The Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre (a campus of the Royal Adelaide Hospital) was originally built as the Metropolitan Infectious Diseases Hospital, established in 1932 for patients with infectious diseases such as polio, scarlet fever, measles and diphtheria. At the time it was established it was an autonomous organisation controlled by its own Board of Management, and its finances were maintained solely through the contributions of local councils.
By 1947, the introduction of immunisation programs and the discovery of new drugs (including penicillin) had created a situation where there was a low incidence of infectious disease, reducing the outbreaks of epidemics as seen in the past, and it was determined that the Metropolitan Infectious Diseases Hospital had outlived the purpose for which it was designed.
SANDLAND, Arnold Lindsay (SECRETARY)
On 1st April 1948 the responsibility for running the Hospital passed onto the Royal Adelaide Hospital and it was proclaimed an annexe of the Royal Adelaide Hospital (later becoming known as the Northfield Wards of the Royal Adelaide Hospital).
Arnold Lindsay Sandland held the position of Secretary on the 1948 Board of Management at the time the hospital was transferred to the control of the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
DATE & PLACE OF BIRTH: Arnold Lindsay Sandland was born on 17 October 1917, in Westbourne Park, South Australia. He attended Scotch College in Torrens Park, South Australia.
MARRIAGE & FAMILY:
Arnold Sandland married Kathleen Austin Cook in the East Malvern Methodist Church, Victoria, on 7 February 1846.
Their son, John Stewart Sandland, was born on 3 January 1949.
Their daughter, Mary Kathleen Sandland, was born 31 March 1951.
John Stewart and Mary Kathleen Sandland are listed on the Admission Register for Brighton Infant School in February 1954 (John) and July 1956 (Kathleen). At the time his children were attending Brighton Infant School, the family were living at 7 Jetty Road, Brighton, South Australia.
SIGNIFICANT FAMILY CONNECTIONS: The May Family
Arnold Lindsay Sandland’s heritage can be traced back to a well-known and respected family of Quakers who were among the earliest settlers to arrive in South Australia. His Great-Great Grandparents, Joseph and Hannah May (nee Morris), along with their five sons and six daughters, and Joseph’s brother Henry, migrated to South Australia on the Anna Robertson, arriving in Port Adelaide September 20, 1839
The May family were instrumental in ensuring the survival of Quakers in South Australia, as each child (except Thomas) married another member of the Society of Friends.
The family settled on a farming property near Mount Barker named ‘Fairfield’ which became known as a popular gathering place for Quaker Friends from overseas and other Australian Meetings.
Home of the May family; the house was completed in 1846 and destroyed by fire in 1905.
(Source): State Library of South Australia [B 59568]
Joseph and Hannah May’s daughter, Hannah Sophia May (1828 – 1881) married Joseph Barritt in 1853. Their eldest daughter, Lucy Maria Barritt (1855 – 1896) married Robert Cooper Sandland in 1878. Their son, Joseph Hubert Sandland (1881 – 1941) married Agnes Stewart Mitchell on 1 November 1916 in Jamestown, South Australia. Their son, Arnold Lindsay Sandland (5th generation) was born on 17 October 1917 in Westbourne Park, South Australia.
The embroidery below (honouring the May Family) was designed by Christine Collins, and stitched by Jennifer Mann, Mary Loftus, Robin Sinclair and Christine Collins (completed in 2019). The embroidery shows a bride and groom at the gateway to the Fairfield Meeting House, with the names of all Joseph and Hannah May’s children appear below the wedding scene.
WAR RECORDS:
The following information regarding Arnold Lindsay Sandland’s war records is sourced from National Archives of Australia
(NAA: Ref: B883, SX4280) and the Virtual War Memorial Australia (VWMA).
Kokoda Service
Written by D.M. Eyre, 29th August 1969 (Letter in Sandland Family collection).
“I would advise that I served with Mr. Sandland from the date of his enlistment in the A.I.F. in May 1940, until I left the section at the conclusion of the Ramu Valley operations in February, 1944.
In Late 1942, our brigade was committed piecemeal in order to stem the advance of the Japanese over the Kokoda Trail, and we fought a delaying action from our first contact with the enemy forward of Alola in August 1942, until our final relief by 25 Brigade at Imita Ridge in late September of the same year.
Due to the fact that our Section Officer was in a complete state of panic during that period, Sergeant Sandland as Senior Sergeant of the Section took complete control of communications for the Brigade and throughout this action worked tirelessly night and day.
This was only one of the many problems to which he was submitted both during this period and during subsequent operations at Gona and Sananarda later in this same year.”
Arnold’s wife, Kathleen Austin Sandland (nee Cook) joined the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) in April 1942 and was enlisted for war service in Melbourne, Victoria, at the rank of Lieutenant. She was discharged on 5 November 1945.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES:
During A.L. Sandland’s time as Secretary to the Board of the Infectious Diseases Hospital in 1947/48, another outbreak of Infantile Paralysis, later renamed ‘Polio’, occurred in South Australia.
DATE & PLACE OF DEATH:
The Virtual War Memorial Australia (VWMA) records state that Arnold Lindsay Sandland died in Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, South Australia, on 2 June 1983. Cause of death is recorded as cardiac failure.
MEMORIALS:
His name is recorded on the Scotch College WW2 Roll of Honour, the Adelaide Scots Church WW2 Honour Board (North Terrace, Adelaide), and the South Australian Garden of Remembrance Monument, Pasadena, South Australia. (Gravesite Details: Service Number: SX4280, Unit: SIGNALS 7 AUST. DIVISION).
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/248474179/arnold-l-sandland
Written by Karyn Baker, CALHN Health Museum Volunteer