Lucy Osburn-Nightingale Museum
Take a look into the history of nursing and medicine in Australia from 1788
10am–4pm
About the building
Opened in 1869, the Nightingale Wing – formerly known as the Nightingale Building – is the oldest building standing within the Sydney Hospital campus and was the site of the first nursing school in Australia. On the request of colonial politician Henry Parkes, British nurse Florence Nightingale sent Lucy Osburn and five other nurses to NSW to establish the school of nursing.
The Nightingale Wing is off the central courtyard of Sydney Hospital. Architect Thomas Rowe designed the sandstone and polychrome-brick Gothic Revival building with Nightingale’s input. Additions were made in 1901, adding a floor and a wing to the east, and it was extended again in 1918.
The Lucy Osburn-Nightingale Museum, housed within the Nightingale Wing, has nursing and medical treasures from the earliest days of hospital operation. A collection of medical equipment, records, implements and pathology provides a look into the history of nursing and medicine in Australia from 1788. The museum also includes artefacts from the original nurses’ home, Lucy Osburn’s chair and desk, and the Kanematsu Collection of morbid anatomy specimens, which serves as a valuable learning tool for students.
Built
1868
Architect
Thomas Rowe
Acknowledgements
The participation of the Lucy Osburn-Nightingale Museum has been made possible by the Director of Nursing at Sydney Hospital/Sydney Eye Hospital.
Find out more about this building here
Lucy Osburn-Nightingale Museum
Nightingale Wing, Sydney Hospital, 8 Macquarie Street, Sydney
Entry details
Level 1 of the Nightingale Wing and the Lucy Osburn-Nightingale Museum
10am–4pm
3.30pm
Need to know
Accessible featuresAccess to the building is via stairs only
Lines expectedPhotography allowed
