In 1909, a meeting was convened in Perth by the
Women's Service Guilds to discuss the establishment of a new maternity hospital. At the time in Perth, there were only a few private maternity clinics, and charitable organisations providing services to the poor, but no dedicated public maternity hospital facilities. The main outcome of the 1909 meeting was to appoint a committee to pursue the matter, jointly chaired by
Edith Cowan and Jane Scott. Between 1910 and 1915 the committee wrangled with the government and raised funds to support the establishment of a hospital. Plans were suggested for building an extra ward at the Perth Public Hospital, or as an adjunct to the Home of Mercy in Lincoln Street, but eventually the site of the Industrial School in Subiaco was chosen. The hospital was named the King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women as a lasting memorial to King
Edward VII, who died in 1910. The hospital commenced operating on 14 July 1916. 101 babies were born in the first 6 months of operation. At the time, the hospital charged a standard fee of £A33s, equivalent to in , for 'confinement' and fourteen days of post-natal care. In 1994 the organisational structure for King Edward Memorial Hospital and the
Princess Margaret Hospital for Children were integrated, although separate locations were maintained. In 2002 the organisation was renamed Women's and Children's Health Service. In 2006, the two hospitals were once again separated. King Edward Memorial Hospital is now home of the state's Women and Newborn Health Service, as part of the North Metropolitan Health Service. ==Services==