On recent reorganisation of the museum collection, many interesting items have been rediscovered. One such item is the humble laundry trolley – essential equipment for the necessary hospital laundry service. The hospital laundry, otherwise known as the washhouse, was responsible for the collection, cleaning, and disinfection of dirty linens, as well as the replacement of […]
Hospitals from Above
Hospital’s can be big. The Royal Adelaide Hospital for example covers the equivalent of three city blocks. It can often be hard to visualise the scale of hospitals when we are looking at them from street level. Adding to this is the jumble of different buildings, that many hospitals are made up of. Fortunately the […]
Ether at the Adelaide Hospital
“Anyone who is even remotely connected with the practice of medicine knows that modern surgery depends to a great extent on the availability of adequate anaesthesia” J Estcourt Hughes, A History of the Royal Adelaide Hospital, 1982 Ether was first used for surgical operations at Adelaide Hospital in 1847, marking the introduction of general anesthesia. […]
World Physiotherapy Day
World Physiotherapy Day (also known as World Physical Therapy Day) is celebrated every year on 8th September in recognition of the crucial work of physiotherapists worldwide. Physiotherapy is defined as the treatment of injury and disease by means other than medication or surgery, with the aim to improve or restore the patient’s movement, function, and […]
Rediscovering Objects in the Collection
The CALHN Health Museum has been doing some spring cleaning (or more accurately late winter cleaning), of our large item store room. My colleague Jasmin and some of our amazing volunteers, have done an excellent job in organizing this area. It has meant we have been more easily able to access some of our collection […]
Wheelchairs
The wheelchair has been used for centuries as a mobility aid for individuals with injury, illness, and disability. In the hospital environment, wheelchairs continue to be an essential part of patient care, although their design and mode of use has changed over time. The design of wheelchair we are familiar with today was developed from […]
“A Be-what?!?” – Use of the term ‘Barouche’ in South Australian Hospitals
Did you know that South Australia is one of only a few places in the world to use the name ‘Barouche’ to refer to a trolley used for patient transfer. Indeed, there are many anecdotal stories of overseas and interstate trained healthcare professionals coming to work in South Australia and being very confused when a […]
CALHN Health Museum Volunteers
On 1 August, our volunteers joined the Central Adelaide Local Health Network Volunteers to recognise their fantastic contributions to our organisation and community. This year’s 2023 Reward and Recognition luncheon was held at the National Wine Centre of Australia. Our volunteers joined over 200 volunteers from multiple departments within the Central Adelaide Local Health Network. […]
Coombs Ward – Make Do and Mend
What do you do when you merge two wards together and now have a surplus of linen stamped with an obsolete name? This was a problem faced by the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1945. When the Magill Wards of the Royal Adelaide Hospital were established in 1939 (at Magill) there was one large ward/block that […]
Video: The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the 1950s/60s – A Virtual Tour
This year one of our events for the SA History Festival was a tour of The Queen Elizabeth Hospital. These tours were led by some of our wonderful volunteers, all former nurses that worked in the hospital. It was wonderful to hear their stories, and get a glimpse into what it was like to work […]
Video: Back in Time Through Maps and Plans
The Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre has undergone a number of changes in its history. From name changes to transitioning from a infectious diseases hospital to a rehabilitation facility. One aspect that has changed over time is the built environment of the hospital site. The short video below highlights the changes that it has undergone. Starting in […]
History Festival 2023 @ CALHN Health Museum
The CALHN Health Museum is holding a packed program of things to do at History Festival this year. TOURS We are running two tours this year: Tour of Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre It’s back! We are running our popular tour from last year again, if you missed it then book your places now to avoid missing […]
The Happy Snaps and the Hospital Plans
Recently the CALHN Health Museum collaborated with The Hospital Research Foundation – Creative Health to produce an exhibition titled The Happy Snaps and the Hospital Plans as part of South Australia’s History Festival 2023. On display in the Creative Health Gallery at Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre is a two part exhibition showcasing some of the CALHN […]
In the Swim
The Annual Inter-Hospital Swimming Carnival for Nurses was held from 1954 to 1963 at the Adelaide Olympic Pool. The event was open to both public and private hospitals and was very popular. A major drawcard were the novelty events: ‘Get there as best you can’ swim race; Nurses Bathing Beauty Contest; Balloon swimming race; ‘Flappers […]
The Hand of Corporal Coles
In Adelaide in April 1842, Corporal John Coles was on North Terrace conducting a military salute for the celebration of the Duke of Cornwall’s birth when an accident occurred. When priming the canon, the gunpowder exploded, destroying all four fingers of the Corporals right hand and the top of his left forefinger. The Colonial Surgeon […]