equipment

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...

Some extended info newfarmhistorical.org.au/new-farm-volunteer-fire-brigade/

Do you remember visiting the school dental clinic? Many of us are familiar with clinics in classrooms or even mobile caravans, but did you know one of the first traveling dental clinics in Queensland was a rail car? The school dental scheme was developed by the Department of Public Instruction in the late 1920s. The Rail Dental Clinic ensured children from the country got the same level of care as those living in the city. The rail cars were created from existing rollingstock. The carriages were fitted out with surgeries that had electric lighting, heating, and the latest dental equipment. The rail cars also had a waiting room, kitchenette, and living and sleeping quarters for the dentist. A carriage behind the dental clinic held a small truck, allowing the dentist to visit locations away from the towns on the scheduled rail stops. We hold a 1935 itinerary for a dental rail car that was based at Cairns and made scheduled stops at many towns across Northern Queensland, including Mount Molloy, Bamford, Georgetown, Tully, and Port Douglas, to name just a few. Operating for another 50 years after that trip, the Rail Dental Clinic service was discontinued in the early 1980s. An allied service – the Infant Welfare Railway Car service – treated mothers and babies throughout regional Queensland, and provided nursing advice and education. The rail car was constructed at the Ipswich Railway Workshops in 1929. Based in Hughenden, the rail car began its first journey across the state in early 1930. Initially, the service had no fixed itinerary and traveled to towns on the main coastal line and all the branch lines as needed. In 1939 it traveled on an itinerary across North West Queensland. In December 1982 the service finally rolled to a stop, and the rail car clinic was later donated to the Railway Historical Society. Source: blogs.archives.qld.gov.au/2015/10/19/all-aboard-the-root-...