Medical chest and contents
Object No. 2000/36/1
This medical chest is an Australian innovation developed for use in outback Australia for consultations by radio with the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Deep in the outback, isolation, distance and poor communications can make medical emergencies especially dangerous. The Reverend John Flynn, a roving outback missionary of the Presbyterian church's Australian Inland Mission realised that aeroplanes and radio could save lives in the outback. As a result of his vision and stubbornness, the Aerial Medical Service began in 1928 at Cloncurry in outback Queensland. In 1926 he recruited Alf Tragear, an electrical engineer, to solve the problem of communicating with isolated farms and communities. Traeger realised that it was impractical to transport batteries over rough bush tracks. He designed a radio powered by a set of bicycle pedals that could generate just enough power to send a message in Morse code. With this simple radio, outback people could call for a doctor, and doctors could send instructions and communicate with base up to 1500 km away. At first the 'Flying Doctor' as it became known was basically an emergency air ambulance, with one aircraft, one pilot and one doctor. Patients 'called' them in morse code using their two-way pedal powered radio. By 1931 the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) had gone national, the pioneer of many similar services around the world, and eventually radio communication was by voice rather than code. It was fine to have a doctor in the air, but what could you do till they came? In 1951 Sister Lucy Garlick drew up a numbered chart of the human body to go with a kit of numbered medicines and equipment. The doctor could now diagnose the problem over the radio and prescribe treatment. Imagine ... 'Doc, I've got a rash on my number 11. Over.' 'Well just rub on some 46 until I get there. Over and out.' Now the RFDS covers an area over 7 million sq kms and in 1997-98 attended an average of 498 patients per day.
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Summary
Object Statement
Medical chest, containing medications/ dressings/ medical instruments and instruction sheets, metal / mixed materials, various manufacturers, Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, 1987
Physical Description
Medical chest, containing medications/ dressings/ medical instruments and instruction sheets, metal / mixed materials, various manufacturers, Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, 1987. The medical chest is a green, strong, metal box with a hinged lid that has two spring catches and a third catch suitable for attaching a padlock. The box has carrying handles on either side, and inside the box there are four metal trays. Taped inside the lid there is a laminated card listing the contents of the box. Each item is numbered. The box does not contain a full complement of items as listed on the contents card. Instead, the donors have sent a selection of medications, dressings and first-aid instruments that fill the top tray. Each of these items has a number sticker that matches its item number on the contents card. There are four other photocopied sheets enclosed in a plastic envelope. They are: 'Supplement to RFDS medical chest/ Giving a medical history'. A body chart, front view, with regions of the body numbered. A body chart, back view. 'Note the presence or absence of the following conditions ...
DIMENSIONS
Height
350 mm
Width
445 mm
Depth
410 mm
Weight
12.5 kg
PRODUCTION
Notes
Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) medical chests were introduced to the outback in 1942. This example being acquired for the Powerhouse Museum was manufactured in 1987. No details have been obtained about the design or manufacture of the chest itself. The medications included in the box are proprietary items made by a number of different pharmaceutical and medical manufacturers. The RFDS Body Chart that is included in each medical chest is produced by the RFDS. The first ever Body Chart was drawn by Sister Lucy Garlick in Broome, Western Australia in 1951. The medical chest is of the type distributed, complete with contents, by the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. The following wording appears on the laminated 'Contents' card in the lid of the chest: 'The contents of this Medical Chest were supplied by the Commonwealth Government without cost to the original chest holder for use at a designated location or for a specific project or business undertaking ...' Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) medical chests were introduced to the outback in 1942. This example being acquired for the Powerhouse Museum was manufactured in 1987. No details have been obtained about the design or manufacture of the chest itself. The medications included in the box are proprietary items made by a number of different pharmaceutical and medical manufacturers. The RFDS Body Chart that is included in each medical chest is produced by the RFDS. The first ever Body Chart was drawn by Sister Lucy Garlick in Broome, Western Australia in 1951. Printed on the laminated card in the lid of the chest is the wording: 'Royal Flying Doctor Service/ Medical Chest 1987 ...'.
HISTORY
Notes
The medical chest is of the type distributed, complete with contents, by the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. The following wording appears on the laminated 'Contents' card in the lid of the chest: 'The contents of this Medical Chest were supplied by the Commonwealth Government without cost to the original chest holder for use at a designated location or for a specific project or business undertaking ...' This example being acquired for the Powerhouse Museum was manufactured in 1987. It was originally used on an outback station in South Australia (exact location unknown) then it was used as a display chest for exhibitions etc. The contents are not the complete complement of medications that would normally be included in the box. They are part of the selection of medications that the RFDS (Central Section) used to include when they put the chest on display. Information supplied by Ms Kristen Phillips, Media and Development Officer, RFDS (Central Section).
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Central Section), 2000
Acquisition Date
28 February 2000
Copyright for the above image is held by the Powerhouse and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please submit an Image Licensing Enquiry for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative licence.
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