Princess Margaret Hospital
Based in Subiaco, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children (PMH) was Western Australia’s first dedicated children’s hospital before Perth Children’s Hospital replaced the 107-year-old facility in 2018.
PMH was at the forefront of many medical breakthroughs and provided a caring place for patients and their families.
PMH dates back to 1897, when a young girl gave threepence to Perth businessman Charles Moore and said she would like to donate it to the children’s hospital.
In 1909, after 12 years of fundraising and lobbying efforts, the girl’s wish came true when Perth’s Children’s Hospital opened to the public.
The original facility included 40 beds, an operating theatre and outpatient department.
It was renamed Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in 1949, after Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II.
While PMH underwent many renovations over the years, WA’s rapidly growing and changing population meant more room was needed. It was determined that building a new, purpose-built children's hospital would better address the community's future paediatric health needs.
At its closure, PMH had approximately 220 beds and served more than 280,000 patients per year.
Saying goodbye to PMH
Before the opening of Perth Children’s Hospital, PMH and the PMH Foundation – now known as the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation – organised a number of commemorative events to acknowledge the hospital’s contribution to the community of WA.
Watch the video below to see highlights from the PMH commemorative events.
Take a trip down memory lane
Channel 7 Perth's Today Tonight program featured a story on the history and evolution of PMH which aired in November 2014.
The feature includes interviews with:
- Maurine Callard, retired PMH nurse
- Dr Nerida Dilworth, former Head of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Unit
- Dr Alan Duncan, Medical Director Clinical Governance
- Jeanette Robertson, Nurse Researcher
- Anne Bourke, retired Executive Director Nursing and Patient Support Services
Watch the video below.
PMH archives
The PMH archives provide a place for continuing preservation of Western Australia’s first children’s hospital’s history and heritage, collect new items and connect the community with the story of PMH.
The archives are run by volunteers, and use the recognised archival principles of identification, classification, storage, retrieval and display.
Access to the archive
The archives team are working towards making the collection available for public viewing in the future.
Donations
Donations to the archive from past PMH patients, staff and families are welcome. Please contact the coordinator below.
Contact the archives
Anne Bourke, Archives Coordinator
- Telephone: 0414 293 001
- Email