The Cahill Building takes it's place in St Vincent's History You are here:HomeNewsroomNews The Cahill Building takes it's place in St Vincent's History 26 May 2021 The Cahill Building was home to St Vincent’s Hospital’s inpatient services for some 50 years, before the establishment of the Xavier Building, connecting the public and private hospitals into a more seamless campus. Having sat dormant for 20 years, the old Cahill Building is more than ready for an upgrade. Following a NSW Government seed funding to redevelop our existing campus, internal preparation works have begun on the Cahill Building in readiness for future redevelopment of the site down the track. In its 50 years of operation, the Cahill building was home to significant medical breakthroughs in response to the many health challenges that confronted Sydney and beyond. Treating everyone from Fiona Coote, to former PM’s to Sydney’s underworld figures. If Cahill’s walls could talk, there would be no shortage of fascinating tales charting the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s. One of the most significant chapters of Sydney’s history in which the Cahill Building played a major role, is Sydney’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, being the home to Ward 17 South, Australia’s first dedicated HIV ward, and its standing today as a world-leader in HIV treatment. In honour of this, St Vincent’s will pay tribute to those treated on the ward and those who served the ward with such love, dedication and compassion. To preserve this important history, the Hospital has engaged a leading architectural photographer who recently photographed 17 South as well as Emergency and ICU for our archives, and filming has been undertaken to capture the personal testimonies of patients and key staff who were part of the 17 South journey. Additionally, the Hospital is assisting in the establishment of an HIV/AIDS-LGBTQ+ History Museum which will feature several artefacts from 17 South. In the future, a memorial garden will be established on the site of the redevelopment using original bricks from the ward. To view the photo library, please click here.