Gaubin Rural Hospital is on the Southern Tip of Karkar Island in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. The island lies off the north coast of Madang Province approximately 74Km away from Madang Town.

Gaubin is a small coastal settlement on the southeastern side of Karkar Island. Most of the people at Gaubin and neighbouring villages are Takia speaking people. People depend heavily on Farming, Fishing, Coconut and cocoa production

The population of Karkar Island is “approximately 70,000.” Religiously the population is “mostly Lutheran or Catholic On social structure: there are about 52 villages on the island; of these, around 79% (41 villages) are along the coast.

Gaubin Rural Hospital on Karkar Island in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea was established in the late 1940s as one of the earliest formal medical facilities on the island.

Establishment & Early History

The hospital’s story began when Dr. Edwin Gerhard Tscharke, a Lutheran missionary, was sent to Karkar Island on 11 September 1947 to set up a health service for the local people, who then had no medical facility and suffered high mortality from tropical diseases. With the support of local leaders, land at Kurum village was donated and registered for the project in 1942, and construction of the first buildings started soon after Tscharke’s arrival, using shipped materials and local labour. The hospital was officially opened on 28 June 1948, initially with approximately 85 beds across wards for obstetrics, antenatal care, general medicine, and paediatrics.

Initially called the Edwin and Tabitha Tscharke Memorial Hospital, it was later renamed Gaubin Rural Hospital — “Gau” for the local fig tree and “bin” meaning seed, symbolising a growing source of health for the community. The hospital expanded services over the years, adding a tuberculosis ward in 1956 and undergoing significant rebuilding with local materials (volcanic sand, cement, bricks) in the 1960s, resulting in the core structures that still stand today.

Over decades, Gaubin became the principal medical facility on Karkar Island, serving a large population that grew substantially since its founding. It also developed community health worker training alongside clinical services. It has remained under the management of the Lutheran Health Service, continuing to provide essential healthcare to islanders and surrounding areas.

Today, Gaubin remains the primary health facility for Karkar’s population (tens of thousands) and surrounding islands, providing vital care from emergency services to maternal health.

It continues to face infrastructure and resource challenges, such as the need for reliable water systems, equipment servicing, and better emergency transfer capacity (e.g., sea ambulance services).

Operations

The Hospital is operated by Lutheran Health Services and serves the entire Karkar Island population. The Hospital provides outpatient, inpatient, maternal health, emergency care, and rural outreach. The average monthly caseload at Gaubin Hospital could gone up to 100 – 150 patients in a month. The hospital has “nine wards – labour ward, children’s ward, TB ward, disabled ward, VCT centre, operating theatre, Outpatient, laboratory, plus the X-ray and dispensary,” and “can cater for 50 patients at any one time.”