The Laundry

Built-in 1918  

The now-former laundry stands to the east of the Recreation Hall.  It was built as a communal laundry for the hospital and is highly intact.

The building’s original layout was highly functional, with a loading dock on its western side with double doors into the laundry interior.

The large open volume of the interior was originally divided by part-height partitions into large sections, with dirty laundry entering the building from the north end of the loading dock, progressively moving south through the building during the laundering process and finishing at the southern end of the loading dock for redistribution.  A lean-to awning has been added over the loading dock and the large internal volume has had new part-height partitions installed, changes that are not of state-level cultural heritage significance.

In 2020 it is used as offices and a canteen. Some hospital complex-related paraphernalia is stored in one office in the building. ​

​

Features of the Laundry of state-level cultural heritage significance also include:

• Form, scale, materials: large one-storey brick building on concrete foundations with concrete floor; four large gable roofs, each with two raised vented roof lanterns lighting the large, lofty interior spaces; ventilated battened eaves; face brick exterior walls (plinth) with roughcast render above; small lean-to toilet block on the western side (addition, 1947); rendered brick internal walls and concrete pillars supporting the roof; timber roof trusses exposed to the interior; large southern windows with arched heads and smaller side windows highlighted with contrasting brick surrounds and accentuated keystones

• Layout: elevated loading dock on the western side, large interior volume with part-height partitions (unclear if original partitions survive)

•  Joinery: multipaned windows (including in roof lanterns) and glazed French doors

• Leadlight window depicting St Dymphna (installed in Laundry c2007) removed from the hospital’s demolished catholic chapel

• Hospital complex-related paraphernalia stored in the building including a straitjacket; gurney; medical implements; gramophone and records; sewing machines; and restraint chair.