It was constructed to plans prepared c. 1925 by the Department of Public Works for a standard pavilion-type timber and galvanised iron hospital, and amended c. 1928 by Cairns architects Hill and Taylor to incorporate evocative Spanish Mission style concrete facades.

The Mossman district, although initially taken up as homestead selections supplying fodder, maize and tropical fruits to the goldfields, converted to sugar-growing in the 1890s and prospered in the early twentieth century.

In the 1920s the Court House and banking facilities moved from Port Douglas to Mossman, which by the end of the decade was the administrative centre of the shire.

By late January 1925 the Department of Public Works had prepared plans for a proposed Mossman hospital, to comprise a main block, maternity ward and nurses' quarters.

From the 1860s to the 1930s almost all hospitals erected in Queensland were pavilion plan – developed in Europe and England in the 1850s – based on the principles of providing good ventilation, light and sanitation, and on selecting a generous area of land, preferably elevated and on the outskirts of a town, to achieve this.

[1] By January 1926 a large, level site off Johnston Road, about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) south-west of the centre of Mossman, had been acquired for the new hospital.

Through 1926 debate between the Board and the Queensland government centred on whether the Port Douglas hospital buildings would be re-located to Mossman, or new construction approved.

The Department of Public Works estimated a cost of £20,868 to erect an entirely new hospital and £18,016 if the nurses' quarters and doctor's residence were re-located from Port Douglas.

Local estimates were called, which proved lower than Works had anticipated, and in October 1928 the Board accepted from the government a loan of $14,000 for construction of entirely new hospital buildings.

[1] However, the Board also referred the Works Department design to Cairns architects Hill and Taylor, to prepare an alternative scheme in concrete based on the original plans.

The emphasis on wide colonnaded or arcaded verandahs and white stuccoed exterior walls set against lush gardens (as popularised in the Californian version of the style), translated well to Australia's warm climate, particularly in Queensland.

[1] Decorative embellishments were kept to a minimum (to reduce costs and lessen maintenance) and included: curved concrete arches to the verandahs; moulded Maltese crosses in the front balustrades; a curved parapet defining the central entrance, with the raised lettering 'Mossman District hospital'; and concrete arches defining the entrances off Hospital Street and Johnston Road.

Also by this date, an isolation block had been constructed at the north-west corner of the site, connected via a covered way to the female ward (1930 nurses' quarters).

Cane fields and the Main Coast Range form a backdrop to the buildings which are set amongst spacious grounds of tended lawns and tropical gardens.

[1] The Main Wing is a long, narrow, symmetrical building of timber-framed construction with external parapet walls formed in reinforced concrete.

The concrete walls are finished with a smooth render painted white and are punctuated with a series of arched windows to an enclosed verandah space.

Box gutters run behind the length of the parapet wall and large painted metal rain heads are located at the southern and northern ends.

[1] The Main Wing consists of a central bank of offices, meeting and consultation rooms with long corridors formed by enclosed verandahs running along the length of the eastern and western sides.

The enclosed verandahs have early fabric visible including v-jointed boards and belt-rails to internal walls and ceilings, and pairs of panelled timber French-light doors with glazed fanlights above.

Generally, most internal walls within the office and consultation areas appear to be early and formed from v-jointed boards though many have been lined up to two metres from the floor with resilient finishes.

Like the Main Wing its principal elevation is to the east and it is of a timber-framed construction with external parapet walls formed in reinforced concrete and finished in a smooth cement render.

[1] Both the unenclosed and enclosed verandahs have early fabric visible including v-jointed boards and belt-rails to walls and ceilings and pairs of panelled timber French-light doors with glazed fanlights above.

All of the verandah spaces have intact early fabric including v-jointed boards and belt-rails to walls and ceilings, floorboards and pairs of panelled timber French-light doors with glazed fanlights above.

The external walls extend down to the ground finishing at a concrete plinth with large arched openings providing ventilation to the sub- floor area.

[1] Its principal elevation is to the south where a parapet wall, finished with a smooth cement render, conceals a hipped roof which is clad in corrugated metal sheeting.

Its principal elevation faces the south and is symmetrical in layout with two sets of concrete formed steps accessing the front verandah which runs the length of the building.

Much of the early fabric remains in these areas including v-jointed boards and belt-rails to walls and ceilings, timber panelled French light doors with glazed fanlights above.

It has a hipped roof clad in corrugated metal sheeting and external walls of rendered reinforced concrete which extend to ground level.

The long east-facing main facade overlooks a large tended lawn scattered with established trees and is set apart by a u-shaped bitumen drive.

Retaining much of the attractive original exterior detailing in the Spanish Mission style, and set in lush gardens against a spectacular mountain backdrop and with early decorative concrete arches to the street entrances, the Mossman Hospital and grounds is significant for its strong aesthetic appeal, which has been a valued characteristic of the place since 1930.