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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
Subjects
Health and Welfare
Health care
Medicine

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Medicine

Subject

2002 Bali Bombing

Aboriginal Medical Service

Arndell, Thomas

Balmain, William

Berne, Dagmar

Biffin, Harriett Eliza

Birth

Brislington

Dr Iza Coghlan

Epidemics

Glebe Coroner's Court

Hospitals

Nursing

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital

Smallpox epidemic 1881

Worgan, George

Medical Witnesses at Inquests Act 1838

Brislington

NSW State Coroner's Court and Morgue, Glebe

Dagmar Berne Prize

Royal Commission into the former Chelmsford Private Hospital and Mental Health Services in New South Wales 1988-1990

Smallpox epidemic 1881

Aboriginal Medical Service

Australasian Trained Nurses' Association

Brislington Medical and Nursing Museum

British Medical Association (New South Wales Branch)

Chelmsford Private Hospital

Langton Centre

Medical Board of Australia

Medical Women's Society of New South Wales

Multiple Sclerosis Australia

NSW Private Hospitals Branch

New South Wales Medical Women’s Association

Randwick Military Hospital

Royal Australasian College of Physicians

Royal Australian Army Medical Corps

Shaftesbury Inebriate Institution

Society for Aid to Children Inoperable in Mauritius

Sydney University Medical Society

Vaccine Institution

Allen, Thomas Berdmore

Alley, Richard

Amphlett, Leonie

Anderson, Elizabeth Garrett

Anderson, Matthew

Angel-Lord, Gertrude

Armytage, Jean

Arthur, Richard

Bailey, Harry Richard

Balmain, William

Bashir, Marie

Baur, George

Belgrave, Thomas

Bennett, George

Berne, Dagmar

Beyer, Augustus Jacob

Bialoguski, Michael

Biffin, Harriet Eliza

Bland, William

Boelke, Grace Fairley

Booth, Mary

Botterill, Paul

Bowker, Richard

Bowman, James

Boyages, Steven

Brereton, John Le Gay (1827-1886)

Brown, Keith Sigismund Macarthur

Brown, Walter

Brown, Walter Sigismund

Capper, Harold

Carter, Benjamin Bowen

Carter, Ronald Graeme

Clements, FW

Coghlan, Iza Frances Josephine

Considen, Dennis

Corlis, Margaret Amelia

Cotton, Frank Stanley

Cox, James Charles

Creed, John Mildred

Cuningham, Kathleen

Cuthill, Alexander

D'Arcy, Constance Elizabeth

Dalgarno, Marjorie Clare

Dalyell, Elsie

Dark, Eric

Dick, Frances May

Dixson, TS

Douglass, Henry Grattan

Dryer, Albert Thomas

Elliott, George Robinson

Ellis, Havelock

Fiaschi, Piero

Fiaschi, Thomas Henry

Foley, Horace John

Forster, Thomas

Foucart, Louis

Fox, Julia Carlile

Galbraith Fox, Marion

Graham, James

Griffiths, Chris

Gullett, Lucy Edith

Hardman, Ada Caroline

Harper, Margaret Hilda

Harris, John 1754-1838

Herz, Maximilian

Hollows, Fred

Irving, John

Jamison, John

Jenkins, Edward

Laing, Edward

Lawrence, Christopher H

Loewenthal, Abraham Marcus

Luttrell, Edward

MacCarthy, Charles William

MacLaurin, Henry Normand

Manning, Frederic Norton

McBride, William

McClymont, GL (Bill)

McGahey, Susan Bell

McGeorge, John

Meyers, Rocky

Milford, Frederick

Mitchell, James

Morgan, Cosby William

Newton-Tabrett, Alice Sarah

Nicholson, Charles

O'Reilly, Susannah Hennessy (Susie)

Palmer, Arthur Aubrey

Parkes, Hilma Olivia Edla Johanna

Petherbridge, WC

Piper, Jim

Podio, Miriam Victoria

Price, John Washington

Procopis, George

Puckey, Mary

Purser, Cecil

Ramsay, David

Read, George

Redfern, William

Refshauge, Andrew

Renwick, Arthur

Roberts, Alfred

Robertson, Thomas

Roth, Reuter Emerich

Smyth, Arthur Bowes

St Vincent Welch, Kenyon

Stanich, Prospero

Stuart, Thomas P Anderson

Sutherland, Struan Keith

Sutton, Harvey

Takhmindzis, George

Thomson, Edgar F

Throsby, Charles

Waters, William

Wentworth, D'Arcy

West, Major

White, John

Wilson, James Thomas

Wilson, Louisa

Wood, Ellen Maud

Worgan, George

Quarantine Station

Florence Holloway's Certifcate in Nursing from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, April 1907

'Pioneer's Memorial' garden and ornamental pool created in honour of the women doctors who founded the Rachel Forster Hospital, Redfern c1956

A colonial student at Edinburgh 1893

Aboriginal Medical Service, Redfern 1980

Advertisement in the Lone Hand for Heenzo 'the famous money saving remedy for coughs, colds, croup, catarrh' with Henry Lawson 1918

Brain operation in Sydney for Mauritian boy 1971

Clients at the Aboriginal Medical Service, Redfern 1974

Cover of ''Red Cross work in New South Wales : souvenir of the Great War' 1916

Dagmar Berne c1890

Dagmar Berne, first woman medical student 1890

Dagmar Berne, first woman medical student, in academic dress 1890

Dr Henry Grattan Douglass, MD, MLC, 1790-1865, Assistant Surgeon, 18th Regt of Foot c1810

Dr IF Coghlan 29 June 1925

Dr Iza Coghlan 1906

Dr Iza Coghlan April 1893

Dr James Cox, Nepean River, 29 September 1888

Dr Mary Puckey, chief executive officer of the Rachel Forster Hospital for Women and Children 1941

Dr Walter Brown 1897

Dr Walter Brown MD c1880

Dr William Bland c1845

Dr William Redfern undated

Florence Holloway's Certifcate in Nursing from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, April 1907

Fred Hollows

Harriett Eliza Biffin 9 February 1888

Incidents of the smallpox scare in Sydney June 1881

John Harris, surgeon c1790-1805

Lady Denison opening new wing at Rachel Forster Hospital 21 August 1926

Letter from Dr Biffin to the Staff Officer for Invalids, Victoria Barracks, regarding the care of Private Godber, 4 November 1917

Letter to the editor from Dagmar Berne, 24 July 1900

Marie Bashir, Governor of New South Wales 2003

Medical Officers of the School Medical Service 29 June 1925

Mixed technologies in the reporting room at the morgue, State Coroner's Court, Glebe September 2020

Nurse sitting on back of horse drawn Sydney Ambulance at the Coast Hospital c1900

Nurses prepare the operating theatre at the Royal North Shore Hospital 1954

Parking and loading dock in lower level of the former NSW State Coroner's Court and Morgue, Glebe 2020

Photograph of silhouette believed to be D'Arcy Wentworth undated

Rachel Forster Hospital, George Street, Redfern 15 June 1938

Resuscitation work being carried out by lifesavers and helpers, Bondi Beach 6 February 1938

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital staff and students 1887

SOS sign to be placed in window if needing assistance during the influenza pandemic in 1918-1919

Second year medical students at the University of Sydney 1886

Society 1885

Sydney Dispensary, for the relief of indigent persons, at the Sydney Infirmary, Macquarie Street c1830

Sydney Hospital Pneumonic - Influenza Epidemic: General Information for the Citizens of New South Wales 1918

Sydney's Red Cross organisations. Members of the St. John Ambulance Association at bandage drill at a parade before the State Commandant September 1915

The Bubonic Plague - Wash and Pray! April 1900

The Harriett Biffin Pathology Laboratory Plaque at Rachel Forster Hospital 2007

The Rachel Forster Hospital's fifth birthday celebrations, Redfern 1927

Trainee nurse Dorothy Way preparing medicine at Sydney Hospital December 1948

Unidentified medical personnel on board hospital ship TSS Oranje II, June 1941

University of Sydney chemistry class, with medical students wearing sashes 1886

William Balmain

Women medicine students at the University of Sydney 1897

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Medicine

2002 Bali Bombing

At 11pm on 12 October 2002, two suicide bombers killed two 202 people in Indonesia in an attack on popular Balinese nightclubs Sari Club and Paddy’s Bar. The victims came from 21 countries, with 88 Australians killed and hundreds injured. On 14 October, a specialist team from the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Glebe Coroner’s Court flew to Bali to assist in identifying the remains.

Aboriginal Medical Service

Inspired by the success of the Aboriginal Legal Service, and founded by many of the same activists, from 1971 the Aboriginal Medical Service provided free medical care to Aboriginal people from its shopfront in Redfern.

Arndell, Thomas

Caught up in the Rum Rebellion, Thomas Arndell was loyal to Bligh and lost his magistracy and pension. With his wife, a former convict, he founded a successful family and farm at Cattai.

Balmain, William

Arriving as an assistant surgeon with the First Fleet, William Balmain played an important role in the fledgling colony.

Berne, Dagmar

Dagmar Berne was the first female student of medicine at Sydney University and a pioneering doctor. Confronted by prejudice, she was obliged to travel overseas to qualify. She gained world-class degrees and was feted on her return to Sydney, yet was denied access to employment in general hospitals. She established a private practice, lectured, and worked with women's organisations to progress women's health in Sydney, before tuberculosis forced her to move to Springwood, and then Trundle, where she died suddenly in 1900

Biffin, Harriett Eliza

Harriett Biffin was a pioneer Sydney woman doctor. One of the second group of women to graduate in medicine at the University of Sydney in 1898, she was the first to establish a women’s joint medical practice in Sydney and a suburban general medical practice, and founded both The Medical Women’s Society of New South Wales and the Rachel Forster Hospital with Dr Lucy Edith Gullett.

Birth

Mothers in Sydney have given birth in a multitude of settings, from traditional Aboriginal environs, to the most technologically advanced hospital. From the women's business of Aboriginal mothers and grandmothers, and the traditional knowledge of white midwives, birth in Sydney moved, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, into the sphere of medical control and hospitals, with continuing feminist calls for more control and choice for women.

Brislington

Brislington is Parramatta's oldest existing dwelling house and stands on land once used by the Darug-speaking Burramatta people. Initially a family residence, Brislington was a medical practice for almost a hundred years, followed by the Parramatta District Hospital's Nurses' Home up until the 1970s. Since 1983 the building has been home to the Brislington Medical and Nursing Museum.

Dr Iza Coghlan

Iza Coghlan was one of the first two women in New South Wales to graduate in medicine at the University of Sydney in 1893. The second Australian woman doctor to register with the New South Wales Medical Board, she pioneered private medical practice in Sydney and was the first Sydney woman doctor to operate two long-standing concurrent practices. Dr Coghlan formed the first women’s life-saving class in New South Wales, and established the New South Wales Medical Women’s Association, serving as its first president. She dedicated her later career to the health and welfare of school children across New South Wales, serving as government medical officer to the Department of Public Instruction.

Epidemics

From the new European diseases that devastated Sydney's Aboriginal people in the eighteenth century, through subsequent epidemics of measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, influenza and HIV, Sydney has faced major threats from epidemic disease. Religion, media, and public health responses influenced the degree of panic and scapegoating that took place, though effective treatments were not in place until well into the twentieth century.

Glebe Coroner's Court

The former NSW State Coroner’s Court and Morgue building on Parramatta Road, Glebe, functioned as the centre of coronial justice in the state for 48 years, and tens of thousands of Sydney’s unexplained deaths, accidents, fires, explosions and missing persons were investigated there. The building housing two coroner’s courts and offices on the top floor and the morgue, refrigeration room and laboratory on the bottom floor, and from 1971 the Department of Forensic Medicine since 1971. In December 2018 it was replaced by a new facility in Lidcombe.

Hospitals

Despite medical and scientific advances, the huge hospital complexes of today face similar challenges of staffing, capacity and politics as those of Sydney's first tent hospitals.

Nursing

Members of one of the most trusted professions, nurses have experienced enormous changes in their role, training, professional status and effectiveness over the period since the establishment of the first hospitals in Sydney.

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital

Proposed in 1868 after the assassination attempt on Prince Alfred, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital was opened in 1882 and grew steadily. Closely linked with Sydney University, the hospital trained many doctors and nurses.

Smallpox epidemic 1881

Starting with a small Chinese child in The Rocks, the smallpox epidemic of 1881-82 had large consequences for the Chinese community who were further reviled and restricted and for the dozens of Sydneysiders quarantined for months at North Head. Despite the relative mildness of the outbreak, fear was rife, and the epidemic led to an overhaul of the colony's health regulations.

Worgan, George

Worgan brought the first piano to the colony in 1788, and left it with Elizabeth Macarthur when he returned to England. His journal recorded his impressions of the first six months of European settlement, and is now in the State Library of New South Wales.

Medical Witnesses at Inquests Act 1838

An Act passed by the New South Wales government on 13 June 1838 to provide for the attendance of Medical Witnesses at Coroners' Inquests and Inquiries held by Justices of the Peace. This allowed a coroner to summon the medical practitioner who had attended the death, or, if none had been present at the time, a qualified medical witness.

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Brislington

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Two storey Georgian dwelling constructed for ex-convict John Hodges using money won in a card game at the nearby Woolpack Inn. It now houses the Medical and Nursing museum.

NSW State Coroner's Court and Morgue, Glebe

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Court complex at 44–46 Parramatta Road, Glebe that functioned as the centre of coronial justice in New South Wales for 48 years. The building housed two coroner’s courts, and offices, on the top floor, and the morgue, cool room and laboratory on the ground floor. The Department of Forensic Medicine was also housed in the building after 1971. In 2018 the Coroner and the Department of Forensic Medicine both moved to new purpose built premises at Lidcombe.

Dagmar Berne Prize

University of Sydney monetary prize for students that was established in 1917 with funds presented to the university by the mother of Dagmar Berne, the first woman to study medicine there. For many years it was awarded to the woman who gained the highest marks in her final year of Medicine, and then from 2003 was awarded annually to a candidate for the degrees of the Bachelor of Medicine and the Bachelor of Surgery for proficiency in the final barrier examinations.

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Royal Commission into the former Chelmsford Private Hospital and Mental Health Services in New South Wales 1988-1990

Royal Commission, better known as the Chelmsford Royal Commission, that investigated the use of deep-sleep therapy, a controversial treatment for psychiatric illnesses, between 1963 and 1979 at the Chelmsford Private Hospital in north west Sydney. The Commission was established after an investigation by the Sydney Morning Herald and was chaired by Commissioner Justice Slattery. It found that 24 people had died as a result of the treatment. Only four of the deaths had been investigated by a coroner. The report led to the treatment being banned and changes to the way coroners worked in New South Wales.

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Smallpox epidemic 1881

Outbreak of one of the world's most feared diseases that led to big changes in public health administration in Sydney.

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Aboriginal Medical Service

Community-led group providing medical treatment to Aboriginal people including general practice and dental services and now offering a training program for Aboriginal health workers.

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Australasian Trained Nurses' Association

Professional association of nurses founded in Sydney in 1899, which later became part of the Australian Nurses Federation in 1924. It sought to improve nurses' training, registration and status.

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Brislington Medical and Nursing Museum

Museum which records the history and staff of the former Parramatta Hospital.

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British Medical Association (New South Wales Branch)

Professional medical association formed on 16 February 1880 as a branch of the British association.

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Chelmsford Private Hospital

Small private psychiatric hospital that was established in a former house at 2 The Crescent, Pennant Hills, in 1963, where psychiatrist Dr Harry Bailey undertook experimental treatments on patients including deep sleep therapy and electric shock therapy. By 1979 more than 24 people had died. Despite complaints from patients and their families, coronial inquests found Bailey had no case to answer. A Royal Commission into the treatment of the patients at the hospital was established in 1988 and prompted the Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill (1987)which introduced ‘improved disciplinary structures for [the] investigation and hearing of complaints concerning medical practitioners’.

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Langton Centre

Outpatient unit of the NSW Department of Health's South Eastern Sydney Local Health District providing support for people with drug and alcohol problems. The Centre was formerly known as the Langton Clinic and is on the site of the NSW Community Hospital on the corner of Nobbs and South Downing Streets.

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Medical Board of Australia

Organisation which registers medical practitioners and medical students and develops standards, and guidelines for the medical profession. There are branches within each state and territory.

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Medical Women's Society of New South Wales

Professional body to advance the interests of medically qualified women in professional practice.

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Multiple Sclerosis Australia

Fund raising organisation to facilitate research, education and treatment of multiple sclerosis.

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NSW Private Hospitals Branch

Branch of NSW Health that administers regulation and compliance of the Private Facilities Act to privately owned and operated private health facilities across the state

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New South Wales Medical Women’s Association

Professional body formed to provide support to women doctors practicing in Sydney.New South Wales in the early 20th century.

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Randwick Military Hospital

Military hospital established during World War I in Randwick in the former Asylum for Destitute Children building and the Catherine Hayes Hospital. The grounds were in use by the millitary by August 1914, while the buildings were still occupied by children and Asylum staff. The last of the children left the Asylum in October 1915 and by November 300 wounded soldiers were being treated there. The site was formally taken over by the NSW Government in 1916. In 1953 remaining soldiers being treated at the hospital were transferred to the Concord Repatrition Hospital, and the buildings became part of the Prince of Wales Hospital.

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Royal Australasian College of Physicians

Professional body representing physicians and paediatrics.

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Royal Australian Army Medical Corps

Branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel.

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Shaftesbury Inebriate Institution

The only state run institution for alcohol and drug offenders of its time, the Shaftesbury Inebriate Institution at Vaucluse was established in 1915. Initially catering for men only, in 1916 a ward for women was opened. Patients could also be admitted voluntarily, for a fee. Most of the patients were relocated in 1927 and the Institution formally closed in 1929.

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Society for Aid to Children Inoperable in Mauritius

Charity group which provides medical aid to poor Mauritian children.

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Sydney University Medical Society

SUMS is the representative body for all medical students enrolled in the University of Sydney Medical Program. Founded in 1886, it is Australia's oldest medical student society.

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Vaccine Institution

Government vaccine facility that opened at the Emigration Barracks on Bent Street in 1847, moving to the top of King Street beside Hyde Park Barracks in May 1857 and remaining there until late 1886 when the Barracks were redeveloped.

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Allen, Thomas Berdmore

Surgeon who worked at Parramatta and Windsor hospitals.

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Alley, Richard

Ship's surgeon who cohabited with convict woman Ann Marsh on the voyage. She bore him a daughter Charlotte who survived for only a few months.

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Amphlett, Leonie

Medical practitioner who became the first resident medical officer at the Rachel Forster Hospital.

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Anderson, Elizabeth Garrett

English physician and feminist who was a pioneer in holding positions normally held only by men including being the first dean of a British medical school.

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Anderson, Matthew

Physician who practised privately including serving as the Macarthurs' private physician. As a surgeon superintendent on four voyages he was responsible for over 680 convicts arriving under his care, losing only six.

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Angel-Lord, Gertrude

Medical practitioner.

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Armytage, Jean

Pathologist and lecturer at the University of Sydney.

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Arthur, Richard

Doctor, politician and social reformer who campaigned for returned servicemen's homes, child endowment and unemployment relief.

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Bailey, Harry Richard

Psychiatrist who, with others, treated patients at Chelmsford Private Hospital with Deep Sleep Therapy and electric shock therapy. The death of at least 26 of these patients by 1979 eventually led to a Royal Commission in 1988. Bailey had taken his own life while being investigated in 1985.

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Balmain, William

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First Fleet assistant surgeon, later principal surgeon and landowner.

Bashir, Marie

Doctor and academic who was New South Wales's first female Governor from 2001 to 2014.

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Baur, George

Bavarian doctor who supervised the baths at the Hydro Majestic, offering treatment for neurotic, rheumatic and digestive complaints.

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Belgrave, Thomas

Medical practitioner who was active in the Geographical and Royal Societies and an advocate of technical education in Sydney during the 1870s. He later practised in Western Australia.

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Bennett, George

Physician and naturalist whose interest in the unique flora and fauna in Australia lead him to establish his medical practice in the colony.

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Berne, Dagmar

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First female student to study medicine in Australia, who, during her short life, pioneered women's health services in Sydney.

Beyer, Augustus Jacob

Surgeon who sailed on three convict transport ships to Australia. Throughout the voyage of the Scarborough and later Britannia, convicts were severely mistreated. Though Beyer was employed as the ship's surgeon, he consistently demonstrated little concern for his duties and the health and welfare of the convicts.

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Bialoguski, Michael

Doctor and intelligence agent whose work with ASIO was to culminate in engineering the defection of the Petrovs in 1954.

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Biffin, Harriet Eliza

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Medical practioner who was one of the first women medical graduates in the state. She worked tirelessly for the establishment of a hospital run for and by women.

Bland, William

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Medical doctor, philanthropist and politician who arrived in Sydney as a convict.

Boelke, Grace Fairley

Medical doctor who was one of the first two women medical graduates of the University of Sydney.

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Booth, Mary

Physician, welfare officer and feminist who lectured on hygeine and campaigned vigorously for immigration and many issues to improve the lot of women.

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Botterill, Paul

Forensic pathologist.

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Bowker, Richard

Medical practitioner who became a parliamentarian.

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Bowman, James

Principal Surgeon at the Sydney Hospital between 1819 and 1836. He became a large landowner after marrying into the Macarthur family. Lyndhurst at Glebe was built for him in 1837.

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Boyages, Steven

Medical practitioner and health administrator.

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Brereton, John Le Gay (1827-1886)

Physician and author who believed in homeopathic medicine and established Sydney's first Turkish bath. He also lectured on cremation and rational clothing.

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Brown, Keith Sigismund Macarthur

Third generation doctor who served the Parramatta area.

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Brown, Walter

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Parramatta doctor whose family home and practice operated from Brislington for 92 years. Highly esteemed in the local community, a reading desk was dedicated in his name at St John's Cathedral in Parramatta.

Brown, Walter Sigismund

Medical practioner who continued his father's practice at Parramatta.

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Capper, Harold

Medical practitioner in North Sydney.

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Carter, Benjamin Bowen

Surgeon on a visiting American ship, the Ann and Hope, who recorded Aboriginal words at La Perouse in 1798.

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Carter, Ronald Graeme

Twenty three year old man who was a patient at Chelmsford Private Hospital in 1967and died while under the care of Dr Harry Bailey. The coroner found he had died of pneumonia after barbituates had been administered used in the course of prescribed deep sleep therapy.

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Clements, FW

Paediatrician and internationally recognised nutrition specialist who in his time working at Karitane brought about standard infant feeding policies for New South Wales.

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Coghlan, Iza Frances Josephine

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Iza Coghlan was one of the first two women in New South Wales to graduate in medicine at the University of Sydney in 1893. The second Australian woman doctor to register with the New South Wales Medical Board, she pioneered private medical practice in Sydney and was the first Sydney woman doctor to operate two long-standing concurrent practices. Dr Coghlan formed the first women’s life-saving class in New South Wales, and established the New South Wales Medical Women’s Association, serving as its first president. She dedicated her later career to the health and welfare of school children across New South Wales, serving as government medical officer to the Department of Public Instruction.

Considen, Dennis

Irish naturalist and ship's surgeon on the First Fleet transport, Scarborough.

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Corlis, Margaret Amelia

Canadian who was the second woman to practice medicine in Sydney after registering with the Medical Board of NSW on 11 May 1892. She and her husband left Sydney to establish a joint practice in Bellingen.

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Cotton, Frank Stanley

Lecturer in physiology who specialised in the study of the effects of physical strain on the human body. He invented the aerodynamic anti-gravity suit, the 'Cotton aerodynamic anti-G flying suit' during World War II, which prevented pilots from blacking out at high speed. With Forbes Carlile, he also established the first sports science laboratory in Australia.

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Cox, James Charles

Physician and lecturer whose love of Australian natural history is reflected in his membership of all the important scientific associations of the day.

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Creed, John Mildred

Physician and politician who was unconcerned at the unpopularity of many of his legislative initiatives such as registration of medical practitioners, protection of children and care of inebriates.

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Cuningham, Kathleen

Pioneering researcher into breast cancer.

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Cuthill, Alexander

Doctor who was the principal benefactor of the Randwick Asylum for Destitute Children. He was murdered on the Cooks River Road by a disturbed man named James Gray in 1854. In 1860 a bridge was built at the bottom of Beach Street in Coogee and named after Cuthill in honour of his role in formally establishing the asylum with his generous bequest. Cuthill Street, also named after him, borders High Cross Park.

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D'Arcy, Constance Elizabeth

Obstetrician and gynaecologist who worked to reduce maternal deaths and improve nursing standards and levels of hygiene in hospitals.

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Dalgarno, Marjorie Clare

Pioneering medical practitioner who started the first suburban radiology practice in suburban Sydney and who performed the first mammogram in Australia.

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Dalyell, Elsie

First female resident medical officer at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and senior clinician in deficiency diseases in children who worked extensively overseas during and after World War I.

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Dark, Eric

Doctor who wrote books, articles and pamphlets on politics and medicine.

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Dick, Frances May

Medical doctor who became the first woman to practise medicine in New South Wales in 1892. She was trained in London and Ireland.

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Dixson, TS

Physician who became director of special therapeutics at Sydney Hospital and worked for a range of medical, scientific and charitable organisations.

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Douglass, Henry Grattan

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Surgeon and magistrate who entered into colonial life with enthusiasm but whose conduct was often questioned both here and in England.

Dryer, Albert Thomas

Doctor and Irish republican whose devotion to Irish independence resulted in his internment in Darlinghurst gaol.

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Elliott, George Robinson

Surgeon who immigrated from England in the 1840s and co-founded a chemical and drug manufacturing plant in Balmain with his two brothers.

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Ellis, Havelock

Tutor and teacher who completed his studies to become a teacher at Fort Street Normal School. After returning to England he trained as a physician and wrote the first objective study of homosexuality.

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Fiaschi, Piero

Medical practitioner and army medical officer who with his father Thomas, is commemorated by a life-sized bronze replica of the famous Florentine Porcellino monument outside Sydney Hospital.

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Fiaschi, Thomas Henry

Surgeon, army medical officer and wine industry leader who was held in high esteem by wide sections of the community.

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Foley, Horace John

Glebe doctor with a reputation for generosity to the poor, who as party organiser was embroiled in labour politics for over four decades.

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Forster, Thomas

Medical doctor and landowner in the Ryde area who expanded the Brush Farm Estate and built the first Denistone House.

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Foucart, Louis

Doctor and landowner in Rozelle and Waterloo.

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Fox, Julia Carlile

Julia Carlile Thomas was one of Sydney's early women doctors.

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Galbraith Fox, Marion

Doctor in the Lindfield area.

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Graham, James

Physician and teacher who improved medical training and influenced public works during the plague scare of 1900. He served as Mayor of Sydney in 1901.

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Griffiths, Chris

Specialist forensic odontologist and Head of the NSW Dental Identification Unit.

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Gullett, Lucy Edith

Medical practioner and philanthropist who drove the campaign to establish a hospital run for and by women.

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Hardman, Ada Caroline

Ada Caroline Affleck was an early woman graduate of medicine at the University of Sydney.

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Harper, Margaret Hilda

Paediatrician who undertook extensive research into infant formulas and published a book on child care which ran to twenty editions over thirty years.

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Harris, John 1754-1838

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Diligent and well respected surgeon and public servant under several governors, he developed extensive landholdings in Ultimo and Parramatta district.

Herz, Maximilian

German-born Sydney doctor who was interned during World War I.

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Hollows, Fred

Ophthalmologist famed for his work in restoring eyesight for thousands of people around the world.

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Irving, John

First Fleet convict surgeon who transferred from the Scarborough to the Lady Penhryn. Transported for 7 years for theft he was the first convict emancipated and was considered the best surgeon in the colony.

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Jamison, John

Doctor and landowner who became a politician and constitutional reformer.

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Jenkins, Edward

Medical practioner whose family enjoyed sharing the amenities of their home Lindesay with friends and family.

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Laing, Edward

Surgeon's mate, and later assistant surgeon to the colony during the early 1790s, who received early land grants at Watsons Bay and Stanmore.

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Lawrence, Christopher H

Forensic pathologist

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Loewenthal, Abraham Marcus

Medical practitioner.

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Luttrell, Edward

Surgeon who travelled to the colony with his wife and 10 children. Quickly disillusioned with farming he proved a negligent and unfeeling surgeon and was often admonished. Given the choice of retiring or moving back to Parramatta hospital he took a position in Hobart where he was in constant trouble with the Lieutenant Governor.

full record »

MacCarthy, Charles William

Medical practitioner with a natural talent for music, painting and sculpture, he remained an ardent Irish nationalist campaigning for home rule in his native Ireland.

full record »

MacLaurin, Henry Normand

Physician and university administrator whose shrewd investment enabled the acquisition of numerous neighbourhood properties.

full record »

Manning, Frederic Norton

Doctor who radically changed the treatment of the mentally ill by breaking down indifference and deep-rooted prejudices and overseeing the construction of purpose built humane facilities.

full record »

McBride, William

Gynecologist and obstetrician who in 1961 first alerted the world to the connection between the drug thalidomide and birth defects.

full record »

McClymont, GL (Bill)

Agricultural and veterinary scientist and educator who coined the term 'sustainable agriculture'. Born 1920, died 2000.

full record »

McGahey, Susan Bell

Matron of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital 1891-1904 who worked to advance the status of nursing as a profession.

full record »

McGeorge, John

Forensic psychiatrist who served as a consultant to all three armed services in the 1940s and 50s and assessed many of the worst offenders in his work with the Department of Justice.

full record »

Meyers, Rocky

Doctor associated with the Sydney Push.

full record »

Milford, Frederick

Surgeon and medical lecturer. Milford was apprenticed at the Sydney Dispensary in 1849 before being sent to England for medical training. He returned to Sydney in 1859 as surgeon at St Vincent's Hospital, then became the First Lecturer in the Principles and Practice of Surgery at the University of Sydney in 1882.

full record »

Mitchell, James

Physician and industrialist who combined a busy city practice with business interests in banking, mining and railways with varying degrees of success.

full record »

Morgan, Cosby William

Medical practitioner.

full record »

Newton-Tabrett, Alice Sarah

An early women doctors in Sydney.

full record »

Nicholson, Charles

Physician, businessman and politician who was regarded as a connoisseur, scholar and statesman. He helped found Sydney University, and a museum there is named for him.

full record »

O'Reilly, Susannah Hennessy (Susie)

Popular family doctor and obstetrician who helped establish the Rachel Forster Hospital.

full record »

Palmer, Arthur Aubrey

Surgeon, pathologist and criminologist who was the first New South Wales Government Medical Officer in 1913. He worked for the Department of Public Health until his retirement in 1936.As Chief Government Medical Officer and senior gaol surgeon he was associated with many notorious cases that came to trial and was called by tabloids the 'Post Mortem King'.

full record »

Parkes, Hilma Olivia Edla Johanna

Swedish born political organiser, feminist and suffragist. After emigrating to Sydney, she became a ward-sister at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. She joined the Womanhood Suffrage League of New South Wales in 1897, becoming one of its eight vice-presidents and then in 1902, formed the Women's Liberal League of New South Wales.

full record »

Petherbridge, WC

Medical practitioner.

full record »

Piper, Jim

New Zealand-born applied laser specialist who became a teacher and administrator at Macquarie University.

full record »

Podio, Miriam Victoria

Twenty six year old woman who died while under the care of Dr Harry Bailey at Chelmsford Private Hospital in 1977.

full record »

Price, John Washington

Surgeon on the convict ship Minerva which arrived in 1800.

full record »

Procopis, George

Medical Superintendent of Lidcombe Hospital under whose leadership services were expanded, a nursing school was established, and the hospital was recognised as a prestigious geriatric facility.

full record »

Puckey, Mary

Medical practioner who became the first Australian woman doctor to be appointed chief executive officer of a hospital.

full record »

Purser, Cecil

Physician and skilled administrator.

full record »

Ramsay, David

Medical practitioner who commanded the transport ship Surry on three voyages to Australia before settling in New South Wales to pursue commercial and pastoral interests.

full record »

Read, George

Irish doctor who lived at Parsley Bay, and was an alderman on Vaucluse Council. He had a private practice and specialised in treating people in shipping.

full record »

Redfern, William

full record »

Naval surgeon who was sent to Sydney as a convict after a mutiny. He continued to practise medicine as well as farming land in Sydney and further inland.

Refshauge, Andrew

Doctor and politician who held a variety of portfolios in the state Labour government between 1995 and 2005.

full record »

Renwick, Arthur

Physician and able administrator who greatly improved the care of women and children and worked tirelessly for a variety of charitable causes.

full record »

Roberts, Alfred

Surgeon at Sydney Infirmary 1855-70 and later at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital

full record »

Robertson, Thomas

One of Parramatta's first doctors.

full record »

Roth, Reuter Emerich

Physician and army medical officer who served in the Second Boer War as well as during World War I at Gallipoli, Egypt and the battle of Fromelles, France.

full record »

Smyth, Arthur Bowes

Ship's surgeon who came to Sydney with the First Fleet on the Lady Penrhyn. His journal of the voyage is an important source about shipboard conditions. He was also an ornithologist who recorded several now extinct species.

full record »

St Vincent Welch, Kenyon

Surgeon who became the first Flying Doctor in 1928. He served for one year before returning to his practice in Sydney.

full record »

Stanich, Prospero

Croatian born ear and eye specialist trained in Germany before establishing consulting rooms at 149 King Street Sydney and in Penrith, in 1873.

full record »

Stuart, Thomas P Anderson

Professor who oversaw the construction of the medical school at the University of Sydney.

full record »

Sutherland, Struan Keith

Medical researcher who was an expert on venomous animals and developed the antivenom for bites from the Sydney funnel-web spider in 1980 while working at the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories in Melbourne.

full record »

Sutton, Harvey

Professor of medicine at the University of Sydney with particular interests in public health and preventative medicine.

full record »

Takhmindzis, George

First Australian born medical graduate from the Greek community.

full record »

Thomson, Edgar F

Doctor who became an army officer during World War II, and was a leading pathologist and officeholder in several medical organisations after returning to Sydney.

full record »

Throsby, Charles

Surgeon and explorer who became a landowner and pastoralist.

full record »

Waters, William

Surgeon who arrived in the colony on the convict transport the Surprize. Over 30 convicts died on the voyage through mistreatment and poor rations though there was no punishment for the ship's master or crew.

full record »

Wentworth, D'Arcy

full record »

Irish-born soldier and doctor who became a well-regarded public servant and one of the early colony's richest men, despite his unconventional private life.

West, Major

Surgeon who held surgeon positions in Parramatta and Windsor. He was granted 700 acres at Propect and married his housekeeper Sarah Keaton who had borne him 4 children, in 1825. By 1828 the family was living at Parramatta.

full record »

White, John

Naval surgeon and naturalist who arrived in Sydney with the First Fleet.

full record »

Wilson, James Thomas

Scottish anatomist who taught at the University of Sydney medical school and was the first Challis chair of anatomy.

full record »

Wilson, Louisa

First woman to study Pharmacy at the University of Sydney in 1900. In 1902 Wilson became the first academically trained woman to register as a pharmacist in New South Wales and went into business in Killara. She died in 1919 during the flu epidemic.

full record »

Wood, Ellen Maud

Early woman doctor in Sydney. She studied medicine at the University of Sydney but did not graduate, and continued her education in Scotland where she qualified as a medical practitioner in 1897 before returning to Australia to practice.

full record »

Worgan, George

First fleet surgeon who kept a journal for six months in the early settlement.

full record »

Quarantine Station

full record »

Former quarantine station at North Head which was the main arrival point for immigrants from 1832 to 1984, now home to a hotel, conference complex and restaurant.

Florence Holloway's Certifcate in Nursing from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, April 1907

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[MLMSS 8046/Item 5]

(Mitchell Library)

'Pioneer's Memorial' garden and ornamental pool created in honour of the women doctors who founded the Rachel Forster Hospital, ...

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

A colonial student at Edinburgh 1893

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[Australian Star, 22 March 1893, p6 via Trove]

Aboriginal Medical Service, Redfern 1980

full record »

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A6180, 22/4/80/19]

...

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[Lone Hand, August 1918, p373]

Brain operation in Sydney for Mauritian boy 1971

full record »

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A1501, A12696]

Clients at the Aboriginal Medical Service, Redfern 1974

full record »

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[NAA A8739, A2/8/74/22]

Cover of ''Red Cross work in New South Wales : souvenir of the Great War' 1916

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a9718001 / F940.54771/1]

(Mitchell Library)

Dagmar Berne c1890

full record »

By

Contributed By

State Archives & Records New South Wales

[9873_a025_a025000112]

Dagmar Berne, first woman medical student 1890

full record »

Contributed By

University of Sydney Archives

Dagmar Berne, first woman medical student, in academic dress 1890

full record »

Contributed By

University of Sydney Archives

Dr Henry Grattan Douglass, MD, MLC, 1790-1865, Assistant Surgeon, 18th Regt of Foot c1810

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a4685001 / MIN 384]

(Mitchell Library)

Dr IF Coghlan 29 June 1925

full record »

Contributed By

State Archives & Records New South Wales

[ NRS-3943, Medical Officers of the School Medical Service 29 June 1925 (detail)]

Dr Iza Coghlan 1906

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[ The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 28 February 1906 , p555 via Trove]

Dr Iza Coghlan April 1893

full record »

By

Contributed By

State Archives & Records New South Wales

[NRS-9873-1-[2/733]-R1814]

Dr James Cox, Nepean River, 29 September 1888

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Detail from Excursion of the members of the Linnean Society of NSW on the Nepean River, 29 September 1888, Mitchell Library)

Dr Mary Puckey, chief executive officer of the Rachel Forster Hospital for Women and Children 1941

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The Australian Women's Weekly, 8 February 1941, p2 via Trove]

Dr Walter Brown 1897

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(The Cumberland Free Press, 5 June 1897, p6)

Dr Walter Brown MD c1880

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(From 'Medical practice in old Parramatta : an historical review of village doctoring in the colony of New South Wales' by Keith Macarthur Brown, Angus & Robertson, 1937) (Mitchell Library)

Dr William Bland c1845

full record »

By

George Baron Goodman

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a128689 / MIN 350]

(Mitchell Library)

Dr William Redfern undated

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

Florence Holloway's Certifcate in Nursing from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, April 1907

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[MLMSS 8046/Item 5]

(Mitchell Library)

Fred Hollows

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an22839744]

Harriett Eliza Biffin 9 February 1888

full record »

By

Contributed By

State Archives & Records New South Wales

[9873_a025_a025000138]

Incidents of the smallpox scare in Sydney June 1881

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[Australian Town and Country Journal, 25 June 1881, p31, via Trove]

John Harris, surgeon c1790-1805

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a2652001 / MIN 433]

(Mitchell Library)

Lady Denison opening new wing at Rachel Forster Hospital 21 August 1926

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

...

full record »

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[Series B2455; Godber Andrew John; p 21 (Item barcode 4770202)]

Letter to the editor from Dagmar Berne, 24 July 1900

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[Sydney Morning Herald, 26 July 1900, p 11 via Trove]

Marie Bashir, Governor of New South Wales 2003

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-vn3099002]

Medical Officers of the School Medical Service 29 June 1925

full record »

Back row: Dr JW Bruce, Dr S Buckingham, Dr C Madde, Dr W Dillon-Smith, Dr WC Malone, Miss AB Harris, Dr AE Machin, Dr PL Quessy, Dr D McClemens, Dr N Robertston

Front row: Dr SC Bevan, Dr G Vale, Dr LOS Poidevin, Dr Harvey Sutton OBE (Principal Medical Officer), Dr CO Stewart, Dr IF Coghlan, Dr M Edelsten-Pope

Absent: Dr A McCloy, Dr D Ratcliff, Dr WK Flook

Contributed By

State Archives & Records New South Wales

Mixed technologies in the reporting room at the morgue, State Coroner's Court, Glebe September 2020

full record »

By

Simon Anders, Images for Business

Contributed By

Health Infrastructure

Nurse sitting on back of horse drawn Sydney Ambulance at the Coast Hospital c1900

full record »

Contributed By

State Archives & Records New South Wales

[NRS-4481-2-[4/8643]-1194]

Nurses prepare the operating theatre at the Royal North Shore Hospital 1954

full record »

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A1200, L17405]

Parking and loading dock in lower level of the former NSW State Coroner's Court and Morgue, Glebe 2020

full record »

By

Simon Anders, Images for Business

Contributed By

Health Infrastructure

Photograph of silhouette believed to be D'Arcy Wentworth undated

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a4366032 / P1/1932]

Rachel Forster Hospital, George Street, Redfern 15 June 1938

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[ACP Magazines Photographic Archive ON 388/Box 033/Item 082, 3]

(Mitchell Library)

Resuscitation work being carried out by lifesavers and helpers, Bondi Beach 6 February 1938

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The Sun, 7 February 1938, p1 (detail)]

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital staff and students 1887

full record »

Photograph includes Professor Sir Thomas Peter Anderson Stuart; Sir Alfred Roberts; J Grajam; James Thomas Wilson, Arthur Edward Mills; Arthur Neville St George Handcock Burkitt and Dagmar Berne (centre)

Contributed By

University of Sydney Archives

SOS sign to be placed in window if needing assistance during the influenza pandemic in 1918-1919

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[Health services : ephemera material collected by the National Library of Australia]

Second year medical students at the University of Sydney 1886

full record »

Group includes: Badham, F; Binney, Edward Harold; Hollis, L T; Morton, J; Lister, Henry; McInnes, J M; Berne, Dagmar; Morton, G; Neill, L E F; Purser, C; Wilson, C G; Nolan, H R; Townley, P L; Shirlow, W J; Shaw, Frederick C S

Contributed By

University of Sydney Archives

Society 1885

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[ The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 9 May 1885, p986 via Trove]

Sydney Dispensary, for the relief of indigent persons, at the Sydney Infirmary, Macquarie Street c1830

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[ML 362.12099/4D ]

(Mitchell Library)

Sydney Hospital Pneumonic - Influenza Epidemic: General Information for the Citizens of New South Wales 1918

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.obj-37300238]

Sydney's Red Cross organisations. Members of the St. John Ambulance Association at bandage drill at a parade before the State Commandant ...

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[Record no: 793255]

(Queenslander Pictorial, supplement to The Queenslander 11 September 1915, p27)

The Bubonic Plague - Wash and Pray! April 1900

full record »

By

Livingston Hopkins

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The Bulletin, 14 April 1900, p17 via Trove]

The Harriett Biffin Pathology Laboratory Plaque at Rachel Forster Hospital 2007

full record »

By

Weir Phillips Heritage

Contributed By

Weir Phillips Heritage

(Heritage Impact Study, 2007)

The Rachel Forster Hospital's fifth birthday celebrations, Redfern 1927

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The Bulletin, 3 November 1927, p44 (detail) via Trove]

Trainee nurse Dorothy Way preparing medicine at Sydney Hospital December 1948

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[ON 388/Box 008/Item 027]

Unidentified medical personnel on board hospital ship TSS Oranje II, June 1941

full record »

By

Contributed By

Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons

[Object no. 00021315]

(Samuel J. Hood Studio Collection)

University of Sydney chemistry class, with medical students wearing sashes 1886

full record »

Contributed By

University of Sydney Archives

William Balmain

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an6054508]

Women medicine students at the University of Sydney 1897

full record »

Back row: second from left - Julia Carlile- Thomas; second from right - Harriet Eliza Biffin

Front: from left - Alice Sarah Newtown-Tabrett; Ada Affleck

Contributed By

University of Sydney Archives

Health care