“ONE of the strongest and most capable nurses was Sister Pearl Corkhill. She had been a sergeant overseas in the army during the war and had immense experience and surgical skills, as did Jack Noble who had been in an army surgical unit and was an excellent wardsman.

“Possums roamed the corridors and wards. Two had a beaten track from the front door to the kitchen, then on to a scrap bucket where they had a feed and wandered out again.

“Scraps were taken to the piggery and dear old Ida Snowden was the cook. She was there for years, a bonza chef and she always cooked Dr Loftus a Christmas cake.

“This particular time a light bulb burst over the kitchen table and the shattered glass fell into the mixing bowl.

“Anyway Ida cooked the cake and Bill Loftus took it into X-ray to find the glass and remove it. Old Harry Dicker was secretary then and sent Dr Loftus a bill for the X-ray.

“During March 1949 the old nurses' quarters became the maternity unit and I delivered my first baby there on January 17, 1950. It was a boy, baby Taylor. My second baby was a little girl on January 21, Robyn Ubrihien, Walter Ubrihien's daughter.

“I delivered her, looked after her, and later delivered her babies. We delivered 280 to 300 babies a year,” Dr Ted said.

Pauline Moulds  gave birth to three of her six children at Bega.

When Pauline was expecting her first child, she had expected to be delivered in Bega. Instead she was rushed to Sydney Crown Street Hospital in a coma with eclampsia.

She and her son Lionel survived the ordeal, but she was told to have no more children. Pauline believes the good care she received from Dr Blomfield and the staff at the Old Bega Hospital was to thank for the safe delivery of her next three children, Claudette, Merrilynne and Narelle.

“Dr Blomfield was wonderful. If it wasn’t for him I’d have lost my children. Dr Blomfield kept me under his eye all the time.”

More on Dr Blomfield next week.