Designing hospitals for Australian conditions: The Australian Inland Mission's cottage hospital,Adelaide House, 1926

Whilst it is generally recognised that hospitals designed in major Australian centres have drawn heavily on British and American precedent since colonial settlement, little research has been undertaken on these connections in terms of remotely located, small-scale, cottage hospitals. This study of the Australian Inland Mission's cottage hospital Adelaide House (1926) contributes to our understanding of strategies used to design hospital environments in the early twentieth century through critical analysis of historical documents and existing literature. Preliminary findings suggest that the adoption or adaptation of international design precedent to meet inland Australian conditions was informed by ideas about climate, gender and race, and, to some extent, the advice of field-experienced nursing sisters.