statelibraryofqueenslandqueensland1916

In the mid 1920’s Alfred Traeger invented the pedal-powered radio, revolutionising communication in the outback. The invention was integral to the founding of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, allowing the Service to make contact with the people who needed their help and vice versa. In 1928 Traeger developed the pedal-powered radio. A floor mounted generator, driven with bicycle pedals, powering a radio transceiver which could send morse code. The following year, a base station was established at Cloncurry, Queensland and the first pedal wireless was installed at Augustus Downs Station, 150 miles out of town. The first transmission was made on the 19th June, 1929 by Gertrude Rothery, the manager's wife, to Traeger’s assistant Harry Kinzbrunner at Cloncurry. Over the next 8 years Treager continued to manufacture and improve the pedal sets, installing them at homesteads, hospitals, missions and the bases of the Aerial Medical Service, which later became the RFDS. Source; www.flyingdoctor.org.au/qld/news/how-alfred-traeger-gave-...

Ingham’s Hospitals In early 1884 plans were underway to build a public hospital in Ingham, in a plain style “surrounded by extensive verandas” reminiscent of “East Indian bungalows” to cope with the climate. While some sources report that the first hospital building was constructed in 1883, the Ingham Hospital wasn’t formally established until August 7, 1885. By late 1885 tenders were invited for additions to this hospital, and in early 1886 a request for Government funding assistance to add an additional ward was met with resistance. In early 1889 Ingham Hospital confirmed it had built the ward out of its own funds, for the “use of Asiatics and other aliens that are employed on the plantations”. In 1929 the private Italian Hospital (known as the Ospedale Cardarelli) was built, to improve healthcare for non-English speaking Italian migrants and ostensibly to promote better relations between Italian and British subjects. Racial tensions were running high at this time, and when Italy joined the war in 1940 many Italians were sent to internment camps, including the Cardarelli Hospital’s Dr Francesco Piscitelli. There were calls for their release in 1942 because of labour shortages on the sugar cane plantations in north Queensland. The hospital continued to operate until 1946 and the building remains to this day. It was widely agreed that Ingham’s public hospital was in dire need of an upgrade as early as 1935, yet funding was a contentious issue. The new building was officially opened on September 3, 1938. In 2009 a new Ingham Hospital was opened and remains on the same block of land that housed the original buildings. Stacey Larner - Librarian, State Library of Queensland www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/queensland-hospitals-pandemic-fro...

Every photo is a real treasure of hidden knowledge. If it was not for this photo I would never discover the painful sides of the life of Australia's First Nations. History shapes us into who we are today.

According to an Honours thesis by Therese Forde (1990), Army Intelligence regarded the Lutheran Superintendent (George Schwartz, who was of German descent) at Hope Vale with suspicion, and he was taken into internment on 17 May 1942. Forde writes that when the army came to Hope Vale the mission itself was levelled: 'crops of maize, sweet potatoes and fruit were flattened, and the R.A.A.F. built an aerodrome and runway on the site' (p.41) Forde writes that while some elderly people were sent to Palm Island from Hope Vale, the majority were taken to Woorabinda in an arduous journey 'by steamer, train and cattle truck'. A Queensland Government website states that 60 of the Cape Bedford people died while at Woorabinda. The high death rate amongst the Cape Bedford people was partly attributable to inadequate housing and medical care at Woorabinda. The residents from Hope Vale were not equipped with clothing, blankets or bedding that was appropriate for winter conditions in southern Queensland. Forde writes that many people died from pneumonia shortly after their removal from Hope Vale. Source: www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/qld/QE00829