Waterfall, New South Wales - 1909-1975

Waterfall Sanatorium

Waterfall Sanatorium was built by the NSW Government in 1909 to treat tuberculosis, then the leading cause of death in the state. The site, in the bush south of Sydney at the edge of what became the Royal National Park, was selected for its climate and isolation. Medical consensus of the period held that fresh air, sunshine, and rest in a suitable environment could arrest the disease.

The pavilion plan design placed separate weatherboard wards for men and women in the bush, with open verandahs on all sides for maximum ventilation and sun exposure. Patients came from Sydney and regional NSW and stayed for months or years. The isolation was both therapeutic and practical: a contagious disease managed in a contained location, with the bush as the boundary.

Effective drug treatment for tuberculosis became available in the early 1950s. The long-stay patient population declined over the following 2 decades. Waterfall closed in 1975 after 66 years of operation. The weatherboard pavilions were left standing in the bush.

The verandah spaces are what distinguish Waterfall from any other building in the series. Designed to face patients toward maximum bush air and light, they dissolve the boundary between interior and exterior in a way no contemporary building attempts.