Secrets of The Repat Hospital with Keith Conlon: In the Adelaide City region of South Australia
On Anzac Day we acknowledge the sacrifice of the many Australians who have died serving their country. It’s become the most meaningful of our national days. It’s the anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli in 1915. In that awful campaign 90 years ago our sense of a young nation and character was really cast.
And during World War One we made a promise to every Australian who went away that when they came back, we’d look after them. Join me on a tour of The Repat. Hospital at Daw Park - it’s all about keeping that promise
During World War Two, returned servicemen and women were admitted to the “Adelaide Military Hospital 105”, later to be known as the Repatriation Hospital, Daw Park - “The Repat”.
In the sixty years since, it’s taken care of veterans and war widows and more recently civilians - who now make up about half of its patients.
The guided tour of this sprawling ‘hospital in a park’ begins in an area with a very military feel - under the clock tower on top of ‘A’ Block.
“A Block was the first building completed,” explained Philip Pike, The Repat’s Marketing Manager, who conducts the tours. “The original guard house still greets visitors at the Daws Road entrance - it’s now the library.”
The Repat was a grand venture in the vineyards on the edge of the city. The army camp and hospital was set up on part of Cudmore Farm on Daws Road.
It was under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Neill Le Messurier. With a name like that he to be knick-named “Freddo the Frog”. He was a stickler for standing orders and one time when staff toilet paper was in short supply he directed that women could have two squares but men only one!
By the late 40s, The Repat had grown into the sprawling facility we see today with single-storey wards laid out in a herringbone pattern typical of military design. The more spread out - the less of a central target for enemy attack.
Take the tour and you’ll see a delightful blend of old and new.
New contemporary buildings house some of the best rehabilitation facilities in the world including a sparkling half-Olympic sized hydrotherapy pool. Catering for inpatients and outpatients rehab never looked so good!
But you’re never far from touching stories of why the hospital exists. After World War Two in particular, many diggers returned as ‘broken souls’ and spent long periods recovering in the ‘safe haven’ of The Repat.
These days it’s increasingly war widows, Vietnam Vets and the general public who benefit from the same caring philosophy
For a sobering reminder of wartime hardship visit The Repat Museum. The hut itself is a relic - once the hospital’s Post Office. Inside, you’ll find examples of Aussie ingenuity in the face of incredible deprivation.
Curator, David Ennis opened a glass cabinet at took out a set of false teeth made of aluminium. “These were made for a guy that lost his teeth,” he said. “They are made out of aluminium salvaged from a downed aircraft - they melted it down and the dentist who had next to no equipment individually shaped each tooth. It’s amazing”.
It sure is. And so is a lot of the memorabilia carefully looked after by David and his wife, Maxine.
The Repat is a modern hospital of nearly 300 beds, 15-hundred staff including 300 nurses. It’s still mostly single-storey and is spread over 14-hectares and one thing you notice on the tour is the gardens. Almost every ward is separated by a garden or courtyard - part of the notion of “a hospital in a park.” One of the most visited is the Peace Garden.
“The Peace Garden was donated by grateful patients and has been here since before 1950.” explained Philip.
The garden includes a hedge of Rosemary grown from cuttings brought back from Gallopili by a digger.
Not far away is the Chapel - a reflective place of worship adorned with magnificent stained glass windows. A special feature of the chapel is that it is bi-fid - pews can be swung back and forth to cater for the Roman Catholics facing the western end and the Church of England and Protestant faiths at the other. Some say they got the idea from the Bay Tram that has similar seats.
Nearby, is the last of the so-called cheer up huts. It was paid for with funds raised by South Australian school children in the 1940s. In today’s money they raised the equivalent of 14-million dollars!
These days an amateur theatre group upholds the ‘cheer-up’ tradition by using the hall for its shows.
As you can see, the hour-long tour of The Repat reveals many surprises - but the biggest is yet to come. A recent archaeological dig discovered the entrances to its best-kept secret - a 300 bed underground hospital.
Built in case of a Japanese bombings raids that never came, the underground shelter and hospital is reputed to include a full operating theatre - sealed in wax to preserve it.
Only trouble is much of it’s now under private property but the Archaeological Department from Flinders Uni have used special ground imaging gear to locate the tunnels and the entrances.
“We’re just waiting to find the best spot to get in,” said Philip. “As soon as that’s done, we’ll open it up and hopefully be able to take visitors in there as part of their tour.”
If all goes to plan, they hope to have it open in time for Armistice Day 2005 and fingers crossed, it’ll become a memorable part of the tour of a place of healing that’s cared for veterans and their families for over 60 years.
It’s an enduring tribute to the Anzac spirit. For a guided tour of the Repat, phone the Repat’s Marketing and Developing Department.
The Repat
Daws Road
Daw ParkGuided tours
Phone (08) 8275 1606
