Local History Series: A Hospital in Kenmore?

There was once a hospital in Kenmore that employed hundreds of staff and cared for thousands of patients, over 40 years.

The Repatriation Sanitorium Kenmore, was officially opened in 1945 in what is now Pinjarra Hills. It was set up  to provide care and treatment for returned servicemen suffering from Tuberculous (TB).

Prior to this, returned servicemen with TB were housed at Rosemount Hospital which was seriously overcrowded with patients in tents on the grounds.

There were no drugs for the treatment of TB and rest, nourishment and fresh air were regarded as the only effective treatment.  At the Kenmore facility they had plenty of fresh air, good food and comradeship.

Then in 1947, Streptomycin was discovered, and it is believed that the first patient in Australia to be treated with this new drug was at the Kenmore facility. 

In 1964 the name of the hospital was changed to Repatriation Hospital Kenmore. 

The hospital closed in 1994 and the buildings were demolished.  The RSL acquired the land for veterans’ health care and it became ‘Fairview’.  

For almost 40 years, from 1945 to 1994 the sanitorium, later named the Repatriation Hospital Kenmore, was home for thousands of ex-servicemen with tuberculous. Numerous doctors, matrons and nursing staff, allied health professionals and other staff cared for these patients over the years.