Q Station lecture series
Q Station Lecture Series - Sunday, 26 February, 2-4pm
French scientists in colonial Sydney: Peter Tyler
Writing the history of the Women’s Hospital (Crown Street): Judith Godden
French scientists in colonial Sydney
Summary. French naturalists first arrived in Sydney in 1788 just as a British penal colony was being established. For the next thirty years well-equipped French scientific expeditions collected specimens of minerals, flora and fauna around the Australian coast. Most of these expeditions spent some time in Port Jackson where they were cordially entertained despite being viewed with some trepidation by the Colonial authorities. Their fears were unfounded, because French imperial ambitions were satisfied by the occupation of other parts of the South Pacific, where they even set up penal settlements like those they had seen in New South Wales. French scientific interest in Australia then waned until 1888 when the celebrated microbiologist Louis Pasteur established a research laboratory in Sydney Harbour.
Dr Peter Tyler is a professional historian with a particular interest in those institutions which have fostered public health and scientific research in Australia. He is official historian for The Royal Society of New South Wales, a scientific body that traces its origins to 1821. In 2008-9, Peter was the inaugural Merewether Scholar at the Mitchell Library. He has been President of both the Professional Historians Association and the NSW Society of the History of Medicine.
Writing the history of the Women’s Hospital (Crown Street)
Summary. The Women's Hospital (Crown Street), Surry Hills, was closed in 1983, despite vociferous protests. Why did people care so much? It was not just that it had been the largest maternity hospital in NSW. From its beginning in 1893 it was an innovative institution which cared for some of Sydney’s most disadvantaged women. Its history reveals a fascinating array of characters, including possibly Australia’s first trained Aboriginal midwife, and throws light on key medical and social issues. Judith welcomes the opportunity to hear any memories/see any records you might have of Crown Street.
Dr Judith Godden is a professional historian who is writing a commissioned history of the Women's Hospital (Crown Street). Her publications include Lucy Osburn, a lady displaced. Florence Nightingale's envoy to Australia (Sydney University Press: short-listed for Australia's 2008 National Biography Award); Australia’s Controversial Matron: Gwen Burbidge and Nursing Reform (The College of Nursing, Sydney, 2011) and, with Carol Helmstadter, Nursing before Nightingale 1815-1890 (Ashgate, UK, 2011). She is a past President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine and its NSW branch.
Venue: Q Station is located at North Head Scenic Drive, Manly. Entry is free but reservations are essential. Complimentary tea, coffee and water will be available. The Visitor Centre at Q Station now has some excellent new displays and memorabilia that tell the stories of quarantine, infectious diseases and public health. Additional beverages, snacks or refreshments may be purchased from the Visitor Centre Kiosk.
If you are driving to the Quarantine Station, follow the directions to North Head. After passing Manly Hospital, go through the stone arch 'Parkhill'. Follow this road until you reach a roundabout and turn right into Q Station complimentary parking area. The shuttle bus regularly picks up from the waiting room there and will transfer guests to near the Lecture Theatre. Be sure to leave sufficient time to be transported within Q Station by arriving early and enjoying the ambience! Take a walk and enjoy the views at North Head!
For bookings, phone 9466 1500
We are delighted to have had the support of medical alumni and other speakers, mainly from the University of Sydney, during the past year or so of programs. We are happy to welcome many in the local community and from beyond Manly who make the journey to North Head to hear these Q Station talks. Please send me your comments and indicate speakers and topics that you would like to see in the programs in 2012.
To assist those who like to plan their diaries well in advance, unless advised otherwise please note that future talks in the Q Station Lecture Series will be held on the 4th Sunday afternoon of each month throughout the year in 2012.