A surprise phone call to Daylesford Health will change lives in rural Victoria  thanks to Harry and Peggy Maddicks.  

The estate of the late Maddicks siblings has been supporting the Daylesford  Hospital for over 25 years thanks to family friend and executor Tim Byrne, who recently donated $250,000, bringing the total given to an incredible $528,000.  

Mr Byrne said it was vitally important for rural people to have access to quality healthcare.  

“Harry wanted to support the health of the Daylesford community after his  passing and I’m honoured to make the donation on behalf of Harry and Peggy.”  

Tim was taken on a tour of Daylesford Hospital’s new operating theatre and  shown the updated plaque honouring the generosity of Harry and Peggy since the first donation in 1999.  

Director of Nursing for Daylesford Health Meagan Harding said a quarter of a million dollars would change lives.  

“It will have a lasting impact on the patients here at Daylesford Hospital. On  behalf of Central Highlands Rural Health’s Board, executives, staff and patients I  would like to thank Tim for giving so generously to the health and wellbeing of the  Daylesford and district community.”  

The Maddicks family arrived in Daylesford during the early gold rush days of the 1850s, where three generations lived and worked.

Henry Jnr (Harry), Margaret  (Peggy) and Kevin were the children of Henry and Anastasia Maddicks. Henry Snr ran the Delta Photographic Studios from 1906 for over 60 years, and  many of his treasured photos are archived at the Daylesford Museum.  

Harry was a keen radio enthusiast and established a shop selling radios and  household electrical appliances, and he continued to run the photographic business  after his father’s death.  

Kevin, who joined the war effort, was sadly killed while on service in New Guinea in 1945.  Their sister Peggy was an active tennis club member and quietly involved with many community groups.  

None of the siblings married, and although private and reserved, they actively volunteered in many of the community’s organisations and causes.  

Harry was particularly interested in assisting the WWII refugees from the Baltic  states at the Bullarto camp.  

Words & Image: Contributed  

Daylesford hospital’s new operating theater has officially opened and has already started being used to provide locals with much-needed procedures, with the hospital also putting on new staff.

The new theatre, funded with a $6.14 million grant through the state’s Regional Health Infrastructure Fund, has started being used gradually from last month with 21 patients from across the local region undergoing scope procedures there.

Last Tuesday it was officially opened with a visit from the state’s Minister for Health Infrastructure, Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas and delighted staff, board members and management from the local hospital and wider Central Highlands Rural Health Service of which it is part.

Central Highlands Rural Health acting CEO Phil Catterson says that initially the long-anticipated new theatre will be used to provide scope procedures, such as endoscopy and laparoscopy.

He says it will also be used to  deliver eye procedures, a strategic niche area for the local health service to pursue.

Mr Catterson says the range of procedures able to be provided at the new theatre is ultimately planned to increase.

Director of Nursing Meagan Harding says that currently the new theatre is providing an average of seven procedures a week, on Fridays, with this number also expected to increase into the future.

A total eight new permanent staff and 12 additional casual roles have been created at the health service as well, with expectations that more staffing hours will become available into the future.

The new theatre represents the first major upgrade to the hospital’s operating theatre space since the late 1980s and is being very much welcomed by staff and management – as well as locals keen to have procedures done closer to home.

“It has taken over 12 months to build,” Mr Catterson said.

“SJ Weir did the work and they’ve been wonderful.”

He said work to secure the state funding some 16 months ago, had began about two years prior with the community raising $100,000 for a master plan.

“It’s great for the community. Safer, and we’ve also got new equipment and new staff,” Mr Catterson said.

The works have also included upgrades to the patient waiting area, recovery and admission areas, as well as the sterile stock storage area and the Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD) processing area – replacing ageing patient monitoring and CSSD medical equipment.

The upgrade is now supporting the hospital’s dedicated doctors and nurses to deliver more surgery and get more locals off waiting lists and into surgery and treatment, sooner – and closer to home.

Words: Eve Lamb

Work has started on a $6.148 million upgrade of Daylesford Hospital’s operating theatre.
State minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas was at the Daylesford Campus of Central Highlands Rural Health on Friday, May 19, to ‘turn the first sod’ on the multi-million-dollar project.
Funded through the fifth round of the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund (RHIF), the project will upgrade
Daylesford Hospital’s operating theatre, patient waiting area, sterile stock storage area, recovery and admission areas.
The project will also replace ageing patient monitoring medical equipment, along with equipment in the Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD) and refurbish the CSSD processing area.
Once the upgrade is complete in March 2024, the dedicated doctors, nurses and healthcare staff at Daylesford Hospital will be able to get more locals off waiting lists and into surgery and treatment, sooner – and closer to home.
Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas: “The Victorian Government is ensuring people in the Central Highlands have access to the best possible healthcare services, close to home.”

COMMUNITY Bank Daylesford District has conditionally committed $750,000 over 10 years to the Daylesford Hospital upgrade.
The commitment is conditional on the Victorian State Government funding the upgrade (currently estimated at $75 million) contained in the Daylesford Health Precinct Masterplan.
The Daylesford Health Precinct Masterplan was released in May by Central Highlands Rural Health’s board of directors, following community consultation.
The masterplan was funded by community contributions of $100,000, the cornerstone of which was a $25,000 contribution from Community Bank Daylesford District.
The masterplan includes upgraded and expanded aged care, new wards, increased space for dialysis, shared rooms replaced with single rooms, improved disability access and new community health facilities, all within the existing Daylesford Hospital site.
Bank chair Mark Rak said the local community needed access to better local health services.
“The Daylesford Hospital, which opened 160 years ago, was built with community support, which it continues to enjoy to this day. It’s the right time now to begin the upgrade of the hospital to reflect community needs and expectations into the future, with local facilities better suited to modern health care.
“We are delighted to announce our support for the upgrade of the Daylesford Hospital. Our 10-year commitment of $75,000 to $100,000 per year is consistent with the staged modular upgrades in the masterplan, which are likely to take 6 to 10 years to build.”
The Community Bank Daylesford District celebrated its 10th anniversary in April this year. Since it started operating in 2012 the bank has returned more than $1 million to the community through community investment and shareholder dividends.
Mr Rak said its strong balance sheet and positive financial outlook boded well for continuing significant community investments into the future