Pins & Needles
THE BLOG OF THE GEOFFREY KAYE MUSEUM OF ANAESTHETIC HISTORY
Open House Melbourne
Despite ridiculously strong winds on Saturday, Melbourne turned on some sparkling sunshine as architectural treasures all over the city opened their doors to the public. 2017 was the 10th edition of Open House Melbourne and, for the second time, ANZCA took part,...
Victorian Museum Awards – And the winners are…
On Wednesday 26 July 2017 the wonderful team at Museums Australia (Victoria) held the annual Victorian Museum Awards at ACMI. It’s always a wonderful night, showcasing the achievements of Victorian museums and galleries over the past year, and offering an unparalleled...
Health, Medicine, and Society: Challenge and Change
Ari Hunter has been volunteering with the Geoffrey Kaye Museum of Anaesthetic History since September 2015 when she undertook an internship to prepare a significance statement for the Bruck Inhaler. Since then, she has undertaken a range of research projects. The...
The “essence of dragons blood, unicorns horn and the oil of mans skull” – Tales from a 17th century apothecary physician
Dr Natalie Apelbaum, BBNSc, MBBS, is an Intensive Care and Emergency registrar at The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne It never ceases to amaze me where medical history reveals itself, often in the most obscure places. We are constantly surrounded by it, in the tales of...
The great women of anaesthesia: Emily Hancock Siedeberg McKinnon
This post is one in a series uncovering the stories of early women anaesthetists from Australia and New Zealand. In a very polite letter to the Chancellor of the University of Otago, dated 10 March, 1891, 18 year old Emily Siedeberg expressed her desire to study...
Anatomical Theatre of Archiginnasio, Bologna
Mr Stephen Blamey, BSc, MB, BS, FRACS, FACS, is a retired surgeon, travelling to some interesting medical history locations and writing the odd piece for us. On my recent visit to Bologna, I elected to take a walking tour of the city. At the outset, I was not aware...
Travelling through Malta
Mr Stephen Blamey, BSc, MB, BS, FRACS, FACS, is a retired surgeon, travelling to some interesting medical history locations and writing the odd piece for us. Malta is a very interesting place to visit. The Order of Knights of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem are...
Restoring the Apparently Dead & other things
The ANZCA Annual Scientific Meeting brought together about 2,000 anaesthetists this year. That’s a lot by any standard. It was held in beautiful Brisbane and the museum took the opportunity to launch a few new projects. Top of the agenda was the new online exhibition...
What’s on for 2017?
2017 marks 25 years since the establishment of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA). So, as part of ANZCA, we’ll be celebrating 25 years too. But, whether it's related to 25 years or not, there's plenty going on this year and you can...
Birdsville Frontier Services Hospital Museum
Dr Genna Verbeek is a registrar at the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne. In 2017 she will begin her anaesthetic training with the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. It was 45C (135F) in the sun. The oppressive heat seemed to make everything slower....
Why did the British anaesthetist, Joseph Clover (1825-1882), have bank accounts in New Zealand?
Joseph Clover trained initially as a surgeon but, by the 1860s, was one of the foremost anaesthetists in Britain. He was one of only a handful of doctors who devoted his practice to anaesthesia at that time. I have been researching his life for many years since the...
The great women of anaesthesia: Janet Lindsay Greig
This post is one in a series uncovering the stories of early women anaesthetists from Australia and New Zealand. Dr Janet Lindsay Greig was the first woman in Australia to be appointed to the position of Honorary Anaesthetist. Her story is also remarkable. Janet was...
What is an honorary curator? A personal reflection
Thirty years ago I made a trip to the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in Spring Street, Melbourne with Dr Rod Westhorpe. At the time I was an anaesthetic registrar at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, approaching my final exams and the end of my...
Evipan: The dark side of anaesthesia
Dr Clara Cotaru is a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists currently living and working in Belgium. Clara's interest in the history of anaesthesia began with an investigation of the history of advertising anaesthetic agents, which she...
Ergot and the Salem Witchcraft Trials
Rebecca Lush was a student volunteer with the Geoffrey Kaye Museum in 2015. She is currently Curator, Harry Daly Museum. As an undergraduate, Rebecca investigated the Salem Witchcraft Trials, including the possible role of ergot. She has prepared this post based on...
The great women of anaesthesia: Mary Alice Blair
This post is one in a series uncovering the stories of early women anaesthetists from Australia and New Zealand. The University of New Zealand (UNZ) was established in 1874. Although the University of Otago had opened in 1871 with a staff of three professors, UNZ was...
Where are the great women of anaesthesia?
During 2016 a number of groups visited because of “word-of-mouth” reviews. These are particularly wonderful because somebody enjoyed their visit so much they spoke highly about it to others and inspired them to visit. It’s always an extra delight to take that booking....
Acriflavine: Why is it in an anaesthetic museum?
The Geoffrey Kaye Museum of Anaesthetic History seems an unlikely place to find a bottle of acriflavine. It is a topical antiseptic, made from coal tar, discovered in 1912 by the German scientist Paul Ehrlich. It was used to treat everything from minor burns and...