16 A.G.H. Parade of Staff in honour of General Pau
AEB-1-P34-01-edit
[Tuesday, 29 Oct 1918]
GENERAL PAU AT MONT PARK HOSPITAL: General Pau, accompanied by Lady Helen Ferguson, paid a brief visit on Tuesday afternoon: to the largest military hospital in the Commonwealth-the 16th Australian General Hospital at Mont Park. On arrival at the institution the visitors were met, in the. open. space in front of the main entrance, by members of the staff, who were paraded in a picturesque formation resembling three sides of an octagon, with the red tippetted matron and sisters in the centre, the nurses and V.A.D.'s in spotless white on either side, and the medical staff and orderlies, in khaki, on the outskirts. After a by no means formal inspection of this "guard," the General and Lady Helen. Ferguson were shown round the principal buildings that comprise the hospital. They traversed a portion of the three-quarters of a mile of verandahs that flank the buildings; and they passed through several of the wards, which at present accommodate 540 cases, but are capable of housing about 1100. They inspected the orthopaedic block, where the latest apparatus for the electrical treatment of diseases and wounds has been installed; the gymnasium, where muscles are rehabilitated, the commodious kitchen, with its steam cooking equipment and the Red Cross Rest Home. Among the patients General Pau had a cheery word and a hearty handshake for all, and in many cases: a robust joke whlch, when interpreted by Lady Helen Ferguson, appealed, readily to the soldier mind. "Have you been to the front?" he asked a con-valescent soldier. "No," was. the modest reply, "Only to Egypt." "When I go back to France, and they ask me whether I have been for a trip," added General Pau, "I shall say, 'Oh, no, only to Australia.' " Seeing a young woman sitting beside one of the beds he said with a merry laugh, "A sister-perhaps-but I will not be indiscreet enough to inquire." General Pau's personality, which had endeared him to all who have met. him in Australia, is particularly attractive, among soldiers, several of whom had no difficulty in inducing him to stand quite tamely before their cameras.
1918 'GENERAL PAU AT MONT PARK HOSPITAL.', Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918), 2 November, p. 25. (TOWN EDITION.), viewed 10 May 2016, nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89071378
This image was scanned from a print in a photo album from the Alice E. Broadhurst Collection, held by Yarra Plenty Regional Library, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
This image can be used for study and personal research purposes. If you wish to reproduce this image for any other purpose you must obtain permission by contacting the Local History Librarian.
If you have any information about this photograph, please contact us or leave a comment in the box below.
Enquiries: Yarra Plenty Regional Library
16 A.G.H. Parade of Staff in honour of General Pau
AEB-1-P34-01-edit
[Tuesday, 29 Oct 1918]
GENERAL PAU AT MONT PARK HOSPITAL: General Pau, accompanied by Lady Helen Ferguson, paid a brief visit on Tuesday afternoon: to the largest military hospital in the Commonwealth-the 16th Australian General Hospital at Mont Park. On arrival at the institution the visitors were met, in the. open. space in front of the main entrance, by members of the staff, who were paraded in a picturesque formation resembling three sides of an octagon, with the red tippetted matron and sisters in the centre, the nurses and V.A.D.'s in spotless white on either side, and the medical staff and orderlies, in khaki, on the outskirts. After a by no means formal inspection of this "guard," the General and Lady Helen. Ferguson were shown round the principal buildings that comprise the hospital. They traversed a portion of the three-quarters of a mile of verandahs that flank the buildings; and they passed through several of the wards, which at present accommodate 540 cases, but are capable of housing about 1100. They inspected the orthopaedic block, where the latest apparatus for the electrical treatment of diseases and wounds has been installed; the gymnasium, where muscles are rehabilitated, the commodious kitchen, with its steam cooking equipment and the Red Cross Rest Home. Among the patients General Pau had a cheery word and a hearty handshake for all, and in many cases: a robust joke whlch, when interpreted by Lady Helen Ferguson, appealed, readily to the soldier mind. "Have you been to the front?" he asked a con-valescent soldier. "No," was. the modest reply, "Only to Egypt." "When I go back to France, and they ask me whether I have been for a trip," added General Pau, "I shall say, 'Oh, no, only to Australia.' " Seeing a young woman sitting beside one of the beds he said with a merry laugh, "A sister-perhaps-but I will not be indiscreet enough to inquire." General Pau's personality, which had endeared him to all who have met. him in Australia, is particularly attractive, among soldiers, several of whom had no difficulty in inducing him to stand quite tamely before their cameras.
1918 'GENERAL PAU AT MONT PARK HOSPITAL.', Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918), 2 November, p. 25. (TOWN EDITION.), viewed 10 May 2016, nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89071378
This image was scanned from a print in a photo album from the Alice E. Broadhurst Collection, held by Yarra Plenty Regional Library, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
This image can be used for study and personal research purposes. If you wish to reproduce this image for any other purpose you must obtain permission by contacting the Local History Librarian.
If you have any information about this photograph, please contact us or leave a comment in the box below.
Enquiries: Yarra Plenty Regional Library