Sydney Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital : Emergency Room

Sydney Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital is at 8 Macquarie Street, beside some of Sydney’s oldest civic buildings. Its central hospital building dates to the early colonial period and remains in use today. The site is known as the Rum Hospital because its builders were paid through a government-backed rum trade arrangement. If you are visiting for emergency care, the hospital’s historic setting is secondary to getting the help you need. The entrance and parking are wheelchair accessible, and paid parking is available.

The Rum Hospital

Sydney Hospital’s history reaches back to 1788, when the first hospital in Sydney was established elsewhere. In 1810, Governor Macquarie set aside land for a new hospital and arranged for three contractors to build it. In return, they received a licence to import 60,000 gallons of rum.

The payment arrangement gave the hospital its familiar name, the Rum Hospital. Rum also served as an official form of currency at the time. The hospital that opened in 1816 was Australia’s first public hospital.

A hospital still in use

The original complex consisted of three colonial Georgian buildings: a central hospital and two wings. The central building continues to serve as Sydney Hospital. The other buildings became Parliament House and The Mint, placing the hospital within a group of historic institutions on Macquarie Street.

The surviving hospital building is described as Australia’s oldest public building still in use. Its history is part of the street’s broader collection of civic landmarks, which also includes St James’ Church and the State Library of New South Wales.