Alice Broadhurst Collection

A collection of unique photographs is now in the local history collection at Yarra Plenty Regional Library. The Alice Elizabeth Broadhurst collection includes over 1,300 photos from 12 photo albums broadly spanning 1895-1926 but mainly covering the period 1918-1926; depicting the 16th Australian General Hospital, Mont Park (Macleod West, now part of LaTrobe University and the Springthorpe Community), the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Royal Women’s Hospital and two trips to the United Kingdom and Europe undertaken in 1923 and 1926.

The albums were compiled and owned by Alice Elizabeth Broadhurst (1896-1981), initially while working as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse with the Australian Red Cross at the Mont Park Military Hospital and subsequently as a nurse at the Royal Melbourne and Royal Women’s hospitals alongside many pioneering doctors of their fields. Many photos depict her time at Mont Park, including nursing staff, patients, buildings, group gatherings, a visit by General Birdwood and the end of service of Mont Park as a military hospital in 1920 when the departure of the last military patients from Macleod Railway Station. The albums also include photos of Alice’s childhood home in Western Australia, her father's home, ‘Heatherleigh’ at Tunstall, her time as a nurse at the Royal Women’s and Royal Melbourne hospitals as well as a record of an almost year long trip undertaken by her father and step mother to the United Kingdom, Europe and New Zealand in 1923. Another album covers a further almost year long trip undertaken by Alice herself to the United Kingdom and Europe in 1926 where she also visited some of the significant battlefields of the First World War.
The collection was donated to Yarra Plenty Regional Library in two stages: the first two albums initially in March 2016 and the remaining albums in July 2019.

To learn more about the collection including descriptions of some of the highlights read the Broadhurst Collection Guide

Dive into the collection by visiting Yarra Plenty Regional Library local history
To visit more of our historical photographs search here

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Liz Pidgeon, Local and Family History Librarian, YPRL

This blog post was first published on the YPRL website on 9 June, 2020

Walking in your pandemic isolation

The Mont Park to Springthorpe Heritage Project has developed a sixth walk to add to their suite of heritage walks around the Macleod precinct. These and other walks can be accessed via Walking Maps The latest walk features the Victoria Cross Estate near the old Mont Park asylum/hospital area. 

The Victoria Cross Estate west of the Macleod station, presents a unique walking opportunity around streets which commemorate ten veterans from WWI and WWII. Captain Albert Jacka VC (1893 – 1932) is probably the most famous of the Victorian and Tasmanian veterans remembered here. Read his story and those of the other men at the Information Boards near the ‘Lone Pine’ tree.

The age of the homes varies from the 1926 shop and residence at the corner of Cherry St and McNamara St, to million-dollar homes and new blocks of units. Behind most blocks there are laneways which were used for the ‘night soil’ collection before Macleod (then ‘North Heidelberg’) was sewered in the 1960s. See if you can spot the remaining laneways which led to backyard ‘thunder boxes’. 

Park in Macleod Parade which is named after Malcolm and Edith Macleod who owned this land from 1903 to 1910. They lived at Strathalan House on the hill, which is still evident in the Baptcare Strathalan Community Complex.    Enjoy this 40-minute Macleod Heritage Walk soon.

Mont park to Springthorpe Heritage Project

Patients from Block 10, 16 A.G.H.. Possibly a member of staff standing behind chair, circa 1918] Alice Broadhurst Collection. Yarra Plenty Regional Library

A community driven project has come to fruition recently with the launch in September of the Mont Park to Springthorpe: Springthorpe Heritage Project. The website explores the former Mont Park Hospital and Asylum and its environs, the heritage-listed buildings, horticulturally significant landscape design, social and cultural history, hospital and psychiatric care history, indigenous history, significant historical figures and interviews with people associated with the area in the past.

The site is arranged under the various themes and also includes a timeline and a section on locally significant trees. A gallery of photographs includes photos from Yarra Plenty Regional Library’s Alice Broadhurst Collection from 1918 to 1920 covering the era when the 16th Australian General Hospital was based at Mont Park.

There is an invitation to contribute as research and stories come to light. The project is also supported by a Facebook page.   YPRL have supported this project since 2013.  It is terrific to see an outcome that has produced an online repository of curated historical material, empowered a community with a strengthened sense of 'place' that draws on its connections with past lives and communities.  A group of up-skilled local history enthusiasts have the capacity to 'grow' the Project into the future and sustain its momentum with strengthened collaborative relationships with Project partners including La Trobe University, Darebin City Council and others from the local community.

Congratulations to all the volunteers and historians involved with this project.

Springthorpe and La Trobe Local History Project

Patients playing cards, 16th Australian General Hospital, Mont Park. Alice Broadhurst Collection. Yarra Plenty Regional Library

The Springthorpe and La Trobe Local History Project is underway.  This collaboration between Springthorpe, La Trobe University and Darebin Council will examine: Local indigenous history, European settlers, Landscape design and horticultural history (including the work of Hugh Linaker), Hospital and psychiatric care history (Mont Park and Larundel), Key individuals such as Dr. John Springthorpe and Dr Ernest Jones, Architectural and heritage-listed buildings history, Hospital links to World War One returned soldiers and other miltary history, natural, botanical and ecological history (including the wildlife reserves) and history of the Springthorpe estate.

The materials and information gathered will be stored and accessible on a web portal.

Mont Park Hospital

Patients playing cards, 16th Australian General Hospital, Mont Park ca 1918 (Alice E. Broadhurst Collection, Yarra Plenty Regional Library)

A collection of unique photos are now in the local history collection here at YPRL.  The Alice Elizabeth Broadhurst collection includes over 255 photos from about 1918-1920 depicting the 16th Australian General Hospital, Mont Park (Macleod West, now part of LaTrobe University and the Springthorpe Community). The albums were compiled and owned by Australian Red Cross nurse, Alice Elizabeth Broadhurst (1896-1981), probably while working with the Voluntary Aid Detachment. Many of the photos depict her time there, including nursing staff, patients, buildings, group gatherings, a visit by General Birdwood and the end of the service of the hospital as a military hospital in 1920 when the last military patients left. In addition the albums include photos of her childhood home in Western Australia, her parents' home "Heatherleigh" in Tunstall and hospitals she later worked at in Melbourne and Bendigo.

Photos have been digitised and can be accessed at Yarra Plenty Local History Flickr and via Trove Pictures.

To learn more about the military hospital at Mont Park access this list via Trove .