History – The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital

Our History

1860s

1863: At the end of the gold rush, Irish doctor Andrew Sexton Gray opens an infirmary for diseases of the eye and ear in East Melbourne.

The infirmary responded to the prevalence of eye and ear complaints, especially among miners working in the gold fields and people living in poor conditions with a lack of sanitation. Common ailments treated at the time included blight, trachoma and strumous ophthalmia.

Under Dr Gray’s leadership, the one bed infirmary quickly expanded.

1870s

Dr Gray merged his infirmary with a similar institution, set up by Dr Aubrey Bowen, to form the Melbourne Institution for Diseases of the Eye and Ear.

With three surgeons, a new matron, ten inpatient beds and three outpatient clinics, the hospital was in strong demand.

1880s

1880: The hospital proudly announced that it had treated 265,000 outpatients and 2,015 inpatients in its first 14 years.

1883: After prolonged negotiations, the Government granted a site to the hospital on Victoria Parade and the first permanent hospital was completed.

1886: The first paid surgeon was appointed, Dr Augustus Leo Kenny. The hospital had previously employed several nurses and trained medical students.

1890s

1891: An economic crash created financial uncertainty for the hospital, which had replied on charitable donations until now. Melbourne’s population had also doubled since 1858 leading to a steadily increasing demand for the hospital’s services.

1893: Dr Aubrey Bowen died after more than 20 years of dedicated service, leaving a large bequest to the hospital, which was used to fund an expansion.
1900s

1901: The average length of a patient’s stay at the Eye and Ear was 22 days for men and 26 days for women.

Patient care continued to improve in the 1900s due to better infection control, improved surgical techniques and new treatments. However, to generate funds during the difficult economic times of this decade, visitors were charged 6d to see patients.

1910s

1914: World War I started and 10 beds were committed to returning soldiers with eye and ear complaints. Many senior medical staff volunteered for military duty, leaving the hospital short staffed. This meant that several female doctors, previously unable to progress their careers in a male-dominated profession, were appointed as medical officers.

1920s

A rapidly expanding population in the 1920s saw a large growth in patient numbers.

1929: Dodgshun House in Fitzroy was purchased to use as nurse quarters and reduce working hours from 60 hours a week to 48 hours. Despite these changes there was no increase in staff so the hospital began to seek help from volunteers.

1930s

The Great Depression caused widespread unemployment. With less people working in hazardous jobs, patient numbers fell.

The hospital cut staff and the new orthoptic department was temporarily closed. However, volunteer support teams raised funds to pay for new equipment and to supply patients in need with extra food.

1940s

During World War II the hospital again left beds open for the war wounded.

1944: The hospital became a training centre for medical personnel from the armed forces who required specialist training. One of these trainees, Captain Ronald Lowe took up a post at the Eye and Ear after the war and later became director of the hospital’s first Glaucoma Research Unit.
1950s

Coordinating and expanding on the research individual staff members had undertaken for many years, the Eye and Ear became a research facility.

1957: The Lions International Research Unit and then the Deafness Investigation and Research Unit were opened. A new library and several pieces of vital equipment were funded by volunteer support teams.

1960s

1961: The hospital’s name was changed to The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and a new coat of arms was granted, inscribed with the motto ‘Teaching Healing Research’.

Its research role was cemented in the 1960s with the establishment of the University of Melbourne departments of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology at the hospital.

By the mid-1960s patient numbers had grown to 4000 inpatients and 30,000 outpatients each year.

1970s

1973: Captain Ronald Lowe (former director the the Glaucoma Research Unit) is appointed Emeritus Ophthalmic Surgeon.

1974: A new, 150-bed wing opened.

1978: Professor Graeme Clark carried out the world’s first Cochlear implant at the hospital. This followed a decade of work to develop an electronic, implantable hearing device that bypassed damaged parts of the ear. It was made possible by the hospital’s ongoing investment into research.

1980s

1983: A tunnel running under Victoria Parade to link the hospital with St Vincent’s Hospital was officially opened so that patients needing eye and ear consultations from St Vincent’s could be transported with ease.

1987: The Minister for Health opened a newly built wing, that was funded by a $1.4 million by the Smorgon Family.

1990s

By the 1990s about 18 profoundly deaf patients were receiving cochlear implants each year and a new research consortium, the Hearing Cooperative Research Centre, was set up to conduct ear, speech and hearing research.

1991: The Lions Eye Bank was officially opened to improve corneal transplant outcomes.

1996: Professor Hugh Taylor established the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA), to research the leading causes of blindness in collaboration with the Eye and Ear.
2000s

At the turn of the new millennium, the focus at the Eye and Ear was on service improvement.

2009: The hospital’s new Fast-track Cataract Clinic received a silver award for ‘improving access – providing timely and accessible health services’ at the Victorian Public Healthcare Awards.

Several milestones were reached throughout the hospital, including the first paediatric, auditory brain stem implant to be carried out in the Southern Hemisphere.

2010s

2012: The hospital carried out 14,500 operations, including the first pre-Bionic Eye implant.

A partnership between Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) and The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital (Eye and Ear) was created and we launched the Healthy Ears Clinic for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. This clinic launched as the first of its kind in an Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation in Australia,

2013: We celebrate 150-years of the Eye and Ear.

A redevelopment of the hospital provided the hospital with a larger capacity and purpose built areas to facilitate today’s fast and technologically advanced methods of treatment.
2020’s and beyond

The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital has grown in size and reputation. We are a world leader in specialist eye and ear care, research and teaching.

2022: We celebrated the 10 year anniversary of our Healthy Ears Clinic with the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service. In the last 10 years the clinic has provided over 1,500 instances of care, and the Eye and Ear has facilitated over 220 ENT surgeries to young patients.

2023: We celebrate 160-years of the Eye and Ear and created a new commemorative logo.

The Eye and Ear hosted the 17th World Association of Eye Hospitals Annual Meeting. We hosted over 100 delegates from 37 eye hospitals across 18 different countries, all uniting for the one common purpose of sharing our knowledge and innovations to improve eye care across the world.

We received a royal visit from Her Royal Highness, Princess Astrid of Belgium. Her Royal Highness visited the hospital as part of the Belgian Economic Mission to Australia. The visit followed the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between GIGA – Université de Liège in Belgium and the University of Melbourne’s Department of Otolaryngology, located within the Eye and Ear.

The Eye and Ear received Vice-Regal Patronage from Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC.

2024: Our hospital redevelopment journey came to a close. The Hon. Mary-Anne Thomas, Minister for Health, Infrastructure and Ambulance Services, officially opened the redeveloped hospital on Tuesday 23 May.

Our founder, Dr Andrew Sexton Gray

Our History