Summary

The doll is modelled after the Charles Dickens character Sarah Gamp, a nurse in the novel 'Martin Chuzzlewit'.

The doll was dressed by trainee nurses in the School of Nursing at the Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital, before World War II. The doll was part of a display showing 'nursing down the ages', which occupied a glass case in the main room. Some of the dolls were donated to the Hospital by the Matron Gwen Burbidge.

Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital began life in 1904 as a fever hospital. It treated Victorian patients for typhoid, diphtheria, cholera, small pox and the epidemics of polio and scarlet fever. It later became one of the world's foremost centres for the research and treatment of infectious diseases, especially HIV/AIDS. It was closed in 1996 amid controversy and protest.

The hospital gained international recognition for its expertise in research and public health. The 'Fairfield culture of care' required dedication to perfecting skills in medicine, nursing, allied health and pastoral care. The Macfarlane Burnet Institute grew out of the virology laboratory established at Fairfield in 1950, where its multidisciplinary approach and active research program led to international renown.

Physical Description

Standing jointed porcelain doll, supported by a fixed metal rod on a three-ply wooden board.The doll's face has movable glass eyes with brown irises, painted features, and brown hair. She is dressed in a white cotton slip under a pale blue long silk dress with frills at the hem, with see-through Nylon sleeves. Over the dress is a purple georgette stole covering the shoulders and draped at the front to the hemline. She is holding a silver basket of berries and leaves in her left hand. The doll is missing her right leg. The maker's mark (see 'Inscriptions') indicates this doll was made by Schoenau & Hoffmeister, a German company that made dolls from 1901-1953. The 1909 mould was used for girl dolls.

Significance

The objects in the Fairfield Hospital Collection cover the entire period of the hospital's history and represent the areas of nursing, medicine, administration, pharmaceuticals, occupational therapy, infectious disease care and control, disability and mobility aids. Highlights of the collection are:

· Shredder: used to shred hay for making mattresses. Each mattress was burnt after it was used by a patient with infectious disease

· Pedal-powered French jigsaw: used by patients with polio as a form of occupational therapy; carpentry work was conducted whilst strengthening the legs

· Doll collection: approximately 25 dolls and their accessories made by nurses as part of their training at Fairfield; each doll represents one of the nurse archetypes; these are accompanied by an illustration outlining the archetypes eg Sister of Charity, Benedictine monk, Florence Nightingale, a priestess, and an ambulance nurse

· Polio disability aids: callipers and splints for toddlers, children and adults

· Pneumonia jackets: used for babies with pneumonia

· Fumigation bags: used for the fumigation and sterilisation of materials that were in contact with infectious agents

· Blood pump for direct blood transfusion

· Nursing uniforms: covering the period 1910-1980

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