Nantz Snadden

Nantz was born on September 28, 1934. She told us she was one of the first babies born in what was then, the new Mildura Base Hospital. Indeed, this would be the case as the hospital was opened on 30 August 1934, the day after Mildura was proclaimed a city. The building is no longer a hospital, however having been designed by architects, it is still an impressive building and an important landmark today for so many. It was also the institution where Nantz’s twin daughters carved out a long and successful nursing career. According to the current Mildura Base Hospital website, the Mildura Base Hospital was built as part of a Victorian Government initiative to establish a comprehensive system of hospital care throughout the state. The hospital helped to fill the void between charity hospitals and the fully privatised institutions present at the time. Nantz recalled that her hair was apparently very long for a baby, two inches long and a bright auburn colour. Nantz reflected that babies don’t usually have a lot of hair.