Warrawong - Historic buildings

Port Kembla District Hospital, Cowper Street, Warrawong

W.C. Wentworth first offered land for a hospital in Keira Street, Port Kembla. In 1923, this land was found to be unsuitable as it was not large enough.

After many years, demand for a hospital south of Wollongong grew and land in Warrawong was found to be suitable. The hospital was designed by the Government Architect, E.H. Farmer and opened in January 1965. It is situated in Cowper Street, Warrawong and has views of Lake Illawarra and the Pacific Ocean.

The hospital was built at a cost of almost £2 million. At the time it was the biggest hospital on the South Coast.

Design ideas were drawn from the Nuffield Report - a 6-year study into the function and design of hospitals (University of Bristol). [South Coast Times, 28 January, 19651

The Illawarra Area Health Service now manages the hospital.

Open Hearth Hotel, King Street, Warrawong

Originally built as a boarding house by the Wentworth family in 1939 to provide accommodation for the engineers and their families who came from the United States to start up Commonwealth Rolling Mills. It was known as the Commonwealth Hostel.

It became a hotel in 1948 and in the 1960's sold more beer than any other country hotel in NSW. [Illawarra Mercury, 13 March 1979].

It still operates as a hotel.