Showing posts with label Bush Nursing Hospitals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bush Nursing Hospitals. Show all posts

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Official opening of the Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital at Koo Wee Rup, May 23 1923

This account of the official opening of the Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital at  Koo Wee Rup on Wednesday, May 23, 1923 is transcribed from the Koo Wee Rup Sun of May 24, 1923, p 4. Punctuation is original, but this has been re-paragraphed for clarity. 

Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital - Officially opened Yesterday.

It has been a penchant with vice-regal representatives from the Old Country to leave behind some monument of their labor whilst in our midst. One of the best movements so far conceived is that instituted by Lady Dudley, who started what is known as the Bush Nursing Association.  Lady Dudley was a woman with a big range of sympathy for the person out-back, and her travels in the various States taught her that in times of emergency and sickness the people in the outback settlements had to endure much risk and danger through lack of medical advice and assistance.

Realising the danger to which they were exposed, she called a few friends together and propounded the humanitarian idea that an organisation should be started that would make the prospects of their less fortunate brothers and sisters in district parts brighter and happier. Her idea took a concrete form, as what is now known as the Bush Nursing Association is now in existence, and is eminently carrying out the function she desired.

This organisation sends out nurses who are thoroughly equipped for their task, and thousands to-day are grateful for the work which has been accomplished.  Beginning in a small way, the organisation has been spreading steadily, until to-day there are 41 centres in Victoria, besides numerous centres in other States of the Commonwealth. Each year the movement is gaining ground, and the results of the various centres are so successful that inquiries are made for information with respect to how the centres are conducted. This is another instance illustrative of what a small seed sown by a woman with high and noble ideals can produce, and the association will ever remain a lasting memorial to the splendid work of Lady Dudley during the term she was with us as the wife of the Governor-General of Australia.

The life of a bush nurse is no sinecure. She has no hours she can call her own. She is “at it, and always at it.” She is ever ready at the least behest, night and day, on her mission of mercy. She is devoid of all the pleasures and comforts which surrounds her sisters in the more populous centres, but she recognises that she has a duty to perform to those in trials and tribulations, and she carries out her unselfish task with a cheery and optimistic spirit, and by her presence radiates happiness and comfort to all with whom she comes in contact. She realises that “the noblest service is the public good”; that life consisteth more than in eating and drinking, but that each person has a responsibility to fulfil to their fellow man and woman. Yet despite all the hardships she had to endure there must be compensation. The highest joy in life is “the joy of doing good.” To ease pain, to lighten the daily burden and to assuage grief must bring untold happiness and pleasure, and it is in this direction that the devoted workers reap some measure of reward.

It is these compensations which have urged on all humanitarian and Christian workers. The mission of the great Christian Leader was not only to preach the Gospel, but to heal the sick, etc., exemplifying that doing of such a work is fulfilling the highest law and carrying out His precepts. One cannot help recalling the noble life of Florence Nightingale, who so stirred by the terrible sufferings of the soldiers in the Crimean campaign, that she gave up her life of ease and brought benediction to thousands of soldiers. It is recorded that as she went about with her lamp in her hands the soldiers kissed her shadow as she passed. So in the peaceful development of our back block settlements the bush nurses go about with their lamps in hands demonstrating that they are worthy disciples of the above-named woman.

The Bush Nursing Association is a co-operative movement, which allows for the strong to help the weak. All persons who become members contribute a fixed sum each year, which is devoted to the payment of the nurse and the upkeep of the centre. Under this system it means that those who are well and fortunate help to alleviate the unfortunate and sickly member. This is carrying out in a practical manner the brotherhood of man, and it is regretted that in all centres there are men and women who are not seized with the importance of the principle involved. In every locality whether a person is possessed of means or not, he should remember that his contribution is helping to further and strengthen the movement, and in this manner convey help to those most in need.

In the Kooweerup Centre we have advanced a stage further than the majority.  Almost at the inception of the local movement it was recognised that better and effective work could be rendered by the erection of a hospital, where patients could be brought to receive the best attention possible. Such a method lightens the work of the nurse. Patients in outlying parts always presents a difficulty in reaching, and by concentrating the work in a healing institution much travelling, time and expense is saved. The idea was taken up with enthusiasm, and an appeal was made to the public, and it is gratifying to record that a good response resulted. The committee recognised that they owed a duty to the “deathless heroes” who fell in the late war and to memorialise their sacrifice it was decided to name the new edifice “The Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.” The committee endeavoured to secure the names of all district soldiers who fell, and their names are inscribed on a marble tablet at the hospital, and of them the words of an ancient epitaph can well be applied: “They sleep a holy sleep; say not that the valiant ever die.”

On such an important occasion as the opening of the hospital, which was fittingly performed yesterday by the President of the Shire (Cr Simpson Hill), a brief account of the past history of the local movement should be recorded.

It was the outbreak of the influenza epidemic which had the effect of attracting attention to the value of bush nursing work, and at a public meeting held on January 23, 1918, the local centre was established with the following office-bearers:- President, Mr. W. Eason; treasurer Mr C. Adeney; hon. secretary, Mr G.R. Burhop. On April 10, 1918 the following signed as guarantors:- Messrs F. Ellis, J.J.J. Hudson, H.D. Mills, D M’Namara, T. Jenkins, senr., and G.R. Burhop. Shortly afterwards the first nurse in the person of Miss Homeward [Homewood], took up duties and served the centre for six months, and later gave assistance for several months, owing to the large number of influenza cases. Nurse M’Kay, who rendered excellent services during the epidemic, served the centre for six months. The present nurse (Miss Walsh) took charge of the work on April 21, 1920, and has labored devotedly and assiduously ever since, and has earned the unswerving esteem of all  members by her kindly advice and sympathetic treatment. Nurse Cuff also gave appreciated service for a number of months.

Owing to the fact that the nurse did not have the comfort and facilities required, the matter of erecting a cottage was first mooted by the Secretary (Mr G.R. Burhop (1)) at a meeting held on April 8, 1919. The matter was taken up immediately, and the late Mrs Townson (2) displayed a large measure of interest in the proposal and organsied a series of entertainments and in this way gave a practical start to the scheme. The value of her work was recognised, as she was elected to the committee.  Mrs Townson’s life of service shortly afterwards terminated, for on June 14, 1919, she “passed beyond these voices to where there is peace.”

The dreaded influenza epidemic accentuated the disabilities the district was placed in through having no hospital, as a number of patients had to travel long distances through cold and adverse weather, and when they reached their destination they had not sufficient strength to combat the complaints they were afflicted, with the result that death ensued. This appealed strongly to a number of persons, and it was resolved on July 8, 1919 that a hospital be built as a memorial to the fallen soldiers of the district, and the woman’s ward to be known as the “Kitty Townson Memorial Ward.” 

The present site was purchased on March 16, 1920, and a fortnight later Messrs J. Mickle and G. Burhop were elected trustees. A queen carnival was the means of getting in a considerable amount of money, and it was decided to name the beds after the districts which provided the queens. On August 8, 1921, the secretary secured plans from the Health department, and these were placed in the hands of Messrs Beaver and Parnell, architects, Melbourne, with instructions to base their drawings on similar lines. Shortly afterwards tenders were invited and Mr J. Colvin, senr., succeeded in getting the contract.

Now that the hospital is an accomplished fact, we cannot conclude without saying that one outstanding personality in bringing the scheme to a successful consummation has been the untiring zeal and devotion of Mr G.R. Burhop. He has been absolutely absorbed in the work. The most difficult task did not daunt him, and he has given time, money and labor and he must feel highly elated that the object for which he has been striving is now a practical reality. He has worked in a splendid spirit and has been suffused with “the white heat of a passionate enthusiasm” for the centre. Mr and Mrs W.K. Paterson have taken an active interest in the work. Mr Paterson has occupied the position of treasurer for several years, while Mrs Paterson has given most valuable advice and initiated many successful schemes to promote the welfare of the centre. The committee has also given good support to all movements instituted to assist the funds.

It now remains with all persons to do their bit in maintaining the institution. They owe a duty to the work. The definition of the word duty is due to.  What is due to a cause is what you owe, and what you owe you should pay. So in regard to the Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital we hope the district will recognise their obligations; assist all schemes to promote its welfare, and make it worthy in every way of this rich and flourishing district. Only the past few weeks Dr Lyell Andrews has taken up practice here, and this fact will make the work of the local centre more effective.


Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, Koo Wee Rup, 1923. 
Image : Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society

OFFICIAL OPENING

Despite the unpropitious weather which prevailed yesterday afternoon, there was a large attendance to witness the ceremony of declaring the Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital open. Members of the Victorian Council of the Association were present, including Miss Cameron (superintendent) and Sir James Barrett (general secretary).

The ground was decorated and flags of the various nations floated gaily in the breeze. There were three stalls - refreshment, jumble, and linen – and juveniles, dressed in nurses costumes, solicited donations. The Kooweerup and District Brass Band rendered selections during the afternoon.

Mr W.K. Paterson presided and called upon Cr S. Hill (3) president of the Cranbourne Shire, to perform the opening ceremony.

Councillor Hill said:-
“We are assembled to-day for the purpose of opening this building, to be known henceforth as the Kooweerup Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, and to unveil a tablet to their memory. I do know why I have been especially singled out for this high honor – for it is a high honor – as I am sure there are others who could quit themselves much better than I can hope to accomplish. Whether it be from the fact that I am your shire president and having been the deciding factor that your shire offices shall be in this town, where shortly I hope to see the foundation-stone laid (4); whether it be from my long residence on the swamp and the battles I helped to fight for your rights and wishes; whether from the fact that during the early years I was frequently called upon to do work akin to what will be done on this building (5), or because I am one of the founders of the Fathers’ Association that you have so selected me I know not. But the fact remains I am here to do it, and I must heartily thank you for the honor and gladly accede to your wishes.

You have a district for which productivity, climate, variety of products and wealth is second to none in Victoria. I well remember when there was but one store and a boarding house where your town now stands. Its growth in a few years has been something miraculous. No town in the shire or two towns can compare to it, and it will be many long years before a halt is called – if ever.  It is the junction of a railway that is tapping still further untold wealth. You have the seaboard almost at your door, and it is not too far distant to see a time when the canal will be dredged and vessels of a class come here for your produce to supply the Naval Base and the mammoth steamers that will as assuredly come to Western Port Bay, as night follows day.

 You sent tour brave sons to take part in the Great War for freedom. Your sacred dead lie in foreign lands. This you can never forget. Later your shire will honor their obligations to them, but to-day you of your own volition are honoring them in a way that you deem befitting their actions, and that reflects the highest honor upon you; their sacred memory you seek perpetually to revere and the call of the suffering humanity to relieve. The idea of inaugurating this movement and monument first took place when the call of humanity was heard in the late deplorable influenza epidemic. Our loved ones lay suffering; hospitals were scarce; nurses scarcer; still loved ones passed away that might perchance have been saved could they have had the attention necessary.

 These things had their reflex in the late war. You remembered those you could not see, yet who you wished so gladly to help, and from these things sprang the birth of the idea. First a bush nurse, then a centre, and then a hospital. A band of workers was needed to carry this spending program out. You, like your sons, sprang into the breach. Your committee and indefatigable secretary would not accept defeat. Wise councils prevailed; they came to the shire council and pleaded your cause. The council donated £100, and the scheme was launched. And to-day you see the results of the labor of love – for it has been to them a labor of love – and what a most remarkable achievement they have made.

 In my hands is a copy of the annual report (June 30, 1922) of the Bush Nursing Association, and what do I find. I have turned over all its pages and find that there were at that date 42 centres in Victoria, but that the Kooweerup centre is the only one, where in four figures are found relating to its assets, etc. Truly a noble work and worthy of those who brought it about. I am sure that Sir James Barrett, the association’s hon. secretary, and Nurse Cameron, its superintendent, must feel delighted with such results. To them I leave details with which they are more familiar, and with these achievements I am going to ask you to unloose your purse strings and tell of its work to others, so that the institution will be made quickly quite free of debt and able to accommodate more patients if necessary.

Now, just to show you what the heroic band of bush nurses are doing, let me read an extract from the “Herald” of January 30, 1923. After reading the report the speaker continued: “Is not that splendid; it carries one’s mind back to the early days of the swamp, when men worked and slaved up to their middles in water to reclaim and pave the way for what it is to-day.  There were no nurses, doctors, dentists or hospitals here then, but there was at least one person who was sort of a bush nurse; doctor and dentist all in one, who did the best that could be done gratuitously, and who I think is not forgotten today. Of course, nursing and doctors have the humorous side as well as the serious, and often the hearty laugh helps more than the doctor’s physic.

 Diggers, if I say to you who is the first you will honor, I know and you know it will be the nurse, doctor, stretcher-bearer. All honor then to that grand body of heroines, followers of “Our lady with the lamp,” Florence Nightingale. May their shadows never grow less. Now let me get down to more mundane things. This hospital will cost between £1800 and £2000. It will be maintained by members’ subscriptions, donations and nursing charges. At present the number of beds is four, but provision is made for more when funds permit. Membership consists of a subscription of 30/ per annum, which includes attention for the year by the nurse to all family under 18 years of age. So far no life membership has been decided upon, but I put it up to the board of management that it is a worthy honor, in addition to the membership, and I think there are those who would be only too willing to become life members, to hand down to posterity the fact that you are and will honor your dead heroes.

 I feel I must be wearying you, so I will close with a true story of the swamp in the early days. There was no fruit grown upon it, so at the other end the boys used to visit the orchards at Garfield. On one occasion the owner of the orchard loaded his gun with saltpetre, and  the recipient was well pickled in a certain part of his anatomy that required after treatment. He still lived to tell the tale. A boy another time was up the tree when the gun appeared. In his haste to get down he slipped and dislocated his shoulder. When the mother brought him to the bush doctor she said, “Hadn’t you better tie him to the gate before you pull it in?” Being told no, but to let him lie on the ground, she said, “Well, I’ll sit on his chest for you; you don’t know him like I do.” He has won several bike races since then, some in this town, so he is all right. Another, a dental case, who kept saying, “Hold my head, hold my head.” The dentist felt like ramming the forceps down his throat. Anyhow he is still alive and his head is on his shoulders.  Another dental case. A perfect set of teeth, but monsters. Anyhow the patient insisted one ached and it would have to come out. He stood the ordeal bravely. It took five attempts to do the job. The poor dentist perspired like a person in a Turkish bath, but the job was done at last. That man is dead to-day. I do not know what killed him, perhaps Adams ale or the shock he got. Perhaps he is stoking the fires down below ready for the dentist.

 Recently there was another addition. Today it is this building; shortly it will be your shire offices, all of which testify to the grit and determination, like the pioneers of the district, to make this town a memorable one, but in no way can you more befittingly memorise it than by building and equipping a hospital such as  you have done  to-day and add to its wisdom, strength and beauty by dedicating it to your fallen heroes, and I have the greatest pleasure in now declaring it open.

 We come now to a different part of the programme, and I will ask you to uncover the head. In the generous nature of your hearts you have honored alike all the fallen in the Great War. This tablet that I am called upon to unveil contains the names of those heroes of that great deathless army that enlisted from these parts; the boys that never returned. Least we forget, to their sacred undying and imperishable memory I dedicate this tablet and now unveil it, and may their glorious, purified souls rest for ever with the Eternal God. Amen. I will ask you all to observe a strict silence for two  minutes.

 Sir James Barrett, on behalf  of the Bush Nursing Association, congratulated the local centre on being the first to open a hospital. He said that Lady Dudley and Lady Carmichael first started the movement, and instanced the hardships that settlers had to face owing to no medical service. To complete the medical unit here the telephone should be connected, and a motor ambulance and an extra nurse obtained.

Mr G. Burhop, hon, secretary, eulogised all the persons who had rendered the centre great assistance, and mentioned that the late Mrs Kitty Townson and himself first mooted the scheme here.

Mrs M. Hamilton (6) then declared open a ward to the memory of the late Mrs Townson.

Mrs D. McNamara donated a fully furnished cot, endowed by her son, Jack, to the memory of Mrs Townson. Mrs Appleford of Lang Lang, also donated a kosy cot (7).

The cost of the hospital cottage and furnishings will run into about £2000.

The names engraved on the memorial tablet are: - J. Banbury, D.G. Bethune, S. Blake, J. Bryant, T. Bryant, M. Callanan, L. Coates, P. Davis, J. Davy, C. Garbellini, H. Hamilton, J. Hannaker, R. Martin, C. Osborne, J. O’Shea, J. Randle, J. Slocombe, A. Williams, C. Woods. (8)



The memorial plaque, unveiled on May 23, 1923, the day the Fallen Soldiers' Memorial 
Hospital was opened. I have written about these men, here.
Image: Heather Arnold


Footnotes
(1) George Randall Burhop - Born in England on October 16, 1873 and died in Brisbane on May 30, 1949; he married Dorothea Pausacker in 1898 (she died 1962, aged 87) and they had four children - Dora, Amey, George and Thomas. George was a Cranbourne Shire Councillor 1921 - 1941 and Shire President 1927-1928. George arrived in Australia with his parents when he was 13 years old and after living in New South Wales and Queensland took over his parent's farm on McDonald's Drain Road in 1914 and later purchased a large allotment in Lea Road. Mr Burhop was the Secretary of Hospital for 29 years until his retirement in December 1947. Obituary - Koo Wee Rup Sun, June 1, 1949, p. 1.
(3) Cr Edward Simpson Hill, Shire of Cranbourne Councillor 1918 - 1924, Shire President 1922-1923, represented Tooradin Ward. He died on July 16, 1930, aged 69. Read a short obituary in the Dandenong Journal, July 31, 1930, here; he also enlisted at the age of 56 in World War One - I have written about him and other Dalmore soldiers (he was the Dalmore Post Master) here


Edward Simpson Hill - the husband of Charlotte and the father of Abner, Queenie. Roland, Crissie, Dudley, Rosie, Arthur and Ivy. 
The Argus July 17, 1930   http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4099960

(4) The Cranbourne Shire Offices never did move to Koo Wee Rup; they remained in the Municipal Buildings, built on the corner of the South Gippsland Highway and Sladen Street in 1875, until the new Shire Offices were opened in Cranbourne in 1978
(5) In 1916, Edward Simpson Hill was called upon to amputate a man's leg (under  telephone instructions from a Doctor); read about it in the Weekly Times of April 1, 1916, here
(6) Margaret Hamilton - I have written about Margaret here   https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2023/03/kitty-harris-townson-and-margaret.html
(7) Kosy Cot - I thought at first it was  a typo, but it seems to be correct. 

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Garfield Bush Nursing Hospital

The Bush Nursing Hospital Movement began in 1910 with the establishment of the Victorian Bush Nursing Association (V.B.N.A.). At the time the current medical system consisted of big hospitals such as the Royal Melbourne which were run along charitable lines and whose role was to treat poor people, who could not afford to pay a Doctors fee. There were also private hospitals which only the wealthy could afford. To help offset medical costs Friendly Societies or Lodges were established which people could join for a yearly fee. This gave them access to the Friendly Society doctor and access to medicine dispensed from the Friendly Society Dispensary. There was also a growing move to nurse people in their own homes through what is now the Royal District Nursing Service.  People in the city and the suburbs could have a nurse visit them to help recover from confinements and general illness. This type of service took pressure off the public Hospitals. Lady Dudley, the wife of the Governor General, was aware of these visiting nurses and had also seen first hand the need for skilled nurses in the bush, so from these experiences came the idea of Bush Nursing Hospitals. Lady Dudley (1867-1920) promoted and raised money for the idea and thus the Victorian Bush Nursing Association began in 1910 (1).

To obtain a Bush Nursing Centre, the local community had to raise the money to fund the cost of the nurse’s salary, board, uniform and a ‘means of locomotion’. The salary was set by the Bush Nursing Association at the rate of around £80.00 per annum, the rate of pay for a hospital nurse with five or six years experience. The first Victorian nurse was appointed to Beech Forest in March 1911 (2). Eventually some towns provided cottages for the nurses to provide accommodation for both the nurse and the patient. Koo Wee Rup was an early example of this where the original nurse, Nurse Homewood, started work in the bush nursing centre in July 1918. On May 23, 1923, a Bush Nursing Hospital, which was named the Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, to commemorate the local soldiers who died in the First World War, was opened (3).  Pakenham’s Bush Nursing Hospital opened in June 1926 in temporary premises and in a new brick building on February 11, 1928. (4)

Denise Nest in her History of Shelley Memorial Hospital noted that the push to get a hospital in Garfield started about 1930, when Dr Kenneth McLeod proposed the idea (5). Dr McLeod had arrived in Garfield around 1928 (6).  The Annual Report of the Bush Nursing Association, released in September 1928, stated - there are now 59 bush-nursing centres and 13 bush-nursing hospitals. New hospitals are in process of organisation at Katamatite, Garfield, Yarra Junction, Gisborne, Violet Town and Broadford (7). It would thus appear that Dr McLeod began work to establish a hospital in Garfield soon after his arrival in the town. 

Mrs Nest notes that the community soon raised around £340, but due to the Depression the momentum for Hospital slowed (8). One of the fund-raisers was a Pony Race meeting held on October 11, 1928.


Pony races in aid of the Bush Nursing Centre at Garfield.


On December 4, 1940 a meeting was held and the Garfield branch of the V.B.N.A., was formed with an Executive and twenty-six Committee members, so there was obviously a lot of enthusiasm for the idea (9). The President was local store owner, Arthur Nutting, and the Vice-Presidents were Cora Lynn farmer and local Councillor, Dan Kinsella and Garfield Orchardist, Alfred Parish; the Treasurer was A.H. Wilson and the Secretary was T. Phelan. (10).  In August 1941, the Committee purchased No. 8 and No. 9 Railway Avenue and a design for a Hospital was drawn up. The planned building could accommodate five beds and would cost about £1500. However the hospital was put on hold due to the War. (11).

The fate of the Hospital over the next few years can be summed up by these reports in the newspapers -
August 1941 - Notiftying council that it had been definitely decided to proceed with the erection of a Bush Nursing Hospital at Garfield, the Garfield B.N. committee appealed to council for a grant towards the building costs. Cr Kinsella said that the cost, including land, would be £1350. He had hoped that the building would be deferred until after, the war, but as the committee was going ahead he thought they should support them (12). 

February 1942 - As a permit to build cannot be granted for some considerable time, Mr. T. Phelan advised that the proposed Bush Nursing Hospital at Garfield had been shelved. He hoped that council’s promised grant of £100 would hold good when it was decided to carry on with the project.(13)

September 1943 - When the Tynong and Garfield Baby Health Centres were being discussed, and it was revealed that the latter centre had now been made “water-tight,” Cr. Kinsella said that Garfield was not anxious to go on with the erection of a separate centre as it hoped eventually to have it incorporated in the Bush Nursing Hospital when erected. Cr. Anderson said that Mr. Barker had generously offered to have a site ready for a centre if it was needed, but Mrs. Patterson now said that there is actually some hope that they would be given a permit to build their Bush Nursing Hospital.(14)

A new Committee was elected towards the end of 1944. The President was John Fallon, a farmer from Iona; Vice-Presidents - Alf Parish and E. Schmutter - presumably Edward Schmutter of Vervale; Treasurer was Cecil John Jackson, Bank Manager at Garfield and the Secretary was Garfield plumber, Frank Marsh. There was also a committee of thirteen. (15).


Notice of public meeting to elect the Bush Nursing Hospital committee
Dandenong Journal November 22, 1944 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article214168056


In January 1945, it was decided that the hospital would be a Branch of the Warragul Hospital instead of a Bush Nursing Hospital. To this end, in June 1945 the Garfield and District Hospital Committee was formed and all the assets of the Garfield branch of the Victorian Bush Nursing Association were transferred to this new committee. From 1946 to 1948 land in Jefferson Road was acquired; some was purchased and some was obtained by swapping the Railway Avenue land with some of the Jefferson Road blocks. All in all blocks 16 to 24 were acquired and plans were drawn up in August 1946 for a 15 bed hospital. This lapsed due to the shortage of material and labour after the War. The Committee went through various changes in personnel, other plans were drawn up but Government finance was not available. By 1948, the Hospital Committee had raised over £2,600. Various submissions were made in the 1950s to the Hospital Commission to get the Garfield Hospital established but to no avail.  (16). 

No money for the Garfield Hospital
Koo Wee Rup Sun, January 13, 1954, p. 1

In spite of the rejections, even as late as September 1954, there was still hope that a hospital could be built in Garfield. The Dandenong Journal  reported -
Nine years ago the Berwick Council promised Garfield Hospital Committee a grant of £1350 towards the cost of erecting its proposed new hospital. At the same time it promised £300 to the Building Fund of the Westernport Memorial Hospital at Kooweerup. But for one reason and another both projects were held up. Now Kooweerup Hospital is being proceeded with and the Garfield Hospital Committee, in asking council to redeem its nine-year-old promise, said that it was now probably that the Garfield Hospital would be built within three years. Although most councillors had forgotten the promise, it was recorded in the minutes and there was no question whatever about it not being kept. Garfield asked for payment of its £1350 over the next two or three years and council decided to provide for one-fifth of the joint total of £1650 on next year’s estimates (17). 

The Hospital at Garfield never eventuated due to a generous gift received by the Bunyip township. On January 8, 1944, Mr Emile Shelley, the chemist at Bunyip, passed away. The contents of his will were detailed in a letter his Trustees sent to the Berwick Shire Secretary -
“We beg to advise that the company is applying for probate of the will of Emile Henry Shelley, late of Bunyip, retired chemist, who died on the 8th. ult. Under the will, the whole of the estate, both real and personal, is devised and bequeathed upon trust for the widow, for life without impeachment of waste. On the death of the widow, the sum of £1000 is payable to the trustee for the time being of the Bunyip Mechanics’ Institute, and £1000 to the trustees of the Bunyip Agricultural Society.

The remainder of the estate is to be known as the Emile Henry Shelley Trust and is bequeathed upon trust as to capital and income to be administered by the trustee and expended as it in its absolute discretion shall decide for the beautification and advancement of the township of Bunyip, and the trustees may seek the advice of F. S. Dodge, J. A. Cock, G. B. Calderwood, all of Bunyip, or the survivor or survivors of them. From data prepared to date it would appear that the value of the trust will be in the vicinity of £7000, but it will be appreciated that this figure may vary by the time the trust is established." (18). 

The money became available after the death of Mrs Ethel Shelly on June 3, 1950 (19).  In 1957, the Trustees of the Shelly Trust decided that the money should go towards a Hospital. In the end, the money that had been raised by the community for the Garfield Hospital, plus the £1,330 realised from the sale of the Jefferson Street land was put together with some of the Shelley Trust money and the Shelley Memorial Hospital Society was established in 1960. The Shelley Memorial Hospital at Bunyip was officially opened on March 19, 1966 and closed on May 1, 1991. The building is now part of Hillview Aged Care (20). 

Trove list - I have created a list of articles on the Garfield Bush Nursing Hospital, access it here

Footnotes
(1) Priestley, Susan Bush Nursing in Victoria: 1910-1985, the first 75 years  (Victorian Bush Nursing Association/Lothian 1986). Lady Dudley (1867-1920, nee Rachel Gurney) - Obituary in The Argus, June 29, 1920, see here; Australian Dictionary of Biography, entry here.
(2) Priestley, op. cit.
(3) A detailed report from the Koo Wee Rup Sun on the opening of the Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital at Koo Wee Rup, is here
(4) Pakenham Bush Nursing Hospital - South Bourke and Mornington Journal, August 5, 1926, here; The Argus, February 13, 1928, see here
(5) Nest, Denise History of Shelley Memorial Hospital, A'Beckett Road, Bunyip 1930-1991 (Bunyip History Committe, 2000)
(6) Dr Kenneth McLeod - I have written a bit about him, here.
(7) The Age, September 21, 1928, see here.
(8) Nest,  op. cit., p. 1.
(9) Ibid. The Committee listed in the book -  F. Marsh, P. Nilsson, P. Pratt, Mr Downer, E. Cox, R. Wall, J. Grigg, H. Burleigh, E. Oram,  Gilligan, W. Masters. J. Anderson, F.S. Hodge, D. James, H. Hourigan, K. Sarah; Mesdames E. O'Donohue,  E. Paterson, Gilligan, E. Cox. L. Tutton, Folks, G. Whelan, N. Sarah,  E.L. Towt, Parish. 
(10) Arthur Nutting -  I have written about him here; Dan Kinsella - I have written about the family, here; Alfred Parish - the father of Bill Parish, Garfield Historian. Not sure who A. H. Wilson and T. Phelan were, but they were also Treasurer and Secretary of the Garfield Red Cross in 1941, see The Argus, July 23, 1941, here.
(11) Nest,  op. cit., p. 2. Also see various articles in my Trove list, here.
(12) Dandenong Journal, August 20, 1941, see here.
(13) Dandenong Journal, February 25, 1942, see here.
(14) Dandenong Journal, September 22, 1943, see here.
(15) Nest,  op. cit., p. 2. The Committee is recorded as E. Cox, M. Tobin, K. Sarah, Dr D. Martin, W. Parish, W. Masters, H. Hourigan, J. Kierce, F. Rigg and Mesdames Frawley and E. Towt; Miss Costigan and Miss M. Kierce. 
(16) Nest, op. cit, pp 2-4.
(17) Dandenong Journal, September 29, 1954, see here.
(18) Dandenong Journal, February 23, 1944, see here.
(19) The Argus, June 5, 1950, see here.
(20) Nest, op. cit., passim

Medical matters at Koo Wee Rup

The Bush Nursing Centre

The Bush Nursing Centre at Koo Wee Rup was established in July 1918. The Bush Nursing Hospital Movement began in 1910 with the establishment of the Victorian Bush Nursing Association (V.B.N.A.). At the time the current medical system consisted of big hospitals such as the Royal Melbourne which were run along charitable lines and whose role was to treat poor people, who could not afford to pay a Doctors fee. There were also private hospitals which only the wealthy could afford. To help offset medical costs Friendly Societies or Lodges were established which people could join for a yearly fee. This gave them access to the Friendly Society doctor and access to medicine dispensed from the Friendly Society Dispensary. There was also a growing move to nurse people in their own homes through what is now the Royal District Nursing Service.  People in the city and the suburbs could have a nurse visit them to help recover from confinements and general illness. This type of service took pressure off the public Hospitals. Lady Dudley, the wife of the Governor General, was aware of these visiting nurses and had also seen firsthand the need for skilled nurses in the bush, so from these experiences came the idea of Bush Nursing Hospitals. Lady Dudley (1867-1920) promoted and raised money for the idea and thus the Victorian Bush Nursing Association began in 1910. (1)

To obtain a Bush Nursing Centre, the local community had to raise the money to fund the cost of the nurse’s salary, board, uniform and a ‘means of locomotion’. The salary was set by the Bush Nursing Association at the rate of around £80.00 per annum, the rate of pay for a hospital nurse with five or six years experience. The first Victorian nurse was appointed to Beech Forest in March 1911 (2). The first Bush Nurse at Koo Wee Rup was Nurse Homewood, who commenced work on July 1, 1918. 

Ellen Amelia ‘Nell’ Homewood was born October 2, 1891 in Rockhampton, in Queensland, to Alfred and Margaret (nee Burns) Homewood, of Lavendale, Kunwarara. She was the seventh of their thirteen children. Ellen undertook midwifery training at the Rockhampton Women’s Hospital; four of Ellen’s sisters were also nurses, and two of them, Martha and Grace, served in the Australian Army Nursing Service in World War One. In 1917, Ellen was the Bush Nurse at Cowangie Hospital and from there she came to Koo Wee Rup.(3). 

The Lang Lang Guardian reported on her arrival in the town - Almost as soon as she arrived Nurse Homewood's services were called into action at Kooweerup. Little Jim Ellis had the distinction of being the first patient. On Tuesday night the nurse was called to Dalmore, but got back in time for the welcome. (4).

The President of the Koo Wee Rup Bush Nursing Association in Koo Wee Rup was William Eason and the Secretary was George Burhop. At the function to welcome Nurse Homewood, Mr Eason said -
Bush nurses filled a great want in districts where the services of a medical man were unobtainable. They had a great many trials and difficulties to contend with, and it was their duty to alleviate suffering and save life. It was to their interest to join heartily in the movement and make it a great success. He welcomed Nurse Homewood to Kooweerup. The Lang Lang Guardian report continued Nurse Homewood, who is quite a young-looking girl, made an appropriate response, and hoped they would all work well together (5)

After the speeches  A musical programme was rendered. Miss Jessie Johnson played a selection by Beethoven in fine style. Songs were rendered by Mrs C. Donald excellently. "An Old Love Dream" and 
"Sleep, Little Ruflly, Fluffly Bird," Mr Lupson was in great form, and rendered several songs, "Take a Pair of Spark ling Eyes." "Glorious Devon," and was warmly encored, giving "The Land of I Dunno Where," and "Shirts," a comic item which elicited much laughter. Mr Wallace sang "My Old Shako" and "On Dooley's Farm," both items being well rendered and loudly applauded. Refreshments were abundant and choice, presided over as usual by Mrs Morrison. A dance was held afterwards, the company separating at 1am. (6).

Nurse Homewood was at Koo Wee Rup until March 1919, when she took up a position at the newly opened bush nursing centre at Toolondo which is between Horsham and Goroke (7). At the May 1919 Koo Wee Rup Bush Nursing Association Annual meeting it was reported that in the past nine months the nurse’s attention was called on 753 occasions (8) so she would have been extremely busy.

On May 13, 1920, Ellen Homewood married Archibald McBride Broderick. Arch, as he was known, had served in the AIF, enlisting in April 1916 and returning home in July 1919. He was a Bank Manager with the Commercial Bank and in the first decade of their marriage his career took them all over Australia – the Electoral Rolls show they lived in Mildura, Maryborough in Queensland and Cairns in Queensland. From the 1930s they were back in Melbourne. Ellen died February 9, 1975 and her death notice lists one daughter, Margaret, and two grandchildren. Arch died in January 1974, aged 84. (9).

The next Bush Nurse was Nurse McKay, and I have no other information about her. Nurse McKay was followed by Mary Ellen Walsh, who took up the role April 21, 1920 (10). In February 1920, the Koo Wee Rup Sun reported that the Bush Nurse was forced to live three miles out of the town because while residents are desirous of having the services of a  nurse in connection with the Bush Nursing Centre, yet there are no homes willing to take one in. This enforces her to stay at a residence three miles out, but she drives in very day to attend her duties. The position is very unsatisfactory. (11).  

Since I wrote this, Barry Hester contacted me and told me that Mary Walsh was a very good friend of his grandmother, Margaret Hester (nee Knopp). When they were both living in Gisborne she delivered  four of Margaret's children. Mary then moved to Koo Wee Rup to take up the position of Bush Nurse and convinced Margaret to also move to the area, which she did, buying a farm on McDonalds Drain Road. One of the incentives for the move was that Nurse Walsh said there would be work for the five Hester sons. Margaret's husband was a miner and so was  frequently away. It is more than likely, as Barry said, that Nurse Walsh, after she arrived, that she lived out on McDonald's Drain with the Hesters. (12)


Mary Walsh, Bush Nurse at Koo Wee Rup
Photo: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society 

In July 1920, the Koo Wee Rup Sun reported that the Koo Wee Rup Bush Nursing Committee would like to employ an assistant for the Nurse, but they could afford to do so. They did however decide to pay the rent on the consulting room as it was unfair that their nurse should be saddled with this expense (13).

Nurse Walsh was the Matron at the Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital after it opened on May 23, 1923 and due to a healthy financial situation in the October of that year it was decided to grant  her a board allowance. As it was explained at a Committee  meeting she has increased responsibilities, and the success of the centre was largely due to the able and faithful services Nurse Walsh had given. They also said it would not cost much, as the public largely donated edibles to the institution. (14). 

Nurse Walsh was granted six months leave in January 1924, due to ill health, and at her farewell function it was noted that she had been connected with the centre for about four years. The Koo Wee Rup Sun reported on her farewell function - By her fondness for duty; capable attention to those needing her aid, and lovable disposition she is held in the highest esteem by every individual in Kooweerup and district. Nurse Walsh was presented with a travelling rug, leather suit case and an envelope containing, it is hoped, enough lucre to bring her back again to Kooweerup. As a matter of interest, whilst she was in Koo Wee Rup, Mary Ellen Walsh brought to life no fewer than 66 babes. She was a mother not only to the children, but to mothers she had nursed, as well as men. (15). 
Sadly for the town, Nurse Walsh, did not return to Koo Wee Rup and in August 1924, she was still residing in Western Australia and making good progress. (16).

Update on Nurse Walsh
Koo Wee Rup Sun, August 7, 1924 p. 4

It was not surprising that Nurse Walsh  needed so much time off to recover when you consider just how busy these Bush Nurses were, how much responsibility they had and how little professional support they had, as they so often worked alone.

 The Nurses Cottage constructed in 1921

In 1920 it was decided to erect a hospital in Koo Wee Rup and in May of that year the following advertisement appeared in the Koo Wee Rup Sun.  In the July it was announced that plans would be drawn up for a Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital. (17).


Donations sought for a Hospital
Koo Wee Rup Sun May 20 1920 p.1

The plans from the Architects were for a wooden building, with verandahs, which would accommodate four beds. The estimated cost of the building was £1970, or if it was built in brick £2160. The Koo Wee Rup Bush Nursing Committee considered this to be too expensive, they had only wanted to spend £700, so it was suggested that they should initially proceed with the nurse's quarters (18).
Mr Burhop said he had had a conversation with Mr Colvin [the local builder] re the erection of quarters for the nurse. He had suggested a working bee to have the place put up in 24 hours. Mr Colvin said he was prepared to take the lead and supervise the work. If this could be done they would only have to bear the expense of the timber. (19)

The first working bee was scheduled for April 14 and 15, 1921 and everyone is expected to become busy bees (20). And not just the men were to help - Ladies will be present to encourage the menfolk by providing morning and afternoon lunch (21). The building wasn't completed in the two days, and another working bee was scheduled the next week. In the end J. Bould finished the building, the chimneys were bricked by the Whiteside Brothers and  a sub-committee of ladies furnished the Cottage (22). At the Annual meeting held June 15, 1921 the Committee could announce that the Cottage was completed; they would consider finding an assistant for their nurse [who] was nearly run off her feet and that two midwifery patients could be taken into the Cottage at a time. (23)


The working bee to construct the Nurse's Cottage
Koo Wee Rup Sun, April 7, 1921 p. 1



The Working Bee to construct the Nurse's Home in 1921.
Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society


The Working Bee to construct the Nurse's Home in 1921.
Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society


The Working Bee to construct the Nurse's Home in 1921.
Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society

Koo Wee Rup Bush Nursing Centre, Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital opened in 1923

In May 23, 1923 the Bush Nursing Centre, Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital was opened in Station Street. It was opened by the Shire President, Cr E.Simpson Hill. During the ceremony, Mrs Margaret Hamilton officially opened a ward in honor of the late Kitty Townson. I have written about these two women, here.  The Hospital could accommodate medical, surgical and midwifery patients. There is a full report of the opening, here.

At the ceremony a plaque was unveiled to honor the local soldiers who had not returned from the War. The names engraved on the memorial tablet are: - J. Banbury, D.G. Bethune, S. Blake, J. Bryant, T. Bryant, M. Callanan, L. Coates, P. Davis, J. Davy, C. Garbellini, H. Hamilton, J. Hannaker, R. Martin, C. Osborne, J. O’Shea, J. Randle, J. Slocombe, A. Williams, C. Woods. I have written about these men, here

Advertisement for the opening of the new Hospital
Koo Wee Rup Sun, May 3, 1923, p.1

The Fallen Soldiers' Memorial  Hospital
Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society


Random Medical Matters at Koo Wee Rup

In May 1923, the first Resident Doctor,  Dr Lyell Andrews, arrived. In February 1925, Dr Alan Hewitt and his wife, Vera, who was a trained nurse, took over Dr Andrew's practice. Dr Alan retired from practice in 1963; his son  Dr John worked in Koo Wee Rup from 1951 until 1955 and another son, Dr Ian, commenced practice in the town in 1955 and retired in 1995. On July 20, 1925, Chemist, Felix Tattam, opened his pharmacy in Rossiter Road. Felix sold his business in 1934 to Mr Brewis (24)



Felix Tattam's advertisements from the Koo Wee Rup Sun during 1926

On June 9, 1930 he married Sister Olive Tuffin, who was the Matron of the Hospital. Olive had arrived in Koo Wee Rup sometime in 1928, but was certainly there in the December as she helped treat the people injured in the Christmas Eve train accident, see below. Olive Tuffin was born in Tasmania and 'trained at the Hobart General Hospital. Her fellow trainee, Sister Morley, also worked at Koo Wee Rup (25)


Sister Tuffin retires from duty due to her forthcoming wedding


Marriage notice of Olive Tuffin and Felix Tattam


Dr Hewitt and Dr Sydney Appleford, the Lang Lang doctor,  gave medical attention to the victims of the railway accident at Koo Wee Rup. The accident occurred on December 24, 1928. Fifty two people were injured (26)

In October 1929, The Argus reported -
The serious railway accident which occured at Koo-wee-rup station on Christmas Eve last year and the growing needs of the town impressed upon the committee of the Koo-wee-rup Bush Nursing Hospital the necessity for increased accommodation and the result has been the addition of an enclosed verandah of the type common to the majority of bush nursing hospitals in Victoria. This verandah was opened on Saturday by Lady Barrett, in the presence of a large gathering of residents of Koo-wee-rup and surrounding districts. Of liberal dimensions the verandah has ample room for 10 bed, which means the accommodation of the hospital has been doubled. (27)

In the first week of September 1930 there were five babies born at the Hospital. Daughters to Mr and Mrs Tom Burton, Mr and Mrs Frank Egan, Mr and Mrs S. Games, and sons to Dr and Mrs Hewitt and Mr and Mrs Blythman (28). 

During the flood of December 1934, patients were evacuated through the roof. The Argus of December 3, 1934 had this report -
Koo-wee-rup Hospital was flooded to a depth of 7ft within a few minutes, and the patients, some of whom were seriously ill, were trapped before they could be moved. Mr Clarence Fenner, who had undergone an operation for appendicitis a few hours beforehand, was in bed, and unable to help himself. His father, who was on the railway platform, waded and swam through the swirling water to the hospital, and climbed on to the roof, where with the assistance of Mr Gannon, he cut a hole in the
galvanised iron and pulled his boy to safety up through the hole. Aided by others who came to the rescue, the 10 remaining patients in the wards were taken out in the same manner.
Heroism and Fortitude
Mrs Mary Ann Bolleman, aged 59 years, another patient, held a baby in her arms above the water for 15 hours with the water surging above her neck before they were rescued. Mrs A. Adams and her baby which was born only the night before were being pulled out when the child was dropped into the water. She grasped the child's clothing frantically and saved it from drifting away. Both were raised through the opening to safety.
(29).
The baby was James (also known as Toby) the son of Albert and Annie (nee Davies) of Manks Road in Dalmore (30).

In October 1935, the new operating theatre was opened. Lady Mitchell, the President of the Victorian Bush Nursing Association, congratulated the Koo Wee Rup committee on the addition to the Hospital (31). 

In 1938, for the first time, rates of pay and conditions of work were set for nurses in Victoria. Nurses were to work a fifty hour week (32). 

In August 1939 the annual meeting of the Hospital re-elected the out-going committee. President – J.L. O’Riordan ; Treasurer – W. Dick; Secretary - G.R Burhop; Committee Mesdames J.L O’Riordan and G.R Burhop and Messers Gilchrist and Powrie (33). 

Towards the end of 1945 a Committee was established to build a new Hospital in Koo Wee Rup, to be called the Westernport Memorial Hospital. (34).

In 1946 an Infant Welfare Centre was established in the R.S.L room at the Memorial Hall. It moved to a new building in Alexander Avenue, where it opened July 26, 1949. In 1953 a Pre-school was established in the Infant Welfare Centre grounds. In September 1960 they both moved to a new building in Rossiter Road (35). 

On December 4, 1955 the Westernport Memorial Hospital was opened. On July 28, 1955 a public meeting had been held to establish a Ladies Auxiliary (36).


Notice of meeting to establish the Hospital Ladies Auxiliary 
Koo Wee Rup Sun, July 20, 1955, p.4

Footnotes
(1) Priestley, Susan Bush Nursing in Victoria: 1910-1985, the first 75 years (Victorian Bush Nursing Association/Lothian 1986). Lady Dudley (1867-1920, nee Rachel Gurney) - Obituary in The Argus, June 29, 1920, see here; Australian Dictionary of Biography, entry here.
(2) Priestley, op. cit. 
(3) Sources on Ancesty.com and Indexes to the Queensland Births, Deaths and Marriages. Her mother, Margaret Homewood, died aged 57 in 1919, read her obituary in the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin of June 21, 1919, here.   Her father, Alfred William Homewood, died aged 90 in 1944, read his obituary in the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin of September 23, 1944, here
(4) Lang Lang Guardian July 5, 1918, p. 2.
(5) Lang Lang Guardian July 5, 1918, p. 3
(6) Ibid
(7) The Argus, March 3, 1919, see here.
(8) Koo Wee Rup Sun, May 7 1919, p. 1
(9) Marriage Certificate; Electoral Rolls on Ancestry; Arch Broderick (SN 3763) Attestation file at the National Archives of Australia, see here

Death notice Arch Broderick
The Age January 15, 1974 newspspers.com

Death notice Ellen Amelia Broderick
The Age February 10, 1975 newspapers.com

(10) I can't find the exact dates of the appointment of Sister McKay. Sister Walsh's date comes from the Koo Wee Rup Sun of May 24, 1923, p 4., transcribed here  https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2023/03/official-opening-of-fallen-soldiers.html 
(11) Koo Wee Rup  Sun, February 12, 1920, p. 1
(12) You can read an interesting obituary of Margaret Hester, in The Advocate, June 18, 1937, here. Margaret's great-grand daughter, Louise Blake, has written about her life in Woods Point and the scrapbook Margaret compiled from when she was 14 years old - read it here - https://prov.vic.gov.au/explore-collection/provenance-journal/provenance-2009/woods-point-my-dwelling-place  (Thank you to Barry Hester for the link to the story)
(13) Koo Wee Rup Sun, July 1, 1920, p. 4.
(14) Koo Wee Rup Sun, October 25, 1923, p. 2
(15) Koo Wee Rup Sun, January 31, 1924, p. 3
(16) Koo Wee Rup Sun, August 7, 1924, p. 4
(17) Koo Wee Rup Sun, July 22 1920, p. 1
(18) Koo Wee Rup Sun, November 11, 1920, p. 5
(19) Ibid
(20) Koo Wee Rup Sun, April 7, 1921 p.1
(21) Koo Wee Rup Sun, April 14, 1921 p. 5
(22) Mickle, David J. Mickle Memories of Koo Wee Rup (The Author, 1983) p. 77; Koo Wee Rup Sun June 16, 1921, p. 4.
(23) Koo Wee Rup Sun, June 23, 1921, p. 4.
(24) Mickle, David J. Mickle Memories of Koo Wee Rup (The Author, 1983) and More Mickle Memories of Koo Wee Rup (The Author, 1987); notes compiled by Jack Mills at the Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society; Felix Tattam had an advertisement in the Koo Wee Rup Sun in July 1925, advertising to be opened July 20, 1925.
(25) The Koo Wee Rup Sun published a letter from Sister Tuffin on January 10, 1929, thanking the many kind helpers who assisted with the treatment of the injured in the train accident. David Mickle, in volume 2 of his Memories listed Matron Tuffin and Nurse Morley as being in charge of the Hospital in July 1929.


Nurse Tuffin and Nurse Morley pass their nursing examinations in Hobart and were both later to serve at Koo Wee Rup.
Hobart News November 29, 1924 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article233536721

(26) Links and photographs here 
https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2020/02/railway-accident-at-koo-wee-rup.html
(27) The Argus, October 28, 1929, see here.
(28) Mickle,  David J More Mickle Memories of Koo Wee Rup op. cit p. 40
(29) The Argus, December 3, 1934, see here.
(31) The Argus, October 28, 1935, see here.
(32) The Argus, November 11, 1938, see here.
(33)  Mickle,  David J More Mickle Memories of Koo Wee Rup op. cit p. 162.
(34) Dandenong Journal, December 12, 1945, see here; Dandenong Journal,  January 30, 1946, see here.
(35) Mickle, David J. Koo Wee Rup: a brief history of 130 years, 1839-1969 (published for the 1969 Back-to celebrations); Koo Wee Rup Sun, August 8, 1949.
(36) Westernport Memorial Hospital opening report, see here Koo Wee Rup Sun July 20, 1955, p. 4; Koo Wee Rup Sun, September 14, 1960, p. 1 and 3. 

This post was first written in 2014 and updated and expanded in 2023.