of the Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory, Lithotriptor Centre and dedicated AIDS Unit, each shaping the future of healthcare in our state and local community.
Many of the patients who walked out of those hospital doors were able to do so because of the extraordinary nursing and medical care provided by the staff who served here.
Their history is our history, carried forward today through the stories shared of former Coast and Prince Henry Hospital which continues to be kept alive by the museum, the P.H.H.T.N.A and it’s volunteers today.

Join us this Sunday for a free guided tour of the former hospital site
- 10am Sunday 13th September (Tour length Approx 2 hrs)
Meeting at the Museum, 2 Brodie Ave Little Bay

Address

2 Brodie Avenue
Matraville, NSW
2036

Opening Hours

Tuesday	10am - 2pm
Sunday	10am - 3pm

Telephone

+61290190784

Website

https://princehenryhospitalmuseum.org/

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