Rusten House

Rusten House began its life in 1862 as Queanbeyan’s second hospital, the original being a small building on the eastern side of the Queanbeyan River. The new 1860s building was designed by W.H.Downey, Government Architect and built by local tradesmen Daniel Jordon & Gibson, with stone from Simms’ quarry in the Huneysuckle¹, the location of which is currently unknown.

The Hospital and its services were funded by benevolent citizens who formed the Queanbeyan and District Hospital Society in 1846. The society was comprised of many prominent citizens from the region, the Gales, Campbells, Rutledges, Colletts, and Wrights; who had long associations with the hospital and establishment of the region. The Society employed Matron Rusten and her husband to house and care for those poverty stricken inhabitants of the district who fell victims of disease.³

The Hospital Society did not receive any government subsidies until 1865 and this often fluctuated, necessitating fees and charges to be levied on patients and other sources of income from pound fees and Police Court fines⁵. This set in place a century of local fundraising initiatives that the Queanbeyan and district citizens supported through carnivals and balls, to raise much needed funds, even during the depression era. This was also the time in which a new hospital was constructed and Rusten House was converted into nurses’ quarters.

The continued growth of the population in Queanbeyan’s region saw many additions and alterations to the Hospital’s facilities and grounds. In the early 1870s the large pines, oaks and elms were planted on the southern slopes of the site and in 1885 the ‘Fever Ward’ was constructed to the east of the original building as a separate entity to protect patients from highly infectious diseases, which was very helpful during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1919.

The local and regional Aboriginal groups often sought medical assistance from the Rusten House Hospital facility, some traveling long distances on foot and making camp nearby. The building is strongly associated with one of the region’s most respected elders Queen Nellie Hamilton, who passed away in care at the Queanbeyan Hospital on January 1, 1897.  

Rusten House was used as the region’s main hospital up until 1914 when a small eight bed facility was opened in Canberra. However Queanbeyan’s medical services and its newer well-equipped 1933 hospital were still in high demand by the capital’s growing population until a much larger hospital was built to service the ACT in the 1940s.

When Rusten House ceased to be used as a nurses’ quarters, it went on to house a variety of allied health services and at one time Rusty’s Café. Whilst the building had started to decline and had many alterations and additions, it was clearly an important part of Queanbeyan’s history.
In 1988 a permanent conservation order was placed on Rusten House and the original hospital building and its landscape setting was included on the NSW State Heritage Register in 1999.⁶  Many other buildings on the site have come and gone but Rusten House has survived on into the 21^st century to write a new chapter in its history.

Sources

Johnson, A.K. 1946 Queanbeyan District Hospital Centenary Booklet. ^{1,2, 3, 4, 5,}
NSW Dept.of Planning, Industry & Environment – Rusten House Heritage Listing. ⁶
Overall, N. 2019. ‘Coming Back from the Dead’ –  https://anoverallview.wixsite.com/blog
House, M. 2020. Oral history of Aboriginal use of Queanbeyan District Hospital
Image - Queanbeyan Hospital Carte-Devista c.1876 (courtesy of QBN and District Museum Collection)

Gallery opening hours are Wednesday - Saturday, 10am-4pm. Rusten House is staffed during these times, but may briefly close at lunch time if required.

From Sunday - Tuesday, Rusten House is closed, but workshop space is available for hire.

There is limited car parking on site, which includes one accessible parking bay, which is approximately 12 metres from the main door and 11.5 metres from the workshop door. There is ample street parking available on Collett Street during weekends.

For visitors with mobility requirements, ramps are provided for entering the gallery at both the main entrance and our workshop space, and an accessible toilet is available inside the building. We have resting chairs in our Reading Room Gallery, free public Wi-Fi and drinking water available for visitors.

If you have any other specific access requirements, please contact our team on 6285 6356.

8 March – 29 March  
Women’s Exhibition
Group Exhibition – Various Artists

In celebration of International Women's Day 2025, Rusten House Art Centre is proud to present an exhibition showcasing the vibrant and diverse talents of local female artists from across the Queanbeyan–Palerang and ACT regions. This exhibition aims to highlight the significant contributions of women in the arts and offers a platform for emerging and established artists to share their voices and visions. It is a celebration of the creativity and innovation of our local women, which honours both the legacy and future of women in the arts. 

Opening event: Saturday 8 March 2–4pm

Image: International Women’s Day Logo

5 April – May 24
Fake and Famous
Group Exhibition – Various Artists 

The FAKE & FAMOUS exhibition brings together a diverse collection of works in which artists reinterpret famous masterpieces and lesser-known works through their own creative lens. This exhibition features artworks in a variety of mediums—painting, photography, sculpture, and mixed media—each piece reimagining or recreating iconic artworks from history. Whether the work is an exact replica or pays tribute through homage or parody, each will offer new perspectives on familiar images.

Opening event: Saturday 5 April 2–4pm

Image: Georgina Campbell, Homage to Frida, digital photographic print, 297x420mm

5 April – May 24
Our Home
Alex Lynn

Alex Lynn’s exhibition Our Home captures the beauty of the everyday. His paintings aspire to that moment when you stop walking, visually drink in the scene before you, and marvel at the light, atmosphere, and serenity of the moment. Working in oils, Alex mostly paints urban-infused landscapes. He describes his artistic process as slow and deliberate, achieving a diffused focus that captures light and atmosphere with an ethereal effect. Alex invites you to step visually into his world—where he walks with loved ones in the morning and evening, journeys to work, and relaxes with friends.

Opening event: Saturday 5 April 2–4pm.

Image: Alex Lynn, Railway Bridge Sunset, oil on canvas 450x 600mm

5 April – May 24
Watercolour Vistas
H.G Lloyd’s Historic Landscapes

This exhibition features the watercolour sketchbook of Henry Grant Lloyd, who travelled extensively through NSW and beyond, in the 1860’s and 70’s. He captured landscape scenes in watercolour of the regions he visited, which are now historically significant. To accompany the sketchbook, a selection of works from the Queanbeyan region will be printed and on framed display, while an extensive range of digitised images from his sketchbook archive will be available on screen.  H.G. Lloyd’s sketchbook is on loan from the State Library of NSW and this exhibition forms part of the Australian National Heritage Festival.

Opening event: Saturday 5 April 2–4pm

Image: H.G.Lloyd, Braidwood from Jillamatong 1862, watercolour on paper

The gallery spaces and workshop are both available for hire.

Exhibitions

Exhibitions run for three week blocks with a week for installation and deinstallation and the hire period is from Wednesday to Saturday.

Cost

• Gallery 1 - Fever Ward Gallery (8.8m x 4.2m) (G1) - $260/week - minimum three week exhibition hire total = $780
• Gallery 2 - Petite Gallery (4.44m x 5.4m) - $130/week - minimum three week exhibition hire total = $390
• Gallery 3 - Reading Room Gallery - by invitation from Manager
• Gallery 4 - The Workshop Gallery - by negotiation with Manager

Workshops

The workshop space is available for meetings, exhibitions, art demonstrations, book launches and more. You can email cultural.services@qprc.nsw.gov.au to find out if we have suitable equipment available and to find out if the space will work for your event.

Cost

• Half day (3 hours) - $52
• Full day (6 hours) - $83
• Weekend - $156

Terms and conditions

• Download the terms and conditions for exhibiting(PDF, 127KB)

Exhibitor Information Kit

• Download the exhibitor exhibitor information kit(PDF, 2MB)

Lodge an exhibition proposal online using the form below