It was an honour to be in Batlow for a very special ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday to mark the official opening of the Origin Pathway.

The Pathway has been created to remember both the old Batlow hospital and pioneering husband and wife doctors Doreen and Tom Hyder, who delivered hundreds of babies in the then-hospital between the early 1960s and late 1980s.

The old hospital, which was sadly lost in the 2020 Dunns Road bushfire, had an illustrious history and began life in 1944 as a hostel to accommodate the Land Army girls before being converted to a hospital in the late 1950s. It was used as a hospital until 1993.

The path was built by Kevin Smith, Geraldine Vanzella and Ray and Chris Shoemark after Mr Smith came up with the original idea. Mixed in with the plain pavers are about 275 embossed with the names of some of the babies born in the old hospital, with plans to add more names in the future.

It was great to have Dr Doreen Hyder, accompanied by her son John Hyder, present to cut the ribbon, and to also have so many former staff there to share reminiscences.