The plan for an Institute of Pathological Research was proposed in 1920, however, the expected donations were slow to materialise. In 1923, a local businessman Thomas E Rofe provided £5000. Rofe’s son had recently died of the complications of diabetes, and so one of the first projects of the institute was to investigate this disease. The hospital provided one of the workmen’s cottages along Reserve Road which had been resumed for the hospital’s expansion. The institute continued in this cottage until the opening of the Kolling Laboratories in 1931.
The routine pathology for the hospital was done in these laboratories of the Institute of Pathological Research. One of the main infectious diseases seen in hospitalised children was diphtheria. These children were managed in a special infectious diseases block away from the main hospital. Ready access to pathology facilities was essential.
This is the original laboratory of the Institute of Pathological Research with G.Vincent Rudd, the research scientist. Prior to the institute, pathology tests, which usually involved urinalysis, and looking at simple bacteriological slides, were done in a small room off one of the original wards.
Wilson Ingram worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the Institute of Pathological Research. With the opening of the new laboratories, he suggested a name change to the Institute of Medical Research which better reflected the nature of the activities. By this time Ingram had already set up the first diabetic clinic in Australia. His focus was now on research into the common diseases of mankind.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge opened on 19th March 1932. In the early days of the hospital, pathology specimens were collected on the ward and at the end of the day, then taken on the ferry from Milson’s Point to the Department of Health. The results were collected the following day. When the bridge opened in 1932, the population of the North Shore rapidly expanded leading to the growth of Royal North Shore Hospital.
Images and historical content: Archive and Heritage Collection, Royal North Shore Hospital, with kind permission
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