07/03/2026
The Story of Hospital Hill and Johannesburg’s First General Hospital 🦉
Hospital Hill was the name given to the eastern portion of the area surveyed in March 1888 during the early development of Johannesburg. The district included the land where the city’s first general hospital was established, as well as nearby areas such as Joubert Park and Kruger Park, later associated with the Wanderers Club. The location lies between Braamfontein and Hillbrow and later developed into an area with numerous medical and government buildings extending toward Parktown and the Old Fort.
Johannesburg’s earliest hospital opened in November 1886. It was a small three room brick and thatch building located at the Ferreirasdorp end of Commissioner Street and also served as a jail. The first recorded patient was miner Thomas Gray, who died of suspected typhoid on 4 November 1886. In December of the same year, another patient, Charles Johnson, died after falling down No. 2 Reef in Doornfontein. The first major surgical procedure carried out at the facility was an arm amputation performed by Dr. Saur, with chloroform administered by Colonel Ferreira.
A small cemetery was designated in January 1887 on land bounded by Harrison, Diagonal, Bree, and De Villiers streets. It is uncertain where the earliest patients from the hospital were buried. In April 1887, a two room galvanized structure replaced the original building beside the jail. This temporary structure was gone by January 1888.
On 15 March 1888, the Johannesburg Hospital Board was formed under the chairmanship of William St. John Carr. The following month, contractors Foster & Mitchell received the tender to construct a temporary hospital on Hospital Hill. The facility opened on 1 August 1888 under the authority of Christiaan Johannes Joubert, commonly known as Captain Von Brandis, Johannesburg’s first mining commissioner. In March 1889, a separate children’s ward accommodating fourteen patients was added. Between August 1888 and May 1889 the hospital treated 377 patients.
Government funding for a permanent hospital was approved later in 1888. The foundation stone was laid on 29 March 1889 by Nicolaas Jacobus Smit. The completed building opened on 5 November 1890, with the ceremony conducted by Johannes Meyer Auret Wolmarans. Both William St. John Carr and Wolmarans later had streets named after them.
The new hospital provided 130 beds and included an operating theatre equipped for surgical work. Patients of different racial groups were treated in separate sections according to the policies of the period. In 1893 an eastern wing was added. Additional wards, numbered 13 and 14, were built in 1895 for white patients. Four further wards were constructed to the west for black patients and remained in use until 1925, when a separate non-European hospital was established.
Further expansion followed at the end of the 19th century. Between 1897 and 1898 the Barney Barnato block was completed, providing accommodation for sixty patients. A nearby operating theatre designed by the architectural firm Granger & Fleming remained in use until 1928, after which it was converted into a lecture hall and later used for other purposes.
On 27 September 1904, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein laid the foundation stone for the Stroyan Ward in the presence of Alfred Milner. The ward was designed by architect G. St. John Cottrill and remains one of the surviving historic structures on the site. During this period additional hospital infrastructure was constructed, including outpatient facilities, a laundry, a powerhouse, a pathology department, and accommodation for the superintendent.
The hospital continued expanding during the early 20th century. In 1913, East and West pavilions were built, each capable of accommodating 112 patients. South African Railways contributed £10,000 toward construction and secured 35 beds for railway employees. In 1915 new facilities were opened, including staff quarters, a dispensary, and a central kitchen that also provided kosher meals.
Fees charged to patients varied according to their ability to pay. Costs were often covered through mine medical schemes or government subsidies, which supported treatment for many workers employed in the mining industry.
Hospital Hill played an important role in the early medical development of Johannesburg. The original Johannesburg General Hospital expanded over several decades to meet the needs of a rapidly growing mining city. Although many buildings were later demolished or altered, structures such as the Stroyan Ward and the East and West Pavilions remain.
