Looking Down The Ward

A long ward at Waterfall Sanatorium runs in a single perspective from the camera position to the far wall. The ward is open-plan, with the bed positions marked by the spacing of the timber floorboards and the placement of the windows along each side wall. The windows are large sash windows, the lower halves opening to admit air. The ceiling is high, with exposed timber trusses and a single line of pendant lights running down the centre. The far wall has a single exit door. The framing of the photograph emphasises the length of the ward and the regular geometry of the windows.

This was a tuberculosis ward of the early twentieth century, designed around the prevailing medical theory that fresh air, sunlight, and rest were the most effective treatments for the disease. Beds were lined up along the walls between the windows. Patients spent most of the day either in bed or sitting in the colonnaded verandah outside. Fresh air was the protocol; rooms were ventilated even in winter. Waterfall ran wards like this one for decades, treating thousands of soldiers, civilians, and children with TB. After the introduction of effective antibiotics in the 1950s, the patient load fell, and wards like this one were progressively closed. The ward in this photograph has been empty for decades.