Sanctuary in the city
THERE WERE tears, anger and, above all, sustained protests before Crown Street Women’s Hospital closed on 31 March 1983. For some, the memory of that hospital, affectionately called ‘Crown Street’, still evokes an image of pregnant women struggling up steep Foveaux Street from Central Station; others still feel sad as they drive past its old site at Crown Street, Surry Hills. Still others recall the over 4,000 balloons (each representing a baby born at Crown Street during the previous year) that were part of the colourful, passionate protests to try to stop the closure. The reactions are endless, but few who experienced Crown Street are indifferent to the fact that it is no longer.
The announcement that Crown Street would close came as no surprise, though still a shock, and there was almost no chance of reversing the decision. Why then did so many protest so vigorously? Why did an estimated 88,000 people sign the petition against the closure? What were they fighting for? The answer lies in Crown Street’s 90-year history of obstetric and gynaecological care; a history of remarkable achievements and a unique connection to women throughout New SouthWales, from the most marginalised to the highly privileged. Its history forged the ‘Crown Street family’ and a hospital internationally recognised for clinical excellence.
This book records this history. It aims to get beneath the skin of Crown Street Women’s Hospital, to discover why it mattered so much to so many people, and uncover what made it work. What did the (18 February 1982) that ‘Services are replaceable, but not a hospital heart’?
