equipment

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 The first rail ambulance in Queensland, Australia, was introduced in 1918, with the last withdrawn from service around 1990.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 The last rail ambulances were withdrawn in 1990 from Mareeba and Blackall, as by that stage road ambulance services were available through the State.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

It is not only about cricket, but also about the artistic expression of a young cricketer, illustrated by Esther Paterson. Esther Paterson Gill (5 February 1892 – 8 August 1971) was an Australian artist, book-illustrator, and cartoonist. Paterson was publishing her illustrations while still at school with work featured in The Woman in 1908 and cartoons appearing in the Sydney Bulletin throughout 1912. This led to regular appearances in Melbourne Punch, the Argus, and other papers and journals. Her work saw her labeled by the Sun as "Melbourne's Poster Girl." Her first book of sketches "Aussie Girls" was published in 1918 by Melbourne Publishing Company. Her portraits of soldiers both uniformed and civilian are shown at the Australian War Memorial Canberra. The National Gallery of Victoria and Geelong Art Gallery also hold some of her work. Paterson posed in her wedding dress for the 1926 Archibald Prize-winning painting Silk and lace by William Beckwith McInnes, acquired by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Paterson was the longest serving female office bearer in the Victorian Artists' Society and a significant presence within the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors. In 1950 Paterson was awarded the honor of Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, London (FRSA), showing her reach went beyond Australia to be known in England. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Paterson

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-...