Summary
Two uniformed soldiers standing in front of the rotunda at Langwarrin Camp during World War I. The man on the left is Major Walter Conder; the other man has been identified as Major Charles Johnson, a doctor and the Senior Medical Officer at Langwarrin Camp in 1917. Major Conder was put in charge of overseeing Langwarrin's conversion from a penal camp to a hospital for the treatment of soldiers with venereal diseases in 1917. Conder later became the second general manager of the Australian Broadcasting Commission and suggested an air race from London to Melbourne to celebrate Melbourne's centenary, which took place in 1934. After World War II he worked for the Ministry of Information, lecturing throughout Britain on 'A new life in Australia'.
The photograph belonged to Miss Elsie Storie of Brunswick, later of Canterbury, a young woman during World War I. She visited the site on Christmas Day in 1917, and was one of many to sign a menu on the occasion (HT 8455).
The Langwarrin camp area was used early in World War I for 'enemy aliens' and later as a hospital for the treatment of soldiers suffering sexually-transmitted diseases. During World War I, Australian forces during World War I were vulnerable to sexually-transmitted diseases: many on their first adventure away from home, facing an uncertain future or even death, and liberated (at least in part) from the social norms of home. Loss of troop time through STDs during World War I was considered significant: early in 1915, 1000 AIF men were infected at any one time - the equivalent of a battalion at full strength. The official historian of the army in World War I, Arthur Graham Butler, noted that 'in none of the forces from the dominions, serving overseas, far from their homes, of which figures are available, was the proportion of admissions to hospital for venereal treatment less than 100 to every 1000 soldiers.' Returning to Australia due to sexually-transmitted disease was considered a disgrace. Venereal patients sent home were typically treated at the 'isolation camp' at Langwarrin. By the war's end over 6000 men had passed through the camp.
Part of a collection of paper-based ephemera relating to the life of Miss Elsie Storie, a middle-class Melbourne woman who was born around 1895, lived through both wars, and remained in Melbourne all her life.
Description of Content
Two soldiers standing in front of a rotunda. There appears to be a crowd of people inside the rotunda.
Physical Description
Black and white silver gelatin photograph on paper.
More Information
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Collecting Areas
Images & Image Making, Migration & Cultural Diversity, Public Life & Institutions
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Acquisition Information
Donation from Mr John Millward, Mrs Millward, 2007
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Place & Date Depicted
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Previous Owner
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Person Depicted
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Person Depicted
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Format
Photograph, Black & White
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Inscriptions
Hand written in grey pencil on the back of the photograph; '5'
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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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Image Dimensions - Photograph
45 mm (Width), 70 mm (Height)
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References
Arthur Graham Butler, Official History of the Australian Army Medical Services, 1914-1918, Volume III - Special Problems and Services, p.148+. Raden Dunbar, The Secrets of the Anzacs, Scribe, Melbourne, 2014. Identification of subjects of photo by author, correspondence with curator, 19/4/2018. The author notes a similar photo of Conder and Johnson, also made in 1917, on page 93 of his book. He identified that image from Conder's papers held by the NLA in Canberra. Major Johnson is mentioned on pp 92-93, p. 208, and p. 209 in the book. Alan Thomas, 'Conder, Walter Tasman (1888-1974)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, [Link 1] published first in hardcopy 1981, accessed online 23 December 2015.
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Keywords
Military Camps, Internment Camps, Soldiers, Uniforms, Rotundas, World War I, 1914-1918, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), Centennial Air Race, London to Melbourne, 1934