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 […]
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 […]
Historically, nurse’s capes were both symbolic as well as practical. They were a standard part of a nurse’s uniform and although mainly worn in winter months, they allowed the nurse to move freely and keep uniforms clean underneath. Royal Adelaide Hospital Registered Nurse’s (known as either a Charge Nurse or Sister) at the Adelaide Hospital, […]
The setting of broken bones using Plaster of Paris is a common practice at Central Adelaide Local Health Network hospitals. Immobilizing broken limbs has occurred for thousands of years. Beginning with simple wooden splints, evolving over the centuries to plaster of Paris, fibre glass and soft casts. Plaster of Paris was first used in casts […]
October the 14th is International Allied Health Professions Day. To help celebrate International Allied Health Professions Day, below are five items from the CALHN Health Museum collection that relate to some of these professions. The Allied Health Professions are made up of health professionals that are not part of the medical, nursing or dental professions. […]
As we prepare to say a final farewell to our monarch, we share with you some of our memories of her early visits to South Australia. The Adelaide Hospital was granted its “Royal” prefix in 1939 by His Majesty the King, George VI. In 1954 his daughter and successor, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II paid […]
To assist nursing students, Operating Theatre Instrument Manual’s had photographs of instrument trays and corresponding lists of equipment used. One of the responsibilities of a nursing theatre sister was to set up an instrument tray with the correct equipment for an operation. Each type of operation required its own particular instruments, laid out in a […]
This week (16 to 22 May) is National Volunteer Week and the CALHN Health Museum wishes our volunteers ‘Happy Volunteer Week’ and acknowledges and celebrates their valuable contribution. We have volunteers at both Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital working on a variety of projects including conducting oral histories, organising and presenting events […]
Some of my favourite objects held in The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH) heritage collection is a group of photo albums that contain individual photos of most of the nurses who did their training at the TQEH. These photos, taken when trainee nurse’s began their training, were usually passport photo size and taken against a plain […]
When the first white settlers arrived in Australia, in their possession was the humble bedpan. Potteries soon began to be established and amongst the first items made were bedpans. Throughout nursing and medical history, the bedpan has played its part. The bedpan was there when Florey was experimenting with penicillin (he used it as a […]
Fancy a bath? This week we take a look at the bathrooms at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The main building’s of The Queen Elizabeth Hospital were built in stages from 1954 to 1959. They included all the modern amenities that the 1950s could offer, such as; personal telephones for patients, central heating and a silent […]