VPRS 17427 Board / Committee of Management, Minutes and Agenda Papers

This series consists of the Minutes of the Committee/Board of Management from the earliest surviving records of the Lying-in Hospital to the last Minutes of the Royal Women's Hospital prior to its absorption into the Women's and Children's Health Care Network in 1995.The Committee of Management, from 1955 known as the Board of Management was the prime decision making body of the Royal Women's Hospital (RWH) from 1859 to 1995, when the RWH merged with the Royal Children's Hospital to form the Women's and Children's Health Care Network. The Board was the group responsible for the overall management of the hospital.The Board was known by several names and was variously constituted during its 139 year existence.Committee/Board members were elected by Subscribers to the hospital at the Annual General Meeting until circa 1980.Visiting CommitteeA committee of this name was reported in "The Argus" newspaper on 12 August 1856 where it is described as "a group of ladies (who) have consented to become visitors of this institution".These sixteen ladies became the foundation members of the Ladies' Committee (Committee of Management) of the Lying-in Hospital and Infirmary for the Diseases Peculiar to Women and Children.This group founded the Lying-in Hospital and Infirmary for Diseases of Women and Children in August 1856 together with Dr. Richard Tracy and Dr.John Maund. The first President, Frances (Fanny) Perry was the wife of Melbourne's first Anglican Bishop. They were assisted by a Gentlemen's Committee for reference and counsel in time of need.The ladies were hands-on managers, meeting weekly and assuming responsibility for admission of patients, staff appointments and negotiating contracts with builders and suppliers.Committee of Management (Ladies' Committee and Gentlemen's Committee)In 1870 the Gentlemen's and Ladies' Committees merged, although the Annual Reports continue to list the two groups separately until 1972. Changes in legislation saw the numbers and responsibilities change from time to time.This committee was also referred to as the General Committee until about 1954.Board of ManagementOne of many proposals for changes to the By-laws of the hospital which were adopted by the Committee of Management on 4 August 1955 was that in paragraph 3 the word Committee be replaced by Board - effectively changing the name from Committee of Management to Board of Management.In the 1984 Annual Report the word appointed is used for new members rather than elected for the first time.The Minutes are in many formats, bound volumes, hand written, typed and computer generated.Series HistoryPrior to transfer to Public Record Office Victoria, the records in this series were maintained as part of the Royal Women's Hospital (RWH) Archives. They were part of RWH Series number 0032.