Alexandra Ward was one of the original general medical wards at the Adelaide Hospital, operating for more than a century from 1856 to 1962. Unlike some of the hospital’s specialist units, it did not contribute significantly to medical advances. Instead it provided general medical treatment, reflecting the hospital’s day-to-day responsibilities.
In its early years, the ward admitted both male and female patients. Like many hospital wards of the time, it was named after influential or in this case a royal figure, Princess Alexandra of Denmark (1844–1925) She became Queen Consort in 1901 when her husband Edward VII ascended the British throne.
Early Location
The ward was first located in the West Wing of the original 1856 Adelaide Hospital building, in what were called the ‘Landing Wards’. These rooms faced the internal courtyard and were alongside Alfred and Leopold wards. All three wards were similarly designed and housed patients on the upper floor of the West Wing.
I was in charge of Alexandra Ward [1898] with Dr Ramsay Smith as Honorary. My friend, Sister Marquis, was in charge of the ward opposite, and how we used to vie with each other, to see whose ward would be the most attractive. She often had me beaten.
Eleanor Harrald, 1937, Nursing in South Australia
Shift to Women’s Medical Ward
By the early 1900s, Alexandra Ward began focusing more specifically on women’s medical care. This change reflected a broader trend at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where wards became increasingly specialized in response to evolving healthcare needs.
By 1928, Alexandra Ward had 25 beds, 16 inside and 9 on the verandah. The maximum occupancy was listed as 34 beds. Patients were cared for by several honorary physicians, including Dr Albert ‘Ray’ Southwood (Assistant Physician in charge of Infectious Diseases), Dr James Sleeman (Medical Superintendent) and Dr Kenneth Hetzel (Assistant Physician).
The ward faced south-east. On the eastern side a wall dividing it from the next ward, so it was impossible to get any cool breeze that might come from that quarter, and no electric fans to help as now.
Eleanor Harrald, 1937, Nursing in South Australia
Doctors followed a fixed visiting schedule. In 1947, for instances, visits were held on Tuesdays and Fridays. That year’s records show 25 beds in use. In 1959, bed allocations became even more specific. The main Alexandra Ward had 29 beds, divided among Drs John Hayward (Honorary Physician, Respiratory Medicine) with 12 beds, Robert West (Honorary Physician) 12 beds, John Gordon (Senior Neurologist) 3 beds and 2 unallotted beds. In the Alexandra Annex, Drs Hugh Gilmore (Assistant General Physician) and John McPhie (Head of Cardiology Clinic) each had two beds, and three were reserved for the Honorary Clinical Cardiologists.
Life on the Ward
Alexandra Ward wasn’t just a medical ward, it was a workplace, a home and sometimes a stage for small dramas.
In 1898, Eleanor Harrald described managing a ward full of patients with enteric fever during a brutal heatwave. With no air conditioning and only one assistant nurse, she worked hard to keep temperatures down using ice packs and sponge baths. She remembers:
One might almost think in these days it would have been impossible to reduce temperatures under the conditions … Although it was a most strenuous time, it was full of interest.
Eleanor Harrald, 1937, Nursing in South Australia
Other moments were lighter. In 1936, a patient on the balcony of Alexandra Ward made friends with a mouse. The mouse and a sparrow fought over biscuit crumbs thrown by the patients. A small moment of amusement during long days of recovery.
Some stories were much sadder. In 1933, Sister Irene Aida Ridgway, who was in charge of Alexandra Ward, died of pneumonia at just 32. In 1930, another Alexandra Ward nurse, Mary Cecila Hart, known as ‘Nurse Shelia’, died of tuberculosis meningitis after years on the hospital staff. The funeral was marked by an honour guard of nurses.
Records from the 19th century also show how the ward was part of the broader life of the hospital. Staff featured in public disputes, resignations, and even defamation notices. Like in 1877, the Alexandra Ward Assistant Nurse, who wrote to a newspaper to clarify she wasn’t the Mrs Green recently jailed for theft.
Alexandra Ward was also caught up in the infamous Hospital Row (1894-1902). Maria Davoren, Senior Charge Nurse of Alexandra Ward, was one of early key players in the dispute. She was forced to resign after she clashed with the Adelaide Hospital Board of Management over the appointment of a junior nurse (and sister to the Chief Secretary) to the Superintendent of Night Nurses.
Wartime Relocation
During and after World War II, the hospital faced increased demand for beds, both for civilians and military personnel. In 1946, Alexandra Ward was moved from the main hospital building into a temporary galvanised iron structure. This temporary building had been original built in 1929 to service as a stopgap outpatient clinic while permanent facilities were being constructed nearby. The building was never designed for long-term use. During the war, it was used by the RAAF as an infirmary for airmen training at the nearby Exhibition Building on North Terrace.
The conditions in Alexandra Ward were at times uncomfortable for the patients:
Extremely hot in summer and both draughty and cold in winter
J Estcourt Hughes, 1967, A History of the Royal Adelaide Hospital
Renovations
Both the original ward and the second location of the temporary galvanised iron structure underwent improvements for better patient care. Hospital board minutes across both sites highlighted issues such as extreme temperatures, rat infestations and maintenance problems. In 1941, the Royal Adelaide Hospital Board Minutes:
Complaints regarding rats are being received, particularly from Alexandra, Wyatt and Dorcas Wards. The Corporation ratcatcher attended on the 27th instant and laid 800 baits. The Hospital handyman also lays baits and sets traps.
Royal Adelaide Hospital Board of Management Minutes, 29 October 1941
In 1924, improvements were made to the ward by knocking a large hole in the outside wall to allow the insertion of a wide French window leading out onto the balcony. Walls, ceiling, woodwork and furniture were also painted white. As part of this major refresh, the Adelaide Hospital Auxiliary supplied over 1,000 pieces of linen for Alexandra Ward. Each ward was given their own colour scheme, with Alexandra Ward assigned blue. This included bed jackets for patients, monogrammed sheets, tray cloths and hand stitched garments in white flannelette with blue stitching.
Alexandra Ward became, in 1928, one of the first wards in the hospital to be wired for radio. Members of the Postal Electricians Union volunteered their time to install the radios, and patients were able to access audio programs while in bed via headphones.
Fire safety was another concern. In 1938, the Royal Adelaide Hospital Hospital Board recommended adding iron staircases to several wards, including Alexandra, to allow emergency escape directly to the courtyard below.
Further renovations in 1952 saw bathrooms and pantry areas in the temporary building improved, the annex enclosed, and the ward repainted.
Despite these updates, the temporary iron building continued to pose problems. Rats and mice remained a nuisance, and the extreme temperatures persisted year round. In 1956, air-conditioning was installed. A full central system was ruled out as too expensive and unsuitable for the building’s design. Instead, a combination of smaller, standalone units were used. The project took three months.
Final Relocation and Closure
In 1962, Alexandra Ward finally left its temporary home and moved into the newly built East Wing of the Royal Adelaide Hospital. This modern facility offered up-to-date medical facilities, improved layout, better ventilation and modern clinical infrastructure. The old galvanised iron building, having been in clinical use for three decades, was no longer needed for patient care. It was briefly repurposed as the site office for the hospital’s redevelopment architects and eventually demolished in 1963.
When the new East Wing was opened in 1962, Alexandra and Gawler Wards were transferred to it’s up-to-date accommodation, and the old galvanized iron building received its last assignment. It became the site office of the architects working on the reconstruction of the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
J Estcourt Hughes, 1967, The History of Royal Adelaide Hospital
Written by Margot Way, CALHN Health Museum
