March 14, 2022
Almost 40 current and former Murgon Hospital staff got together at the Murgon Services Club recently for a reunion lunch to mark the hospital’s 50th anniversary.
Guests came from as far afield as Bribie Island, Toowoomba, Nambour and Cotton Tree to join locals for the informal get-together.
A highlight of the event was the unveiling of a photobook prepared by retired operational officer Muriel Schultz, who worked at the hospital for almost 18 years.
Muriel said she has spent the past four years researching the history of Murgon Hospital and tracking down many of the staff who had worked there.
She found that although Murgon was founded in 1906 when the first town blocks were put on sale, and became a Shire when it split from the neighbouring Weinholt (ie Wondai) and Kilkivan Shires in 1914, it took until 1936 for a maternity hospital to be approved for the town.
However, residents had to wait until 1949 before construction began, and a further two years until the maternity hospital’s doors opened.
Then they had to wait a further 20 years for this facility to be expanded to a more broadly based hospital, which happened in 1971 when outpatients, casualty and X-ray services were added to the maternity hospital’s facilities in a new, purpose-built building.
Since then, Murgon Hospital has become a much-appreciated facility in the district.
It has also saved many locals from being forced to make long trips to hospitals in Wondai and Kingaroy for more complex medical attention, which was common in Murgon until the early 1970s.
At the lunch, guests shared stories about their work and many tales about the sometimes stressful, sometimes funny moments that are part and parcel of most nursing careers.
[UPDATED with correction]
