Summary
Ruby Tyler sent this letter to the Burns Unit of the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne from Queensland, along with six pairs of hand-knitted socks, a week after Black Saturday. The hospital distributed the socks to some of the bushfire patients they were treating, and one of them wrote Ruby a letter of thanks. It forms part of a collection of cards and letters donated by the Burns Unit and illustrates the outpouring of public support for victims in the wake of the bushfires of February 2009.
Physical Description
Single sheet of lined blue paper with hand-written text in blue ink.
Significance
Hand-knitted bedsocks convey a message of home, of comfort and of caring. All of these messages were in the socks that Ruby Tyler sent to the Burns Unit of the Alfred Hospital with the wish for them to be given to victims of the Black Saturday bushfires. Domestic items like these are a traditional response to times of trouble and Ruby was calling on a long heritage of women who have knitted socks in response to war and natural disaster. They are a point of connection not only between the survivors of Black Saturday and the wider community, but also between Black Saturday and other times of difficulty, when extraordinary bonds are forged between unlikely people.
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Donation from Burns Unit, The Alfred Hospital, 2010
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Recipient
Burns Unit, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 14 Feb 2009
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Sender
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Inscriptions
This is the full text of the letter: 'Ruby Tyler [address withheld] 14-2-09 The Alfred Hospital Burns Unit Commercial Rd Prahran Vic 3181 Dear Sir/Madam: I knitted these bed socks for the use of patients with burnt feet or as you may think fit. Included are 3 mens with stripes and 3 ladies. We are ex Mt Waverley 1994. Hope you find them useful and I'll gladly knit some more for you. Yours sincerely, Ruby Tyler. P.S. I normally knit bed socks for our local Logan Hospital.'
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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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Overall Dimensions - Folded
210 mm (Width), 150 mm (Height)
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Keywords
Black Saturday Bushfires, 2009, Bushfires, Correspondence, Emergency Medical Services, Socks