Brighton Vic. 1919. The building and grounds of Anzac Hostel, previously "Kamesburgh", a property ...

Brighton Vic. 1919. The building and grounds of Anzac Hostel, previously "Kamesburgh", a property the government purchased in November 1918 to establish a home for the care of totally and permanently incapacitated men. Their disability was due to war service and they required nursing care but no active medical or surgical treatment. To purchase the property the government used part of a very generous donation of 25000 pounds from the Baillieu brothers; William Lawrence (1859-1936), Edward Lloyd (1867-1939), Arthur Sydney (1872-1943), Richard Percy Clive (1874-1941), Norman Horace (1878-1955), and Captain Maurice Howard Lawrence (1883-1961), all prominent Melbourne businessmen. After the essential building modifications the Red Cross, along with the nursing staff, undertook the cleaning of the building and preparations for receiving patients. At the time Anzac Hostel opened on 5 July 1919, it had a capacity of twnty-five beds and employed seven nurses under the charge of Matron Catherine Munro. The Australian Red Cross Society continued to contribute medical comforts and amenities to Hostel until it officially closed on 30 June 1995. The building is now used as a school. A new Anzac Hostel was built on the original property's grounds and was officially opened on 27 July 1998.