This week’s post offers an intimate, firsthand glimpse into the lives of nurses during WWII, as captured through the sketches of Lorna Moore. Lorna (Liz) Moore, née Woolcock, was born in Unley, Adelaide, and pursued her studies at the South Australian School of Art. A talented freelance commercial artist, she moved to London in late […]
Today, the Royal Adelaide Hospital is an adult-only hospital, but that wasn’t always the case. For much of its history, children were admitted to the hospital for treatment, alongside adults. Early Days: The Adelaide Hospital Prior to the opening of the first purpose-built Adelaide Hospital in 1842, sick patients were treated at home. As the […]
This week the CALHN Health Museum commemorated 106 years since the end of World War I The CALHN Health Museum in conjunction with the Volunteer Unit, was once again invited to honour and remember CALHN staff members who served in the Australian Defence Forces during times of armed conflict. This year the museum decided to […]
Part 1: From humble beginnings Pastoral care has been part of the hospital from very early days. Initially, this was offered by visiting ministers, who provided ‘religious services in the room set apart for that purpose’ (Annual Report, 1879) In 1881 the nurses dining room in the East Wing was being used as a chapel […]
Who would have thought there would be so many uses for the humble spoon! Within the CALHN Health Museum’s collection, there are spoons for heating amalgam, scooping mustard and stirring a simple cup of tea. There are metal spoons, ceramic, wooden and even glass spoons. Below is a small selection of some of the different […]
Part 3: 1857 – 1963 In 1853, the site for the new hospital was chosen, just a few hundred metres west of where the existing hospital stood. This move would mark the beginning of a 160-year history with the site, as the new hospital would stand where the old Royal Adelaide Hospital as we knew […]
When the current Royal Adelaide Hospital building was constructed, it was fitted with a state of the art Pneumatic Tube System (PTS). This system included more than 3km of tubing connecting 74 different stations. A PTS is a network of tubing which allows cylindrical containers carrying small pathology and pharmacy items to be quickly and […]
Nursing as a profession, has one of the most recognised uniforms. When using the word ‘Nurse’ you often think of the traditional white uniform, cape, hat and apron. Traditional nursing uniforms had a multitude of purposes, including identifying the hospital, rank, seniority, and promoting formality, respect, and training. At the Royal Adelaide Hospital, standardised uniforms […]
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 […]
“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. […]
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 […]
As the sun set on the official final day of the former Royal Adelaide Hospital, an eerie silence filled the corridors of a once bustling metropolitan hospital. From the cradle to the grave, with much in between, the hospital played a pivotal role in the lives of many patients, workers, and visitors, from its opening […]
On Remembrance Day, the CALHN Health Museum in partnership with Spiritual Care Services and the RAH Volunteer Unit, honoured and remembered staff members of our hospitals that have served in the Australian Defence Force. At the Royal Adelaide Hospital there were displays of historical objects and stories, along with handmade poppies for sale. All money […]