The TB Chalet was proposed in 1943, despite being wartime with all the associated restriction, following the opening of the new general hospital building on 1 April 1943 by his Excellency Major General Sir Winston Dugan, Governor of Victoria.
At this time the tuberculosis patients were nursed in the general wards of the hospital and as their numbers were increasing, it was considered inappropriate to consider continuing to do so. The Hospital and Charities Commission of Victoria designed and funded the entire project for a cost of 15,000 pounds.
It was a beautiful innovative Art Deco design with the latest facilities for the treatment of tuberculosis incorporated. There was no glass in the building, only fly wire on the windows of the verandahs where the patients were accommodated, as prior to the advent of antibiotics maximum fresh air was considered an essential part of the treatment. Prior to this, patients were sometimes taken to the Police Paddock in their cots for maximum exposure to the elements!
In the 1944 Annual Report it stated that the chalet had already been commenced and it was hoped to be ready for patients within the 1944-45 financial year. It was the first purpose built TB Chalet in country Victoria and the first country tuberculosis chalet in the whole of Australia. The 1945-1946 Annual Report recorded the frustration of Management Committee who were disappointed that the construction had been underway for two and a half years and yet it was still not completed. The actual building was virtually finished but as yet the appointments and furnishings were not yet even 'on the horizon'! They were leaving no stone unturned as the accommodation was needed urgently.
On the 21st. April 1947, the Chalet was officially opened by the Hon. W. Barry, MLA, Minister for Health. The first patient was admitted on the 28th. April, 1947. There was accommodation for 14 patients. In the Annual Report of the following year, 1948, it reported that 'many' patients had been treated but the actual number and lengths of stay were not recorded.
By the 1960s, with better treatment available, the chalet was no longer necessary as a separate hospital and the small number of TB patients could now be treated in the general wards of the main hospital. The chalet thus closed in 1967. After this is became a store and was allowed to deteriorate.
In the 1978 Development Report that assessed the future of the entire hospital complex, the Chalet was described as derelict and demolition was recommended. Fortunately this drastic step was not acted upon and in 1992, after extensive renovations the Chalet was converted to the Physiotherapy Department. In 2005 Physiotherapy continues to operate very efficiently and successfully from this building.