Visit to Charleville Hospital marks swearing-in pledge milestone

Mayor, Shire of Murweh, Councillor Shaun Radnedge; Deputy Mayor, Councillor Peter Alexander; Chief Executive Officer and South West Hospital and Health Service Board Member, Mr Bruce Scott OAM; Deputy Board Chair, South West Hospital and Health Service, Mr Ethan Capewell; Acting Chief Executive, Ms Rebecca Greenway, and your staff; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I begin by acknowledging the Original Custodians of the lands around Charleville and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people here this morning.  

Today’s visit to Charleville Hospital m arks the completion of a journey that I began five years ago, on the first of November 2021, when I was sworn in as Queensland’s 27th Governor. On that day, I made a pledge to all Queenslanders that I would visit every public hospital in our state during my term — a list numbering 124.

It’s a goal I remain truly passionate about because, after 16 years as Queensland’s Chief Health Officer and a long career in medicine and medical administration, I know just how critical those services are to the health and wellbeing of Queenslanders, wherever they live in our state.  

At the time, visiting 124 hospitals seemed an achievable goal, after all, an average of just one hospital every two weeks, but I learned very quickly just how challenging it would be to reach the facilities in our most remote communities.  

However, thanks to the support of Councils in each of Queensland's 77 Local Government Areas, and of course our incredible health system, I can proudly say that I not only reached that goal but surpassed it. Along the way, I expanded my journey beyond public hospitals to include a range of health care facilities, from community health centres and multipurpose health services to remote health services, bringing the total to 150 hospital and health care service visits across our state during my term.

Over the last three days, Graeme and I have had the opportunity to meet and talk to staff and patients at Chinchilla, Injune, Mitchell and Augathella, but being able to share this achievement with you, here in Charleville, is particularly significant for me because of the long Vice-Regal connection to this facility.

I am Queensland’s 27th Governor, but Charleville and its hospital have had many Vice-Regal advocates over the 140 years since the hospital was officially opened in December 1885.

The Governor at that time was Sir Anthony Musgrave and while he didn’t ever reach Charleville, his successor, Sir Henry Norman, was able to catch the mail train here — and he became the first ever Queensland Governor to visit this hospital.  

 He was followed by many others over the ensuing decades, but by far the most enthusiastic Vice-Regal supporter has to have been Sir Matthew Nathan.  

 He made no fewer than three official visits to Charleville during his term, the most important of them in October 1924 when he officially opened the long-awaited new Maternity Ward.

The ward was one of the results of the Maternity Act of 1922, a far-reaching piece of legislation that Nathan referred to in his speech at the opening as “beneficent”. And it was certainly that, introducing, for the first time, a statewide maternity and infant-welfare network that made a lasting difference to childbirth safety and to maternal and infant welfare, particularly in rural and remote Queensland.  

If Nathan were here today, I feel he would still use the word “beneficent” in praising the upgrades to perioperative and sterilising services now taking place here, and would be as pleased as I am to see Charleville hospital included in the plan to deliver new diagnostic imaging technology across Queensland.  

But I think he would also know and acknowledge that such major investments are never the result of serendipity or a happy accident; they come about only through years of committed, concerted effort by community groups and individual advocates, including your local member of Parliament.  

I congratulate the hospital board and staff, the Council, and the community of Charleville on this significant achievement and thank you once again for allowing me and my staff to celebrate my 150 official hospital and health centre visits with you.