Calvary Ryde heritage honoured with final works

The Calvary Ryde Wall spans 370 metres and sits prominently alongside busy Victoria Road in Ryde.

It’s the final piece of the $60 million redevelopment of the Calvary Ryde site, which includes a four-level building accommodating 116 residential aged care bedrooms and 21, one, two and three-bedroom independent living units.

The major project was completed in stages, with the residential aged care finished in August 2020, the independent living units early 2021 and the heritage wall, which pays homage to the site’s rich history, earlier this year.

“The Calvary Ryde Retirement Community has a special place in the story of Calvary, as it was the second formal facility the Little Company of Mary Sisters established following their arrival in Australia in 1885,” ?Rebecca Badcock, Calvary Health Care Regional Chief Executive Officer, Southern NSW and ACT, said.

“Our objective, with this major redevelopment of Calvary Ryde, was to deliver aged care accommodation for the future while honouring the history of this important site.”

The new four-storey aged care building was built up against the old building, ensuring residents could remain in their home until their new home was ready.? However, when the COVID-19 pandemic began shortly after construction started, plans changed.

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“We had never dealt with anything like the pandemic before, so we were constantly reviewing and changing our plans to ensure the safety of our residents during the build. Work didn’t stop, however, measures including social distancing and daily testing changed many of the logistics. Even the site handover was unlike anything we’d done before,” Mick O’Driscoll, Calvary Health Care Head of Infrastructure Development, said.

“We built a temporary ramp from the old site to the new residential aged care accommodation to ensure residents’ safety and minimise any interaction with anyone other than staff. We wheeled all the residents over in around two hours – everything was planned down to the minute.”

The redevelopment, once complete, delivered an integrated community with a residential aged care service, retirement living village, a health and wellness centre, onsite respite and community support services for seniors, with specifically designed dementia spaces, open air gardens and community spaces.

However, the significance of the site to the community and Calvary was also front of mind. Once major work was complete on the aged care accommodation and independent living units, attention turned to the brick perimeter wall, which can be seen from Victoria Road.

“The brick wall was built in 1923 and is an incredible piece of heritage. However, over time parts of the wall had fallen down and it was in need of major work,” Mr O’Driscoll said.

“Where we could, we meticulously rebuilt the wall using the original brick, sandstone and wrought iron gates, which date back to horse and cart days. Where we had to source new materials, we matched both texture and colour to ensure an authentic restoration.”

“Our intent was to respect the heritage of the wall, but with a modern twist. We inserted metal infill panels to parts of the wall, opening up the Calvary Ryde site to the community.”

Today, Calvary celebrates the completion of the works and rededication of the heritage wall with residents, staff, those who worked on the project, and members of the local community.