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Footscray Hospital’s opening day

20/02/2026

Western Health chair Jill Hennessy and chief executive Professor Russell Harrison after the opening of the new Footscray Hospital on 18 February. (Damjan Janevski). 535233_02

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The opening of the new Footscray Hospital on Wednesday 18 February was a landmark event for the western suburbs, with the state of the art health care hub on the corner of Ballarat and Geelong roads finally replacing the beloved but outdated old Footscray Hospital on Gordon Street. The $1.5 billion hospital was a hive of activity from early in the morning as doctors, nurses and other staff members began arriving for the start of operations at 8am. Star Weekly photographer Damjan Janevski and reporter Cade Lucas were there to capture the moment of hospital history.

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