VPRS 19293 Records of the Royal Melbourne Hospital Auxiliaries

This series comprises records—mostly annual reports and meeting minutes—of the Central Council of Auxiliaries as well as various auxiliaries of the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Central Council of Auxiliaries After the first Royal Melbourne Hospital Auxiliary was formed on 21 November 1921, an volunteers formed an Executive Committee a week later to establish and coordinate other auxiliaries. By mid-1923, auxiliary group numbers and activities had grown, and the number of auxiliaries was proving difficult to manage. In October 1923 it was decided that the hospital form a more formal Central or Executive Council to advise on and coordinate the various groups. On 7 April 1924 the Central Executive Committee (later known as the Central Council of Auxiliaries) was established with the managing body coming into effect on 1 May. This Committee oversaw the activities of all auxiliaries. In September 2007 diminishing numbers of auxiliary members and changing approaches to fundraising saw the closure of the Central Council of Auxiliaries and the remaining individual auxiliaries with the last, the Kiosk Auxiliary, ceasing in June 2008. A total of 71 auxiliaries had been formed from 1921-2008. The Central Council of Auxiliaries annual reports provide a consolidated summary of the activities, events and funds raised by each auxiliary for each year as well as the office-bearers for each auxiliary. The Committee’s meeting minutes discuss the hospital’s auxiliaries’ activities, fundraising goals, and outcomes. The series also includes a record of funds raised by the various auxiliaries during the period 1964-92 and what these funds were used for. Toorak Auxiliary The Melbourne Hospital Red Cross Auxiliary (Toorak & South Yarra Branch) was the first of the hospital’s auxiliaries and was formed on 21 November 1921 by group of Melbourne women volunteers. Their goal was to create a new organisation to support and raise funds and collect goods for patients of the hospital. The women then formed the Executive Committee to establish and coordinate more auxiliary branches, this committee later evolved into the Central Executive Committee. This series includes meeting minutes of the Toorak branch which became known as the Toorak Auxiliary. Almoner Auxiliary Social work at the hospital has its origins in the Social Service Bureau, formed by Constance Hughes, in the early 1920s, which later evolved into the Social Service Auxiliary, which was formally established in May 1924. The women volunteers, working in conjunction with the Red Cross Society, helped patients with free ambulance transport, distributed clothing, provided surgical appliances, and in some cases found work for discharged patients and temporary homes for children of patients. In 1928, the Auxiliary changed its name to Hospital Almoner Department (also known as the Almoner Auxiliary) and asked that the hospital’s Committee of Management request a loan of a professionally trained almoner [social worker]. The Committee agreed to appoint a trained English almoner from St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, Agnes MacIntyre, for a year, with the money for her passage and salary funded by the Auxiliary. In June 1929, MacIntyre arrived and became the first hospital almoner in Australia. She was asked to direct a training school at the Melbourne Hospital as well as to carry out social work herself. A Victorian Institute of Almoners was soon established to encourage other institutions to appoint social workers. On 25 August 1931, the Committee of Management assumed financial responsibility for the Almoner Department and in 1962, the hospital changed the title of Almoner to Medical Social Worker. The department was disbanded in 1977 as social work became a formalised as a hospital service. The minutes of the auxiliary in this series detail its activities and operation as well as early examples of the social work in the hospital prior to the hospital’s take over. Kiosk Auxiliary The Melbourne Kiosk Auxiliary was the third Red Cross Auxiliary formed after the Toorak and South Yarra Branches in 1922. The origins of the auxiliary date back to World War One and the volunteer food service provided to the hospital by a group of doctors' wives. After the end of the war this service continued and in 1922 these women started serving lunch and afternoon tea to hospital staff and medical students. On 8 June 1922, a disused operating theatre that was converted into a tearoom known as “Ye Bunne House”. In 1958-59 tearoom was converted into a Kiosk open to staff, patients, students, and visitors and named in honour of Essy Zwar, a former nurse at the hospital, one of the founders of the Auxiliary, and wife of surgeon and later President of the hospital B.T. Zwar. In 1995, the hospital saw the commencement of a trolley service that visited the wards twice weekly. The Auxiliary-run Kiosk closed on 15 June 2008 with the termination of the hospital’s auxiliary program. The Kiosk Auxiliary records in this series include meeting minutes and papers and discuss topics such as fundraising activities, membership, equipment funded, and operation of the kiosk. Canterbury Auxiliary The Canterbury Auxiliary was established in 1933 by Annie Dank, who had been a member of the Central Council of Auxiliaries from the early 1920s. The Auxiliary focused on fundraising for the hospital and achieved this by attracting high-profile members such as Dame Patti Menzies and forming strong relationships with the local churches. The Auxiliary established the annual Direct Giving Day fundraising event featuring local musicians and performers and which continued into the 21st century. The Auxiliary was a major supporter of the hospital’s Annual Egg Appeal. The Auxiliary was a high-profile organisation that held lavish fundraising events for the city’s wealthy until it was eventually disbanded in 2007 due to lack of membership. Included in this series are meeting minutes covering the life of the Auxiliary as well as papers and annual reports that outline the Auxiliary’s fundraising efforts, goals and achievements. Birthday League Auxiliary The Birthday League was founded on 2 May 1922 by Arthur Baillieu, who later became President of the Hospital. Baillieu established the Auxiliary with the idea that members would be sent birthday greetings in return for a donation to the hospital. This idea was inspired by an earlier trip to England where a similar scheme was operating in London hospitals. In 1924, a special endowment fund was established whereby, with donations of £25 or more, people were able to endow their birthdays. This money was then used to form permanent capital, with interest from that investment contributing to the ongoing income of the League. By 1930, the League had 26,851 members. At this time, the practice of sending birthday cards to subscribers was introduced. Included in this series are examples of these birthday cards along with donation certificates. Eventually, leading artists were invited to donate designs for the cards including Sir Arthur Streeton, Charles Wheeler, S.E. Wade, creator of ‘Ginger Meggs’ Jim Bancks, Verdon Morcom from ABC-TV, artist and television personality Peter Russell-Clarke, WEG (W.E. Green), Oscar Skalberg of The Herald, Jeff Hook of The Sun, Sir William Dargie, Milan Todd, Dawson McDonald, Bette Hays, Julia Bajcsi and photographer William Spry. The League developed a strong relationship with Melbourne’s radio stations and began sending out birthday greetings via the radio. The auxiliary began allowing children and pet to become members, creating a Pets’ Corner radio segment. Over the years, many horses’ birthdays were also endowed, including several Melbourne and Caulfield Cup winners. Included in the series is a transcript of 21st birthday celebration of the League broadcast on 20 March 1943. Throughout the 1920s and for many decades after, the Birthday League was the largest contributor to the hospital’s auxiliary movement and continually raised more than half of the total funds contributed by all auxiliaries. In 1983 the Birthday League became an auxiliary. Many prominent community leaders and state and national identities supported the League including Anglican Archbishop Harrington, Keith Murdoch and Prime Ministers William Hughes and Robert Menzies. The meeting minutes included in this series discuss topics such as the League’s funding initiatives, member outreach, community engagement programs and the distribution of funds