Summary
Pair of extendible metal crutches with wooden handled and leather covered arm hooks. Made in France, about 1920. Used at Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital, Victoria, Australia, to enable mobility of children with polio.
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.
Significance
Example of mobility aid used at Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital Victoria, Australia.
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Donation from Fairfield Hospital Archives, Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, Barbara Rossal-Wynne - Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, Nov 2008
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Place & Date Made
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Place & Date Used
Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital, Fairfield, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, circa 1920s-1950s
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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References
Anderson, W.K., 'Fever Hospital: A History of Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital', Melbourne University Press, 2002.
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Keywords
Hospitals, Infectious Diseases, Mobility Aids, Polio (Poliomyelitis)
