BENEVOLENT ASYLUM SITE
25 RYOT STREET WARRNAMBOOL, WARRNAMBOOL CITY
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Statement of Significance
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BENEVOLENT ASYLUM SITE - History
The Warrnambool Benevolent Committee was formed in 1850 and in 1853 the first step was taken to obtain a grant from the Government. An allotment of 12 acres was received on western extent of township, along Ryot Street. Premises on corner of Henna & Koroit Streets were rented until the first building on the hospital site was built in1861. From that time additions to the original building regularly took place. In 1874 an infectious diseases ward was built. In 1886 the Hospital had 38 beds for males and 12 for females. There was also a sitting and two bedrooms for paying patients. It also had numerous chimneys. The gardens of the hospital were situated on the higher ground (Koroit Street) and the whole 12 acres by the 1880s 'tastefully designed and kept in order'. Starting in 1900 therewere major additions to the hospital including a new male ward, separate dining and sitting rooms, improved nurses' quarters. Further expansions and re-developments took place in the late 1920s. See attachment for images.
BENEVOLENT ASYLUM SITE - Interpretation of Site
The existing Villiers building may have incorporated elements of an earlier building(s) on the site and there are most likely footings and possibly underfloor deposits within the footprint of this building and its later extensions. South and west of this area the existing hospital buildings and access roads have been cut into the slope, thereby most
likely removing any remains of earlier structures. At the north west corner of the property, there is a stone footing
on the perimeter made of local stone (limestone/sandstone) with some cement render on the external surface and
notching present on the internal face. This appears to have been a boundary or perimeter wall.
BENEVOLENT ASYLUM SITE - Archaeological Significance
The remains of the Benevolent Asylum may have the capacity to inform on the arrangement of space and function of the 19th century phase of the hospital as well as on garden landscaping which was an important component in recuperation and health care delivery in general. There may also be remains of underfloor deposits and small scale waste disposal pits which may provide information on the type and variety of medical treatments provided at the hospital over time. The southern, lower end, of the site has been obliterated by the current building programme. At the northern end, the levels and slopes of the car park and gardens around the Villers building are consistent with the streetscape indicating that should any remains of earlier structures and landscaping have been present in this area they would Iikely be relatively well preserved (wall foundations, underfloor deposits, paths, garden beds, surface drains).
BENEVOLENT ASYLUM SITE - Historical Significance
The Benevolent Asylum was the first institutional health care centre in Warrnambool and has been continuously providing these services on the site since the 1860s.
Heritage Inventory Description
BENEVOLENT ASYLUM SITE - Heritage Inventory Description
The site is occupied by the Warrnambool & District Base Hospital. It is bounded by Ryot Street (to the east), Hider Street (to the west), Koroit Street (to the north) and Timor Street (to the south). The southern half of the site at the time of the inspection was a construction site. Hospital buildings ranging in age from the early 20th century and the 1970's occupy the northern half of the block.
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WARRNAMBOOL COURT HOUSEVictorian Heritage Register H1674
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FORMER POLICE STATION COMPLEXVictorian Heritage Register H1698
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ORDERLY ROOM AND RESIDENCEVictorian Heritage Register H0543
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