equipment

Henry Burr (1882-1941) www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q530690

Thanks Richard Norton, we'll update our catalog record.

Prior Bain photos of Burr

How the legacy of Japanese pearl divers is being preserved in the Torres Strait The descendants of Japanese pearl divers in the Torres Strait are coming together for Obon, Japan's day of the dead, to remember the contribution of their forebears to an industry that claimed hundreds of lives. Seventy-five years ago, hundreds of Japanese pearl divers were deported from Australia at the end of World War II after being interned as enemy aliens. It largely ended a then-lucrative industry in Queensland’s Torres Strait and one that claimed the lives of hundreds of seasonal workers. Advertisement Tomitaro “Tommy” Fujii is one of the most famous pearl divers of the Torres Strait. He came to Australia in 1925, survived the industry, and was one of those allowed to stay on after the war. His children are now preserving the legacy of their father and the many other divers like him. This week, the family - and other descendants - will mark Obon, a Buddhist ceremony honoring the dead, as well as the economic and social contribution of what was once Australia’s largest Japanese community. Tommy's grave, which has a headstone in the Torres Strait's regional capital Thursday Island, stands in stark contrast to the hundreds of other Japanese divers who died on the job. Source: www.sbs.com.au/news/how-the-legacy-of-japanese-pearl-dive...

A rail ambulance is a vehicle used for medical transportation services on railway lines. The first rail ambulance in Queensland, Australia, was introduced in 1918, with the last withdrawn from service around 1990. The rail ambulance was usually a specially equipped petrol-engined rail inspection trolley, funded by a local community, with a railway employee volunteering to drive it when necessary. The initials QATB stand for Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigade. Queensland is a vast, relatively unpopulated area, where providing services to remote communities in a cost-effective way has been a continual challenge. Railways were built from 1865, and in many areas provided the major form of transport until a significant road improvement program was commenced by the Queensland government from the 1960s. It was in this context that the mining community of Blair Athol introduced the first rail ambulance in 1918, in order to enable injured people to be transported to the nearest hospital at Clermont.[1] The idea rapidly spread, with rail ambulances being introduced at Dalby (1919), Mount Mulligan (1920), Roma and Charleville (1922), Goondiwindi and Baralaba (1923), Cloncurry (1925) and Blackall (1941). Other towns known to have had a rail ambulance at some stage include Charters Towers, Pentland, Atherton, Ravenshoe and Millaa Millaa. The last rail ambulances were withdrawn in 1990 from Mareeba and Blackall, as by that stage road ambulance services were available through the State. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_ambulance