Medicine and Health Collection

This collection brings together stories, images, and materials that trace the changing landscape of health and medicine in Newcastle and surrounding regions.

Newcastle’s identity has long been shaped by its industrial heritage—by coal, steel, and the physical labour that powered the city. Yet behind this is another story: one of care, innovation, and everyday health. From home-based nursing to hospital care, public health initiatives to medical education, the city has played a central role in the development of health services in New South Wales.

The Royal Newcastle Hospital stood as a pillar of health provision for nearly two centuries, while the opening of the John Hunter Hospital in 1991 marked the city’s growing status as a major centre for medical treatment and research. The establishment of the University of Newcastle’s School of Medicine in 1978 brought a distinctive, community-focused approach to medical education.

This collection explores the complex and often contested nature of health in the postwar period—through the politics of healthcare access, workers’ rights, and campaigns for better services for Aboriginal communities, migrants, women and children. It features material on mental health, psychiatry, public health campaigns, the impact of disease and vaccination, and the rise of community clinics and domiciliary care from the late 1940s.

Many items in this collection come from the Merv and Janet Copley Collection—a rich assemblage of pamphlets, ephemera, and newspaper clippings that document everyday life and local concerns. Their careful collecting offers insight into how people experienced and shaped health services in Newcastle.

This collection invites you to explore how medicine and care have been woven into the fabric of Newcastle’s civic, social and industrial life.