The Ghosts of Prince Henry Hospital and Little Bay

I am a ghost hunter.

I explore and research and love to find myself being excited by stories of ghosts and haunted sights.

Each story has its place in our collective consciousness and deserves to be heard and felt.

Prince Henry Hospital, although long closed, remains a place that is greatly loved by so many nurses and patients and is now run by volunteers who keep its history alive.

I began my involvement here abut three years ago when I was asked by Oz Para Tech (www.ozparatech.com) to join them in a public demonstration of ghost hunting for one of their open days.

Let me share some history first..

 This is a brief history of the Coast Hospital in relation to it being a hospital devoted to infectious diseases. 

It was established to deal with a growing epidemic of smallpox in Sydney on September 5, 1881, and the site of Little Bay was chosen because of it's isolation from Sydney's population, its sweeping coastal views and fresh air. 

In July of that year, the horse-drawn ambulance was established upon the outbreak of smallpox, and it was disbanded in February/March 1882, once the outbreak was declared over. 

In 1883, the hospital was converted to a convalescent hospital for patients previously in other Sydney metropolitan hospitals.

In 1888, the hospital became a "fever hospital" treating diseases such as diphtheria, tuberculosis, smallpox, typhoid, measles and scarlet fever. 

In 1890 a new lazaret was opened to accommodate patients suffering from leprosy, who were kept isolated from the general hospital operation. 

In 1910, a trial was conducted at the hospital on the use of Salvarsan (arsphenamine, an arsenic containing compound) in the treatment of syphilis, which was a great success. 

In 1921 an outbreak of the Plague began in Sydney and patients were isolated at the Coast Hospital for treatment.

In 1934, the hospital was renamed 'The Prince Henry Hospital' in honour of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester's visit to Sydney. 

In September, 2002 only 50 beds were still in operation and the 'Sydney Morning Herald' said that the Coast Hospital was "to stage a day of celebrations to mark 121 years, its last birthday party, before it closes its doors to the sick next year". 

The final destination was to become a residential redevelopment with a completion date of 2007.

And so here we find ourselves surrounded by the ghosts of the hospital residual and intelligent and the importance of retaining the history of this amazing place.

visitsydney.com.au tells us the following about the ghostly stories:

Established in 1881 The Prince Henry Hospital, originally called The Coast Hospital and changed to commemorate the visit in 1934 of HRH Henry, Duke of Gloucester, had a long and distinguished history. 

It was purposely built a considerable distance from the city of Sydney due to its founding mission to treat people with contagious disease, sitting as it does on 202 ha of sand dunes and rugged bush land by the ocean a short distance from Botany Bay.

Patients suffering from typhoid, leprosy, small pox and other communicable diseases suffered and died there in large numbers.

Veterans of both world wars recuperated there from wounds and illness, nurses tending them were famous for their dedication. As the years passed and the threat of contagious disease receded with advancements in medicine, the hospital was upgraded and turned into a modern general hospital. 

It has its own cemetery, abandoned and overgrown it contains well over 1000 people, many patients who died in the hospital in the early days are buried thereThe ghost of a matron called Gracie was said to haunt the hospital, in life she was a neurotic woman who would immediately wash herself after being touched or bumping into someone. 

She is said to have died in B Block under mysterious circumstances, believed to have fallen down a disused lift well. 

Her ghost is regularly seen in B Block, now called the Delaney Ward.

Patients reported being tendered to by a mysterious nurse with an old fashioned white veil, she tops up glasses of water - adjusts blankets on cold nights and had placed bed pans under patients and removed them after use. 

Although the patients didn't know she was a ghost, nurses did and some were terrified of her, even though Gracie wasn't considered an evil presence she projects an aura of authority which nurses instinctively responded to with subordinate fear.

 Often when Gracie's ghost was seen the clocks in the area stop functioning, their hands pointing to 2 o'clock.

The ghost of an aboriginal boy mischievously haunted the stairs of B Block, tripping nurses and others who used them. 

Sometimes seen sitting at the foot of the stairs giggling, his cheeky presence caused unease to many using them. 

An unidentified man was said to walk the corridors at night. Described a sinister presence, his apparition had never been seen but its shadow has, accompanied by heavy footsteps drifted across the walls. 

Next Saturday night February 29th 2020, Oz Para Tech will be conducting one of their evenings at the Museum where they will be introducing people to a taste of ghost hunting and spirit communication at the SPIRITS OF PRINCE HENRY evening. 

You will hear so much more about Gracie directly from the nurses themselves!!!

Call Frida.Kitas @randwick.nsw.gov.au for the cheapest night out in town!!!