James and Rita Bain

Few families have left a deeper mark on St Andrew’s Toowoomba Hospital than Jim and Rita Bain.

Patients arriving at the Hospital today enter a facility that stands on land they donated. Generations of patients have received care in buildings made possible by their generosity. Yet when the Bain family first became involved, there were no plans for a memorial, no expectation of recognition and no certainty that the Hospital would even be built.

What began with a simple letter and a gift of land became one of the most important acts of philanthropy in the Hospital’s history.

At the heart of the story was a family’s determination to transform personal loss into something that would benefit countless others.

A letter that changed everything

In 1963, the committee planning a new private Presbyterian hospital in Toowoomba faced a major problem: they had no land on which to build it.

Several sites had been considered, but none proved suitable. Without a location, the project could go no further.

Then Reverend James McConaghy received an unexpected letter. Written on a torn piece of paper, it read:

“Dear Sir, I have a piece of land in North Street, Toowoomba. You may be interested in it for your hospital.
Signed: J. Bain.”

Assuming it was an offer to sell, McConaghy wrote back asking where the land was and how much it would cost.

The reply was astonishing.

“I don’t want to sell it to you. I want to give it to you.”

With that simple act of generosity, the future site of St Andrew’s Hospital was secured.

The story behind the gift

The letter had come from James Bain of Jandowae. Jim and his wife Rita were members of the Bell Presbyterian Church and were well known in their community. Jim was a practical, straightforward grazier who, according to Treg Rowe, was a direct and no-nonsense man with a heart of gold.

Soon after receiving the letter, Reverend McConaghy drove to Jandowae to meet the family. During that visit he learned the story behind their extraordinary generosity.

In 1962, Jim and Rita’s only son, James Douglas Bain, died from a brain tumour. His loss was devastating. A former student of Toowoomba Grammar School, James died young, leaving his parents without children.

As McConaghy listened, he suggested that part of the future Hospital might serve as a memorial to their son.

At the time, neither man could have known how significant the Bain family’s contribution would become, nor how closely their story would become intertwined with the Hospital’s future.

More than a gift of land

The five-acre North Street site solved one major problem for the Hospital’s founders, but another remained: funding.

Just before the launch of the public fundraising campaign, McConaghy met again with Jim and Rita and explained that the project needed a major donation to inspire confidence and help turn the vision into reality.

After discussing the matter privately, the couple made a remarkable decision.

They would donate £50,000 in memory of James Douglas Bain.

The announcement transformed the campaign. Suddenly, supporters believed the Hospital could succeed. The dream of building St Andrew’s was no longer just an ambition—it was becoming a reality.

A legacy that lives on

The Bain family’s generosity did not end there. Over the following years they provided further financial support, helping fund the Hospital’s development and equipment. In total, their contributions reached an extraordinary $184,000, with additional gifts later made through their estates.

To honour their son, the Hospital named the Eastern Wing the James Douglas Bain Memorial Wing, while a plaque in the foyer records the family’s generosity and lasting contribution.

Yet the Bain legacy is about far more than buildings, donations or memorials.

Through their generosity, Jim and Rita Bain transformed personal tragedy into a gift that would serve their community for generations.