This dress was made for the Melbourne Show in 1993 and won 3rd prize. It was designed by Jean Inglis who was inspired by the Blue Triangle Butterfly (Scientific name: Graphium sarpedon choredon). The Warp was 2/24 commercially brought black wool with a “tie down” thread of black polyester and Weft of the same 2/24 wool 2 ply. Jean utilised a twill technique devised by Theo Morgan in creating the dress. The dress was handwoven by Jean Inglis with the help of Ruth Rondell with some of the pattern and final sewing. Black dress stretching from below the knees, reaching up to the neckline and down to the hands in the sleeve. The dress has three butterflies attached to the front approximately 50mm in diameter going from right knee to left hip in a nonvisible diagonal line. Lower half of dress has ten thin blue & green lines of varying lengths, reaching a max height of the hip. The neck of dress has four frills of blue and green colour. The longest two frills are in the centre pointing diagonally outwards towards the hands. The second layer of frills is shorter and further around the neckline towards the shoulders. The dress is completed with a cape of blue and green colour with a thick black seam separating each segment of colour. The cape sits on the shoulders and droops to a height of the hips. At the rear, the cape reaches the height of the rump. The cape has two draw strings for tying to the shoulders. wool, butterflies, melbourne show, butterfly

Three-part object. (1) A MacGregor 'Bergelin Long String' model tennis racquet with polygonal head shape, open throat and handle wrapped with leather. Plastic butt cap embossed with words: 'LONGSTRING/TENSION'. Net strung in diamond pattern, and net extends beyond head into open throat area. On edges of racquet, strings are routed along edge of head and shaft and anchored into handle. Manufacturer name printed along both sides of open shaft. Model name printed across base of head. Series of guide numbers printed around head and open throat area. (2) Black faux-suede three-quarter racquet cover with zipper, printed with manufacturer name and racquet model name in blue, red & white. (3) Player manual booklet, housed in pocket inside cover. Materials: Graphite, Leather, Vinyl, Paint, Ink, Paper, Metaltennis

This dress was worn by Brighton's first female mayor, Councillor Di Lopez, to a Mayoral Ball held at Brighton Technical School in 1977. Diane Margaret Lewis completed a law degree at the University of Melbourne, later marrying one of her classmates, criminal lawyer Ramon (Ray) Lopez. When she decided to run for the Brighton City Council in 1975, she was seen as an outside chance. Undeterred, she rallied a small group of friends and supporters and set out on an extensive door-knocking campaign that won voters to her side and successfully unseated former mayor Keith Devenport. She went on to serve two terms on council from 1975 to 1981. Di initiated many local projects, including the creation of a bike path along Nepean Highway and the first Brighton Festival, while balancing family life and a demanding ‘day job’ as personal assistant to Victorian Minister for Youth, Sport and Recreation Brian Dixon. She was a member of the Women’s Electoral Lobby and a champion for women’s representation, encouraging both Sally Allmand and Kate Harman to run for council (both were successfully elected). She advocated forcefully for an open, transparent local government in which ratepayers had the chance to participate and be heard. In 1976 Di became the first woman to hold the title of Mayor of Brighton, and she made it clear from the outset that she was going to do it her way. For the annual mayoral ball in 1977, ordinarily a staid traditional function, she chose a discotheque theme based on the Rod Stewart album Night on the Town, with a broad dress code of ‘black tie or jeans’: ‘You’ve got to get with the times,’ she said. ‘We want people to wear whatever they feel comfortable in.’ Di herself chose to attend in this knee-length chamois dress embellished with strings, ribbons, beads and feathers. It was both a fashion statement, exemplifying her colourful, flamboyant and forthright style, and a political one: a declaration of her intention to lead a progressive council, embracing the new and refusing to be hemmed in by dated traditions. In 2020 she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her service to local government and to the community of Brighton.This dress has local historical significance for its association with Brighton's first female mayor, Councillor Di Lopez, who wore it to a Mayoral Ball in 1976. The dress exemplifies her flamboyant reputation, modern outlook and willingness to break norms. At the time, the dress was a radical choice for a Mayoral Ball, where women typically wore formal evening gowns. With her choice of dress, Cr Lopez was making a public statement, breaking away from dated traditions and announcing her intention to bring the Mayor's office into the 1970s. In this way, the dress also points to the wider social and political changes taking place both in Brighton and across Australia during the mid-1970s.Three quarter length chamois dress circa 1974. Machine stitched with a v-neck and full length sleeves and an uneven raw hem, the dress is decorated with narrow thongs of chamois embellished with red beads and blue feathers. The open-fronted bodice is laced with red ribbon and the skirt is decorated with a large blue wool cross stitch and a combination of blue wool and purple ribbon cross stitch. Made in the style of an Indian 'Wild West Dress'.di lopez, chamois, brighton, brighton council, brighton technical school, mayoral ball, 1970s, feminism

Events and information concerning the 1983 Eltham Festival including advertisements On page 37 the article "Force behind the revival" is about how Alistair Knox was the instigator of the revival of the Eltham Festival in 1975 and discusses the history of four earlier festivals held in the early 1960s. Advertisers and people noted include: AAAA Display Signs, Alan Leake, Alan Marshall, Alistair Knox, Allan Leake, Ansell and Muir, Australian Film, Barry Maddock, Beverley Sheehan, Bimbi World, Brian Jeeves, Brian Wright, Briar Hill Glass centre, Briar Hill Swimming Pools Pty Ltd, Briar Hill Timber, Bryan Payne, Bush band, Cal Martin, Central Park, Country Art Store, Cr. Horsley, David Baker, David Sadedin, Dawn Mack, Diamond Valley Big Band, Diamond Valley Drapes, Diamond Valley Dutch Social Club, Diamond Valley Society, Dr Peter Reichenbach, Dr Rob Moffitt, Eastern District Bottle Company, Eccacentre, Eltham Central Cellars, Eltham Community Centre, Eltham Concert Band, Eltham Festival, Eltham High School, Eltham Jazz festival, Eltham Little Theatre, Eltham Living and Learning Centre, Eltham Newsagency & Toyworld, Eltham Orchestra, Eltham Pharmacy, Eltham Phoenix Club, Eltham Shire Council, Eltham Sports & Tennis, Eltham Wiregrass Gallery, Eltham Yamaha, Five and a Zack, Franciscus Henri, Frank Gow, Gavin Gray, George Barker, Graham Coyle, Graham Taylor, Greensborogh Hire service, I Can Jump Puddles (film), Ian Orr, Ian Walkear, International Communications Year, Janice Dadd, Jerry Clements, John Adams, John Higgins, John Murray, Kenton Shoes Eltham, Kings, Lazy Ade Monsbourgh, Leisure Footwear Pty Ltd, Lower Plenty Sports Centre, Mal Harrop, Matcham Skipper, Maurie Dann, Michael Poore, Montsalvat, MontsalvatValma Brundell, Myra Skipper, Panton Hill Hotel, Pats, Penna Guardian Chemist, Pine Canection, Purdy's Furniture, Ralph's Eltham Meat Supply, Ranger, Roller City, Ron Blyth, Ron Mack, Rotary Club of Eltham, Second Life decor Pty Ltd, Shire of Eltham Historical Society, Shire President, Skippers Marine Greensborough, Society for Growing Australian Plants, Squeaker's Mate (film), Storyville Allstars, Strings 'n Things, Style Interiors, T.J.'s Hair & Beauty Centre, The Eltham Chicken Shop, The Printing Works, The Prize (film), Thompson's Pharmacy, tim burstall, Todaro Coiffure, Tony Figgins, Tony Floyd, Travel Affair, Two Roads Boutique, Valley Door Centre, Warrandyte Hire, Warren Fordham, Wonderland Plant Nursery, Woolworths ArcadeNewsprint - 12 page newspaper insert1983, eltham festival, alistair knox

An hourglass or sandglass is an instrument for measuring a defined time and can be used perpetually by simply turning it over immediately the top bulb empties. The clear blown glass is shaped into two equal sized bulbs with a narrow passage in the centre and contains uniform sized sand or glass particles in the lower bulb. The width of the neck regulates the constant flow of the particles. The glass is held in a stand with top and bottom of equal shape and size. Hourglasses can measure an infinite variety of time by gauging the size of the particles, the shape and size of the bulbs and the size of the passage between the bulbs, thus measuring hours or minutes or even seconds. Generally an hourglass sits between discs of wood at the ends, which are joined by long wooden spindles between the ends and tightened by screw caps. The length of time can be adjusted by adding or removing sand particles. The use of the marine sandglass (or hourglass) has been recorded in the 14th century in European shipping. A one minute sandglass was used in conjunction with the ship’s log for ‘dead reckoning’, (see below) that is, for measuring the ship’s speed through the water. They were also used to regulate ringing the ship’s timetable; for example a 4 hour sandglass was used for the length of the sailors’ watch, and a half hour timer for taking of readings for the ship’s log; the ship’s bell would be rung every half hour. It was usually the role of the cabin boy to watch and turn the sandglasses over at the exact time of them emptying their upper chambers and to ring the ship’s bell. Hourglasses have been used historically for many hundreds of years. Some have been used for timing church sermons, in cooking, in industry and at sea. Even today they are used for measuring the cooking time of eggs and timing a player’s turn in games such as Boggle and Pictionary. The sandglasses at sea were gradually replaced in the late 1700’s to early 1800’s by the more accurate chronometers (marine clocks) when they became reliable instruments. DEAD RECKONING (or Deduced Reckoning) Dead reckoning is the term used to describe the method of calculating the ship’s position from its speed and direction, used in early maritime travel, mostly in European waters. Both the (1) speed and the (2) direction of travel were recorded on a Traverse Board at half-hourly intervals during a helmsman’s watch of 4 hours. The navigator would record the readings in his ship’s log, plot them on his navigational chart and give his updated course directions to the next helmsman on watch, along with the cleared Traverse Board. This was a very approximate, but none-the-less helpful, method of navigation. The wooden Traverse Board was a simple pegboard with a diagram of a compass with eight peg holes along the radius to each of the compass points, plus a grid with ascending half hours in the left column and increasing ship’s speed in knots in a row across the column headings, with a peg hole in each of the intersecting cells. A number of wooden pegs were attached to strings on the board. By placing one peg consecutively in the direction’s radius hole, starting from the centre, and the speed holes when the half hourly reading was taken, a picture of speed and direction for the whole 4 hour watch was created. (1) To measure the ship’s speed a one minute hourglass timer was usually used to measure the ship’s speed through the water and help to calculate its longitude. A rope, with knots at regular standard intervals and a weight such as a log at the end, would be thrown overboard at the stern of the ship. At the same time the hourglass would be turned over and a seaman would start counting the number of knots on the rope that passed freely through his hands as the ship travelled. When the timer ran out the counting would be stopped. A timer of one minute (one-sixtieth of an hour), knots spaced one-sixtieth of a nautical mile apart, and simple arithmetic easily gave the speed of the ship in nautical miles per hour ("knots"). This would be recorded every half hour. The speed could however be inaccurate to the travel being affected by ocean currents and wind. (2) To calculate the ship’s direction a compass sighting would be recorded each half hour.Marine hourglasses or sandglasses were used from around the 14th to 19th century during the time of sailing ships. This hourglass is representative of that era, which is during the time of the colonisation of Australia. Hourglass or sandglass; an instrument used to measure time. Two equal sized clear glass bulbs joined with a narrow passage between them, containing equal sized particles of sand grains in lower bulb. Glass sits in a brass collar at each end, in a frame comprising 3 decorative brass columns or posts, each attached top and bottom, using round screw-on feet, to round brass discs. Disc have Roman numerals for the numbers 1 - 12 pressed into their inner surfaces and hieroglyphics on the outer surfaces. Roman numerals on inner surface of discs " I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII " Hieroglyphics impressed on outer surface of discsflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, horology, hourglass, hour glass, sandglass, sand glass, timing instrument, dead reckoning, deduced reckoning, finding latitude at sea, sandglass with hieroglyphics and roman numerals, hourglass with hieroglyphics and roman numerals, brass hourglass

Through many millennia, various suture materials were used or proposed. Needles were made of bone or metals such as silver, copper, and aluminium bronze wire. Sutures were made of plant materials (flax, hemp and cotton) or animal material (hair, tendons, arteries, muscle strips and nerves, silk, and catgut).[citation needed] The earliest reports of surgical suture date to 3000 BC in ancient Egypt, and the oldest known suture is in a mummy from 1100 BC. A detailed description of a wound suture and the suture materials used in it is by the Indian sage and physician Sushruta, written in 500 BC. The Greek father of medicine, Hippocrates, described suture techniques, as did the later Roman Aulus Cornelius Celsus. The 2nd-century Roman physician Galen described sutures made of surgical gut or catgut. In the 10th century, the catgut suture along with the surgery needle were used in operations by Abulcasis. The gut suture was similar to that of strings for violins, guitars, and tennis racquets and it involved harvesting sheep or cow intestines. Catgut sometimes led to infection due to a lack of disinfection and sterilization of the material. Joseph Lister endorsed the routine sterilization of all suture threads. He first attempted sterilization with the 1860s "carbolic catgut," and chromic catgut followed two decades later. Sterile catgut was finally achieved in 1906 with iodine treatment. The next great leap came in the twentieth century. The chemical industry drove production of the first synthetic thread in the early 1930s, which exploded into production of numerous absorbable and non-absorbable synthetics. The first synthetic absorbable was based on polyvinyl alcohol in 1931. Polyesters were developed in the 1950s, and later the process of radiation sterilization was established for catgut and polyester. Polyglycolic acid was discovered in the 1960s and implemented in the 1970s. Today, most sutures are made of synthetic polymer fibers. Silk and, rarely, gut sutures are the only materials still in use from ancient times. In fact, gut sutures have been banned in Europe and Japan owing to concerns regarding bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Silk suture is still used today, mainly to secure surgical drains. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgical_suture#:~:text=Sutures%20were%20made%20of%20plant,a%20mummy%20from%201100%20BC. This tin contains a variety of surgical threads and accessories that were used by Dr W.R.Angus. It was donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s SS Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”. The repair of open wounds is essential to prevent infection and death. The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery. Black tin with hinged lid, containing reels and packets of surgical silk, gut and metal suture threads, scalpel blades, chamois and metal blade holder with tensioned chamois piece across top. (W.R. Angus Collection)‘MEDRAFIL, Dr MULLER- MEERNACH, Nr O, MADE IN GERMANY.’ printed on one of the paper bags in the box containing a suture bobbin. 'PEARSALL'S LONDON' printed on some bobbins. 'J A DEKNATEL & SON INC, QUEENS VILLAGE, LONG ISLAND NEW YORK' printed on others.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, surgical silks and sutures, dr w r angus, medical equipment, surgical instrument, dr ryan, ophthalmology, s.s. largs bay, warrnambool base hospital, nhill base hospital, flying doctor, medical history, medical treatment, mira hospital, medical education, medical text book, sutures, surgical silk

p.390.fictionDonkey Simpson, a typically naive young Australian, thrust into uniform by his country, sets out on the adventure of a lifetime -- or so he thinks. But Vietnam is not what he expected. It's a horror story. It's a story over which he has no control, at first a 'typical Army stuff-up' which wrenches him this way and that, like a puppet soldier on a string, and then something far more dangerous and sinister threatens to destroy him -- but who's pulling the strings? This is the story of Simpson and his mates, caught in a war between powerful ideologies which none of them understood. They walk the fine line of sanity, swinging wildly between love and hate, pathos and humour, patriotism and treason, life and pointless death. Donkey Simpson's story is centred around the Public Relations Office of the Australian contingent, and a spy in the nearby Intelligence Office -- a spy of unclear loyalties, working for the South Vietnamese allies, working for the enemy, or working only for survival? The novel has its ugly aspects -- most soldiers' lack of respect for the Vietnamese, whether ally or enemy, the callous disregard for human life, and the treachery practised on both sides. Collapse summary vietnam war 1961-1975 - fiction, vietnam war 1961-1975 – personal recollections – australia