Medina Infant Health Centre

Statement of Significance

Historic Value: The place represents the initial expansion of the population after WW2 in the ‘Baby Boom’ years, and the services required to meet the needs of this growing population. The place demonstrates the growing concern for the health and
welfare of children, and advances in health education for women, which began in the early twentieth century in Western Australia.

Social Value: the site was visited by the majority of families with children in Medina throughout the second half of the 20th century. it was one of the places in which facilities and particularly mothers met and exchanged information.

Physical Description

The place comprised a single-storey brick building with a gable tile roof that incorporates a small enclosed porch on the east elevation. The building had distinctive timber-framed joinery to the exterior, including timber-framed windows, vertical timber lining to the upper gable wall and wide fascias. The place has now been demolished.

History

A sub-committee of the Infant Health Association first began servicing the Kwinana area in 1953, with fortnightly visits by the mobile unit to the local shopping centre on Pace Road. The Medina Infant Health Committee was formed not long after, with the purpose to “establish, conduct and maintain an infant health centre in co-operation with the Public Health Department”. The Infant Health Centre was eventually constructed on a site just east of the shopping centre in late 1955.
By 1960, the Road Board Commissioner saw the sister-in-charge of the Medina Infant Health Clinic, and expressed concern over dwindling numbers of mothers with infants attending the centre. This was because not only were the number of births in the district falling, but also the pre-school clinic operated by the Public Health Department had the effect of taking children aged 1-5 away from the infant health centre.
It is not known how long the centre remained in operation at the site. The building was demolished in December 2012 to enable the extension of the Medina Town Hall.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Moderate
Authenticity: High

Condition

Good

Uses

Creation Date

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Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.