The Archives of the Royal Melbourne Hospital document the traditions and history of the hospital – the oldest public hospital in Victoria.

The Archives collects records relating to The Royal Melbourne Hospital (Melbourne Hospital prior to 1935), Melbourne Health, NorthWestern Mental Health, and the Royal Melbourne Hospital – Royal Park Campus (the former Mount Royal Hospital). Some records of the now defunct Essendon and District Memorial Hospital are also held.

The major holdings include:

• Minutes and papers of the Board of Management and Committees of the Hospital and Network
• Correspondence of the Chief Executive Officer
• Annual Reports
• Senior Medical Staff Minutes
• Plans, specifications and correspondence re the building of the Parkville site
• Minutes, news-cuttings and Annual Reports of Hospital Auxiliaries
• Papers, reports, brochures re the history of nursing and nurse education
• News-cuttings and publicity material related to the Hospital
• Minutes of Hospital related Medical Research foundations
• Reports and correspondence of Hospital departments
• Photographs of staff, services and departments of the Hospital
• Medical/Surgical instruments and equipment and Hospital memorabilia
• Oral histories of ex-staff members
• Essendon and District Memorial Hospital Minutes of Board Committees and Annual Reports
• Minutes, Annual Reports and some patient admittance records for The Royal Melbourne Hospital – Royal Park Campus, including its predecessors, namely: Immigrants’ Aid Society, Victorian Homes for Aged and Infirm, Mount Royal Hospital, North West Hospital, and MECRS – Melbourne Extended Care and Rehabilitation Service

Access to patient medical records

Access to patient medical records is restricted. While patient medical records from 1856 – 1910 are controlled by the Archives, some original volumes of patient records from this period have been sent to the Public Record Office Victoria. Indices to these records are held within the RMH Archives. Please note that RMH Archives does not control or have access to any patient medical records after 1910. To access patient medical records up to 1910, please complete the enquiry form.

All enquires to access patient medical records after 1910, must be made through the hospital’s Freedom of Information. Note that some patient medical records from 1908 – 1974 may also be held at the PROV as Series Number: VPRS 10234 for records from 1908 – 1932 and VPRS 10060 for records from 1926 – 1974, see the Public Record Office Victoria website.

For access to patient medical records after 1910, must be made through Freedom of Information.

Incomplete patient admittance registers are also held for the predecessor institutions to the RMH’s Royal Park Campus, including the Immigrants’ Aid Society, Victorian Homes for Aged and Infirm and Mount Royal Hospital. Note that these records only contain the dates of admittance and discharge and do not contain medical information, information regarding next of kin, or why a person was admitted. To access these admittance records, please complete the enquiry form.

Make an enquiry

You can request information from the Royal Melbourne Hospital Archives.

Visiting the Archives

Access to the Archives is by appointment only.

Advance notice of visit is required. An Access Agreement must be signed at the time of the initial visit. Access is determined in accordance with government legislation and guidelines, including the Victorian Public Records Act 1973 and Privacy. Some records may be closed to the public.