The Open Door was a maternity home run by the Salvation Army in North Fremantle from 1903 to 1922. From 1911, it was also known as Hopetoun. Originally established for ‘unmarried mothers’, The Open Door also provided general maternity services, with single and married women in separate sections. In 1922, Salvation Army’s maternity services moved to a donated property and became known from then as Hillcrest Maternity Home.
The Open Door maternity home was established by the Salvation Army at premises leased from William A. Saw on a sand hill in Swan Street, North Fremantle. It was also known as Dr Saw’s Home at that time. Newspaper articles at the time show that the name was chosen because the Salvation Army wanted to open the door to ‘unmarried mothers’ who might be shunned by society. A memoir written by Captain J. Fuller recalls that the site was later resumed by the government ‘for railway tracks to the North Wharf’.
In 1910 the hospital moved to Harvest Road, on a site previously occupied by the Salvation Army’s ‘Prison Gate’ service. From at least 1911, the name ‘Hopetoun’ was also used for the maternity home, which by at least 1910 included married women among its maternity admissions. However, the name ‘The Open Door’ continued to be used until at least 1918.
By 1919, 105 babies had been born at the hospital.
A property next door, ‘Hill Crest’, was donated to the Maternity Home by Mrs Francis Pearse in late 1920 or early 1921. When the maternity services moved into Hillcrest Maternity Home, the previous property was used, for a time, as the children’s Home part of the Hillcrest Midwifery and Toddlers’ Home.
In 1924, the building became an aged-care facility called Hopetoun Aged Women’s Retreat.
From
1903
To
1922
Alternative Names
Open Door
Hopetoun
Maternity Home, North Fremantle
Dr Saw's Home
Salvation Army Maternity Home, North Fremantle
Rescue and Preventative Home
1903 - 1910
The Open Door was located in Swan Street, North Fremantle, Western Australia (Building Demolished)
1910 - 1922
The Open Door was located at 15 Harvest Road, North Fremantle, Western Australia (Building Demolished)
1922 -
The Open Door was located at 'Hill Crest', in Harvest Road, North Fremantle, Western Australia (Building Still standing)
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