City of Darebin Heritage Study Volume 1 Draft Thematic

DAREBIN HERITAGE STUDY STAGE 2After what seemed a good start, a series of delays, mainly due to a large backlog of urgentlyneeded housing, hospital and other community services, slowed progress for several years.Building of PANCH commenced in 1951, but funds ran out and the site was left unfinishedfor three years. Eventually the 304 bed hospital was completed in 1960, but not before theante-natal outpatients clinic had opened in February. Maternity services were particularlyimportant to the fast-growing region. The official opening by Premier Bolte was in July 1960.Local Ladies Auxiliaries were formed in the 1950s to assist with fund-raising for the hospital.The hospital’s main specialty was plastic surgery reconstructive surgery (Carroll 1985: 185-8).PANCH closed at the end of the 1990s, and was replaced by Northern Health Services, amulti-campus service for the northern suburbs. The Northern Hospital was established furtherout at Epping, to serve the new suburban growth corridor. The Preston community is nowserved by Panch Health Services in Bell Street, opposite the old PANCH site, which is beingredeveloped for student housing, offices, serviced apartments, a function centre, a restaurantand a hotel.Figure 83P.A.N.C.H. hospital (Preston &Northcote Community Hospital),(image date unknown).Photographer: Wolfgang Sievers[State Library of Victoria, AN:H2003.100/563, IN: mp022880]Figure 84Opening of the Thornbury BabyHealth Centre, 1920.[DHE: ID 786]7.5 Pursuing common leisure interestsPlaying SportDarebin has always supported a vibrant sporting community, especially Australian Rulesfootball, where a few famous names have been connected with the area - Roy Cazaly, Doug120