statelibraryofqueenslandqueensland1916

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

Quite possibly from 1924 and certainly by mid-1925, Dudley Eglinton had lost his eyesight and could no longer observe. He still wrote articles which were published and indeed his final article ‘The Southern Cross’ for the Queensland Agricultural Journal was published in December 1936. He managed this by dictating to his third wife Anna Catherine Sophie Cordes Eglinton (born 1860 but one source states 1880). But Anna was not a mere helper. She was very competent, and as later described, considerably ameliorated the shortcomings brought about by his blindness. John Henry Nicholson and his wife Anna Cordes Anna Cordes and John Henry Nicholson – State Library of Queensland. (wrongly ascribed as 1890… but must be after 1905 when married.) Dudley Eglington had married Anna on 4th August 1926 when he was already blind. She was the widow of John Henry Nicholson – schoolmaster, poet and author of ‘Halek’ and other works (1838 -1923). Nicholson’s first wife had died in 1901. Anna had married him in 1905 but after three months suffering from ‘melancholia’, Nicholson had spent much of his remaining time at the Goodna Mental Hospital7. Anna had a German background, was intellectually accomplished, and perhaps she enjoyed the mental stimulation even though living in a position of a carer for old men. She survived Eglinton by 11 years, dying in 1948, and together with Eglinton and his family members is buried in Toowong Cemetery, Brisbane. In his final decade, his wife attended to his secretarial work and he would dictate correspondence, articles and papers. From at least one article that appeared under both their names, she appears to have collaborated with him. You may well visualise an intelligent articulate person able to perform the research, collaborating with a person with the experience and background knowledge, but whose blindness severely limited him. His wife attended for him and presented a paper to the first official meeting of the newly formed Astronomical Society of Queensland on 3rd October 1927. An interesting snippet is that Mrs Eglinton (Anna) was in receipt of a literary pension from the Government – undoubtedly as the widow of J. H. Nicholson. This amounted to £52 in 1932/33. It only appeared in a listing in the newspaper9 because there was a controversy about a political inclusion of three persons in the grant including the Prime Minister’s chauffeur and a typist. Another recipient was Mrs G. Essex-Evans (widow of the poet). She was a sister of Dudley Eglinton and received an identical amount of £52. Source: www.aaq.org.au/dudley-eglinton/

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...