Townsville General Hospital (former)

The former Townsville General Hospital now houses 28 apartments and professional offices. This new development is known as Fulton Gardens, honouring one of its architects. The six-storied concrete and brick building with curved cantilevered balconies, has views to Magnetic Island. It was designed by architects Donoghue and Fulton, between 1935 and 1939. The construction was delayed by WWII and the foundation stone was not laid until 1945. When completed in 1951, it was the largest regional hospital in Australia, costing 500,000 pounds. It opened with approximately 270 beds. Dr Kiernan Dorney was the medical superintendent, who claimed to have the largest staff of medical specialists outside Brisbane. The design was a departure from the earlier pavilion styled hospitals which revolved around the provision of ventilation and isolation of patients. Modern principles prioritised a more efficient use of space, facilitating staff circulation between different parts of the hospital. Townsville Hospital demonstrates this progressive design and reflects European modernist architectural concepts for compact high-rise hospital design. In 2011, the first phase of a new Townsville Hospital opened south of the city centre, in the suburb of Douglas, paving the way for this redevelopment.