Doll Hospital needs new homes for ‘patients’ as it prepares to shut after 140 years

Since the 1880s, the Doll Hospital has triaged chewed-up dolls, torn teddies and worn-out toys, but its days of admitting extra-special patients for surgery will soon come to an end.

First opened in the Royal Arcade some 140 years ago, the antiques, toy and ceramics repairer now located in Malvern is closing down – but not before saying goodbye to thousands of dolls in need of a new home.

“It’s very, very sad because this is a marvellous place,” owner Charles Philipp said.

“If you give a child a doll, they love it and cuddle it forever and they don’t want any other type of doll. You can’t throw that one away and give them another.”

For decades, Philipp and co-owner Anne Taylor “treated” hundreds of precious toys and antiques each year from their shopfront on Claremont Avenue.

The pair were motivated not by money but by the moment of joy on a child or adult’s face upon being reunited with an item they feared irreparable.

“It’s very rewarding,” Philipp, a ceramics restorer, said.

“It’s the pleasure you get from it and the satisfaction when the customer comes in and says ‘well this is wonderful’.”

While still mending damaged toys and ceramics, the Doll Hospital stopped accepting antique dolls for repair after Taylor unexpectedly passed away in April 2025. Offices above the shop previously rented out to support the repair business are also vacant.

“We cannot do what Anne did, she was extremely clever,” Philipp said. “Usually, she made them look as though they’d never been broken.”

Thousands of dolls dating back to the 1800s still adorn the Doll Hospital’s shelves, along with countless other collectables.

Customers range in age from three to 100 and are still streaming through the door. A message reading “you are a hero because you help dolls that need it” is pinned to a corkboard, just one among years’ worth of thank-you notes, cards and newspaper clippings on display.

Managed by various owners in different locations over its lifespan, it was opened by the Dallaway family and quickly earned a lasting reputation for taking great care during restoration.

A 1957 item in The Age noted the doctors caring for a girl injured in a road accident feared their patient’s recovery would be hampered unless her wrecked doll was fixed, so the Doll Hospital hurried to mend it for her.

“Today, we are glad to report, both ‘mother’ and ‘baby’ are doing nicely,” the article stated.

Antique doll collector Barbara Lyons fondly remembers journeying to the Doll Hospital with her mother in the city when she was a young girl.

After Taylor’s passing, Lyons discovered there were few other restorers capable of such high-quality repair work in Australia, so she began learning the skills needed to mend dolls and volunteering at the shop.

While items that can no longer be fixed have been returned to their rightful owners, Doll Hospital volunteer Sara Blake hopes remaining dolls and an abundance of spare parts can be sold before the business winds up in about two months’ time.

“I would really, really love Melburnians to come out of the woodwork and take a piece of history home with them,” Blake said.

“A piece of wire can mean nothing to me, but it’ll mean something to someone else.”

While the Doll Hospital is shutting down, Philipp, who describes himself as “too old to worry about”, plans to continue working.

“I won’t retire, I’ll keep restoring ceramics.”

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