VPRS 19339 Building Fund Committee Minutes

This book which makes up this series records proceedings of meetings of the Building Fund Committee of Prince Henry's Hospital. It was not a committee that met on a regular basis. At times meetings followed closely to one-another; at other times they were spaced out. The first meeting recorded in the book was held on 18 December 1935. There were previous meetings of the Committee as the Minutes stated that the Minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. The last meeting recorded in the book was held on 24 November 1939 with the next one scheduled for 8 December.   When it was decided, late in 1934, that Prince Henry's Hospital be rebuilt and greatly extended at a cost of approximately 250,000 pounds, as the first major step towards relieving the acute shortage of hospital accommodation in Melbourne, the question of obtaining funds to commence the work had to be considered. A sub-committee of the Board of Management, with the Vice-President of the Hospital as Chairman, was appointed to administer the Fund. The Fund Committee decided to concentrate on establishing organisations that would undertake the raising of substantial amounts over a period on behalf of the Building Fund, and would then continue to function permanently on behalf of the Hospital. The 1937 Annual Report (see VPRS 19314) remarked that the main functions of the Committee and Executive during the previous year had been the directing and assisting of the various organisations formed on behalf of the Building Fund for the purpose of raising definite amounts for building particular wards. Lists of donations are to be found in Annual Reports (see VPRS 19314). The Central Block of buildings was completed during the year ending on 30 June 1940. It was officially opened on 10 October 1940.