The Royal Canberra Hospital implosion was a failed building implosion that killed one person and injured nine others. The implosion occurred on 13 July 1997, when the city's superseded hospital buildings at Acton Peninsula on Lake Burley Griffin (that formerly constituted the Royal Canberra Hospital) were demolished to make way for the National Museum of Australia. Background The Royal Canberra Hospital closed on 27 November 1991 amid much controversy. Consultant physician Marcus de Laune Faunce wrote: "Towards the end of 1990 many Canberra citizens were either bewildered, angered or saddened as they realised that the Royal Canberra Hospital on Acton Peninsula was soon to be closed. Its staffing structure and organisation were thought to have been planned in step with population needs and the hospital was firmly and warmly placed in the memories and affections of many people. Its beautiful, central position on the lake had been marked by Walter Burley Griffin on his original plan. After its formative years, it served Canberra for more than three decades as a first-class hospital staffed by hard-working, skilled and caring health workers. With its magnificent site and proximity to the Australian National University it had enormous potential as a future teaching hospital reflecting the best of Australian medical services." Implosion In April 1995 the Keating Government agreed in principle with the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government to exchange certain sites of land within the ACT to facilitate the building of the National Museum. In July 1995 a feasibility study was undertaken for the demolition and clearance of the buildings on Acton Peninsula. On 4 August 1995 the ACT Cabinet approved a submission recommending the implosion method of demolition. On Friday 13 December 1996 the Prime Minister, John Howard, announced the design work on Acton Peninsula for the National Museum would begin immediately. The next day, a fence was erected around the site. The demolition of the Canberra Hospital by way of implosion was billed as a spectator event by the ACT government. For this event, over 100,000 people, one of the largest crowds in Canberra's history, were in attendance. The implosion of the Royal Canberra Hospital was a disaster, with large pieces of debris reaching spectators situated 500 metres away on the opposite side of the Lake at a designated safe viewing location. A twelve-year-old girl, Katie Bender, was killed instantly, and nine other people were injured. Large fragments of masonry and