View Ellen Kettle's Biography

Guide to Manuscripts of Ellen Kettle 1925-1997

• First Drawer
• Second Drawer
• Third Drawer
• Fourth Drawer
• Fifth Drawer
• Sixth Drawer
• Seventh Drawer
• Eighth Drawer

• -Alice Springs Pre-war (includes letter from Dr PI Reilly re. Braitlings, AIM hostel which was operating before his arrival in 1935, describing hospital, admin office building and various people and treatment of aboriginal patients); Copies of papers relating to health in Alice Springs gaol including tuberculosis
• Alice Springs Pre-war Used Material
  -reports from Dr Cook in the 30s relating to Alice
  -correspondence relating to Alice Springs hospital 1925-49 including plans
• Alice Springs Regional post war
  -reports on various stations in the area, who owns, how many children are there
  -correspondence and reports on various aspects of post war medical conditions in Alice area
• Child Health Pediatrics
  -various reports on Alice Springs children’s health post war, including Aboriginal communities
• Aboriginal Health
  -articles on Aboriginal health in Central Australia from 1950s to 1980s
  -‘Some difficulties met with in cross cultural nursing situation’
• Alyangula
  correspondence, mainly from the 1960s relating to medical centre at Groote Eylandt...including notes from Sister Drinkwater’s letters
• Amoonguna and Bungalow Post War
  -handwritten notes
• Angurugu
  -handwritten and typed notes on Groote Eylandt mission health issues, mainly post war
• CMS Sydney material
  -various correspondence both post and pre war
  -Letter from CMS Mission at Roper on 30 Jan 1940 and notes on evacuation of women and children from Groote Eylandt Dec 1941
  -various reports and extracts relating to Groote Eylandt medical work
• Aeryonga
  -various reports and notes on the settlement
• Arnhem Land
  -various reports on Arnhem Land settlements and medical work mostly post war, including leprosy research
  -contains notes on individual Aboriginal people and their medical conditions some going back to the 1890s
  -pre war notes on general history of Arnhem Land
• A Miscellaneous
  -File on Adelaide River visit in 1970 re various health matters
  -Aileron Station report in 1952
  -Albino child at Ross River; correspondence 1968
  -Alexandra State report from 1956
  -Alroy Downs report from 1956
  -Anthony Lagoon report from 1956
  -Arltunga file report on medical survey from 1957
  -Avon Downs report from 1956
• Bamyili Beswick File
  Archival, mainly handwritten research notes relating to these two settlements
  Copies of correspondence from archives
• Bagot Berrimah File
  Research notes and copies of correspondence relating to these, mainly from 1945 on
• Batchelor and Barkly Tablelands
  Material on Batchelor Clinic and township
  Material on Medical survey of Barkly Tablelands c 1965, reports on each settlement and station
• Bathurst Island
  Gilruth report from 1916-17 and hand written research notes pre war
  Article on 1913 measles epidemic there
  Copy of oral history interview with Sister Maria in 1978
  Various pre war (and a few post war) reports on the Mission
• Borroloola
  Article on Sister Heatcock and Horace Foster (Citation 1967)...he died 1941
  Various medical reports on the region
• Miscellaneous B
  Balbarini Station report 1970
  Ban Ban Springs 1971 report
  Banka Banka
  1959 report on stations in the area, medical report
  Bauhinia Downs report 1969
  Beetaloo Station report 1956, 59 and 70
• Bradshaw
  1972 report
  ‘Brunette Downs 1956 report
• Bullo River Station
  1968 report
• Bulman Station
  1973 report
• Bungalow Alice Springs
  1955 and 1956 reports
• Croker Island mission
  1956 report
  1962 report
  1964, 1951
  Couple of reports dealing with history of the settlement
• Miscellaneous C
  Reports on Calvert Hills, Campfield, Conniston and Coolibah, and Creswell 1950s and 60s
  Cancer Register –1997 correspondence relating to NT cancer register
  Correspondence with Commonwealth Agency: Home Affairs and Environment
• Daly River
  Handwritten research notes
  Various reports and articles, mainly from the 1960s
  Diary of Chief Health Officer’s visit to Daly River demonstration farm 1915 (Australian Archives copy)
• Delisaville and Docker River
  Handwritten research notes and copies of reports dealing with Delisaville and research notes on Docker River
• Elcho Island
  Handwritten research notes and copies of reports
  Correspondence with Roy and Ella Shepherdson
  Includes quite a few lists of people affected by various epidemics in the 1960s
• Lake Evella and Gapawiyak
  Copy of Galiwin’ku News from 1983 of Shepherdson’s visit
  Handwritten research notes
• Miscellaneous E
  Elliott -research notes and copies of reports
  Elsey- various reports
  Ephemera
  Ernabella - 1952 report
• Finniss River Station 1966 report
• Garden Point
  Handwritten research notes and various reports, beginning 1940
• Goulburn Island
  Various reports, research notes from 1920s to 1950s
  Copy of Warrawi Jubilee booklet on the mission 1916-1966
• Miscellaneous G
  1952 reports on Glen Helen and the Granites
• Haasts Bluff
  Various reports and articles dealing with the work there
• Health Department Correspondence
• Heinz Travelling Scholarship
  Correspondence and itineraries for countries visited: 1967-1967
• Hermannsburg
  1965 booklet on history of Aranda hymnal
  Various reports on Finke River Mission
  Detailed 1961 report from Welfare Branch
  Booklet on Carl Strehlow Memorial Hospital opening 31 July 1960
  Articles from Lutheran Herald pre war, from Albrecht and others
  1929 scurvy survey by Cook
  Herbert Basedow’s report 1929 extracts
  This is quite a large file with quite a lot of material which Kettle has used in her book
• Hooker Creek
  various handwritten notes and copies of various reports
• Miscellaneous H
  Hidden Valley, Hodgson Downs and Humbert River 1959 reports
  ‘Historical Records of Australia Series3, Volume 6’ notes on Port Essington, Raffles Bay and Port Dundas
• Inverway
  Reports from the 1950s
• Jay Creek
  Includes small file on Jabiru}
  Handwritten notes and copies of reports
• Kahlin Compound
  Copy of early reports and map of the area, showing Myilly Point and Fannie Bay and Darwin area and ‘existing’ Aboriginal compound...appears to be where old hospital was
• Katherine Area
  Pine Creek, Mandaloo and Kirkimble reports
• L file
  Article re Aborigines of Western Central Australia 1965 by Jeremy Long and EC Evans
  1957 report to Lake Mackay area
  1957 report from Dr Hargraves on Lake Mackay area
  Reports on Lake Nash region
  Language materials
• Maningrida
• Maranboy
• Milingimbi
• Milingimbi continued
• Moore, Jill
  -Notes on Darwin, Numbulwar, Oenpelli, Roper River, Umbakumba, Galiwinku, Elcho Island, Yirrkala,
• Miscellaneous M
  -including correspondence with Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory re:leprossy and diary entry of Captain Collet Barker.
• Nhulunbuy
• Numbulwar
• Miscellaneous N
• Oenpelli
• Papunya
• Pine Creek Area
• Port Keats
• Miscellaneous P
• Ramingining
• Roper River (Ngukur)
• Miscellaneous R

• Santa Teresa (Arltunga)
• Snake Bay
• Miscellaneous T
• Umbakumba
• Miscellaneous U
• Victoria River Downs
• Warrabri
• Wave Hill Station
• Miscellaneous W
• Yirrkala
• Yuendumu
• Biographies
  -articles and notes on various people including, Jacqueline O’Brien,
  -correspondence from different people
  Midwifery nursing in NT
  CV of Ellen Kettle
  -copy of her supporting statement for appeal against Miss L Reynolds
  -profile notes on various biographical histories including Dr Mervyn J Holmes, Dr J Stokes Millner, Dr Clyde Fenton, Dr W Bruce Kirkland, Dr Cecil EA Cook, Elsie Muriel King (Mrs Jack JONES), Father Gsell, Pastor Albrecht, Rev James Watson, Albert Namatjira, Ellen Sarah Kettle, Edith McQuade White, Ida Ashburner, (Mrs Roy Edwardas) born 7 Feb 1900
• Gordon Sweeney
  -some of his papers
  -correspondence between Kettle and Cathie Sweeney in 1985
  -notes on various settlements and education policies for Aborigines
  -Sweeney retired in Nov 1956
  -some of Sweeney’s reports and diary entries in 1939
  -report on Sweeney’s visit to Reuben Coopers sawmill camps behind Mount Morris Bay in 1939
  -report on Methodist Mission Station, Goulburn Island Dec 1936 and 1937 and 1932
  -biographical data on Gordon
  -correspondence from Sweeney himself
• Clyde Fenton
  -correspondence, news reports and official reports dealing with Fenton
  -news report of Fenton flying to Goulburn Island to help their ill daughter
  -various biographical notes on Fenton
  -letter from Bonnie Fenton to Kettle answering some questions and avoiding others
  -various newspaper profiles of Fenton, including one in Bulletin in March 15, 1988
• Medical Schools
• Infant Health Alice Springs
• Medical reports published material
• Medical Papers, published
• Mixed Race Children Post war returns from interstate
  -Handwritten notes from archives re half caste home Aice Springs
  Correspondence from Cook re aboriginal children and policy
  Handwritten archival notes re Methodist church half caste home at Croker Island
  1951 Report on Racial subdivisions of Natives in the Territory from Moy, outlining briefly history of various mixed racial children from Malay, Chinese, Afghan and European
  Notes on the Bungalow
  Notes on Removal of half castes from Daly Waters to Roper River in 1917
  Note re Connie Bush bring daughter of Constable Tom Turner of Borroloola
  Extracts from Fletcher Payne and other reports re the Aboriginal “problem”
  Reports on Jay Creek c 1939
  Copy of Advertiser article 15/12/1909 re Aboriginal problem in NT
  1936 reports from Cook on Darwin half caste home
  Archival material from 1911 Dept of External Affairs re aboriginal
  Report during Gilruth period on removal of Aboriginal children tfrom Daly Waters to Roper River
  Various reports of Kahlin Compound in it s early days including a list of witnesses who supported the taking away of children from their parents
  File on half caste children post war
  File and reports on homes and part aboriginal children in Alice area from 1914 to the 1930s
• Health post war (45-46)
• Dental post war
• Red Cross
• Ear
• Cyclone (1937 and 1974)
  -copy of Women’s Weedley Cyclone Christmas in Darwin
  -article by CH Gurd on Health Management of Cyclone Tracy with A Bromwich and JV Quinn
  -various correspondence relating to cyclone and health issues
  -Report on Darwin Hospital and Cyclone Tracy
  -report and personnel recollections of Cyclone Tracy from Katherine, written by David Shoobridge, hospital secretary 29 Jan 1975
  -Notes, articles and report on 1937 cyclone
  -‘Day One in Darwin: Once again the vital role of communications’ paper by Joseph Scanlon for presentation at World Congress of Sociology, Sweden 1978
• MISSIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS
• Kapalga
• Catholic Missions
• Methodist
  Various reports relating to Methodist missions including correspondence from Cook wanting to stop the mission work
  Also 1933 comments on Caledon Bay killings
  Paper by Miss B Lowe’s Methodist Overseas Mission North Australis story of the commencement (James Watson in 1915 and a Miss Tinny )
• HEALTH STUFF PRE WAR
• Newspapers late 1940s
• Dept of Health
• Nurses
• Nurses pre war
• Doctors and Health inspectors
• History Dates, Place Names and population, St John Ambulance
• Medical Kits
• Outback Radios

• Fred Clements, Joyce Ellis, Nutrition - infant health
  -Joyce Ellis folder--various correspondence and personal accounts and experiences of nurses working in NT in the 60s
  -sketch of hospital in Alice Springs, 1939
  -list of photos sent to Ellen Kettle by Joyce
  -various newscuttings on different events
  -a lot of very descriptive pieces about her work in Central Australia in the 60s
  -Nutrition folder has various reports and articles
  -Fred Clements folder has correspondence and reports from him re infant health
• Archives Canberra file
  -list of correspondence files from archives in Canberra, SA, and Darwin
  -file on metric conversion
  -sheets of photocopying done from archives
  Archives: South Australia
• RANF Report on NT Nursing 1967
  -the report was compiled by Lorraine Jarrett of Royal Australian Nursing Federation and also contains some relevant correspondence
• PH Nursing submission 1975-78
  -1983 paper written by Ellen Kettle on history of NT Health Services. (pdf 533Kb)
  -paper presented at third Australian Medical Congress Sydney August 12-16, 1968. Written by Ellen Kettle on the development of rural health services (pdf 393Kb)
  -1965 NT Rural Health Nursing service
• Channel Island
• -papers on history of Channell Island and various correspondence
  -1982 history of Channel Island in Darwin Harbour by Ellen Kettle
  -copies of photographs of Channel Island leprosarium
  -reports during war
• AAMWS
• -correspondence from Ruth and Ralf Donaldson re the Manunda during war and also Berrimah Hospital etc
• Highway construction
  -various reports and extracts relating to construction of Stuart Highway in 1940, particularly dealing with medical arrangements and including report on housing in Darwin for the period
  -Folder on the Allied Works Council during wartime mainly 1940-41, includes reports on housing
• Notes on the Darwin Hospital at Kahlin/Myilly Point during war
• George Redmond
  -various correspondence and information from George Redmond re the hospital and road building etc..He was director of Works...letters are dated mainly 1982
• Americans 1942-45
  -maps and sketches of the hospital at Nightcliff and correspondence from the Department of Army in Washington DC
• Nurses: war and doctors
  -folder on Australian Army Medical Womens Service includes letter from Lorna Laffer giving more detail of photos and information she’s sent to Ellen
  -newspaper clipping of first army wedding in northwest Australia...bride formerly Sister HJ Woodhead of Adelaide and husband Lt M Timbs of Glen Innes NSW leaving bamboo camp church were they were married...church consecrated St Luke....nicknamed St Neurosis Adelaide River
  -List of Darwin hospital staff on 19/2/1942 including ten nurses
  -correspondence from Sylvia Perry who was deputy assistant controller AAWMS in NT during 1944-45...descriptive article about their life here
  -copy of transcript of oral history interview with Edith McQuade White by Jean Trafford on 10 December 1980
  -correspondence from various nurses regarding experiences in Darwin during war, including the bombing
  -notes on Sister Margaret A de Mestre NX 70211, Australian Army Nursing service. killed in the second attack on the Manunda in Darwin harbour...nineteen bodies from Manunda were each individually wrapped labelled and taken ashore at 8 am on the 20th and placed side by side on the beach near the naval wharf. Sometime after dark that night of the 20th the group of bodies was taken out and buried at sea.
  -7 MD Planning folder has article by Henry Lee Sept 28, 1981 saying Mindil Beach bodies are not Aboriginal but bombing victims,...1939 report on medical and dental services in Darwin...and various reports and extracts
• Blood transfusions
• Medical papers wartime
• Bombing and Lowe Report
• Adelaide River 119 AGH
• Dr Major Konrad Hirschfeld diary and letters
  -Copies of correspondence and diaries from Hirschfield in Darwin during war...mainly to do with hospital work..
• Hirschfeld tapes...plastic bag of tapes
• War
  -Reports and correspondence on Native Affairs Branch activities north of Birdum from 25 April 1942
  Letter dated 5 March 1942 estimates 343 were killed during bomb raid including US casualties
  quite substantial file
• Neptuna/Manunda
  -war diary of the days before and after bombing from captain of Manunda
  -various articles and reports on the ships
  -copies of photographs
  -letter from Captain Minto? in 1983 describing some of the patients on the Manunda and what happened to them during bombing...including the men off the Perry...quite graphic descriptions
• other correspondence from people who were aboard the ships explaining things
  -menu from Manunda May 7, 1941 with autographs of quite a few of the crew, including Margaret de Mestre
  -photocopies of photos of Manunda
  -handwritten notes regarding interviews relating to Manunda...including note saying Sister de Mestre lived a few hours but knew she would die
  -list of those aboard Manunda
  -notes such as 19 bodies taken ashore on Friday morning for burial. Since then fifteen patients have died and been buried at sea with due formalitiy....
  -description of a single engined monoplane silver coloured with pointed nose travel in shallow dive towards Manunda..he believed it was deliberate
  -graphic account of Neptuna by Brendan de Burca of Qld
• Evacuation
  -Notes on No 6 Unit, Fenton and Jack Slade
  -paper on movement of mixed race children, various official reports and handwritten notes
• Search and Rescue
• Ambulance Train
  -letter from Lorna Laffer, who was in charge of the ambulance train for part of the war
  -a copy of It’s Your Story, I worked on a Hospital Train by Miss Lorna F Laffer
  -five photographs of Laffer and Quinlan in war plus a letter to Kettle about Lorna’s memories....
• Alice Springs log AGH 109
• Abbott’s admin in war
• Bagot and Berrimah 119 AGH
• Darwin Hospital prewar fortress camp 129 AGH
• Katherine camp hospital, my short time 121 AGH
• Camp Hospitals - Pine Creek, Mataranka, Larrimah, Tennant Creek
• Tennant Creek
• End of war
• Book extracts, various files

• Maps, diagrams, floor plans of hospital
• Journals of patients books on various settlements, birth dates, mums and dads
• Various reports on aboriginal settlements from Kettle
• Leprosy Reports

• History of CDOH
• Quarantine 1930s
• Pearlers
• Chinese 1912 report
• News clippings
• Health Dept 1920-1939
• Health Workers
• Rural Health Newsletters/Paper by Ellen Kettle: ‘Development of Rural health services in the Northern Territory’
• Ordinances
• Medical Boards
• Aboriginal Affairs
• JW Bleakley 1928
• Admin reports 1935-1957 and then most health reports to 1980
  Also includes copies of correspondence re health and hospital matters plus newsclips
• Fort Dundas file content missing

• AMS
• AMS Alice
• Water supply Manton and Howard
• Health centres post war
• Pine Creek early
• Katherine Hospital
• TC Hospital
• AMS Fenton era
• Alice Springs Hospital
• Measles 1948
• Tetanus-typhoid hepatitis
• Alice Child Health Unit
• Darwin Hospital including news clips and Kahlin Compound and maps
• Casuarina Hospital
• Tuberculosis
• Encephalitis
• Smallpox
• VD, Yaws, Granuloma
• Malaria
• Measles
• Meningitis
• Trachoma
• Poliomyelitis
• Tarulosis
• Leprosy medical papers
• Leprosy hospital
• Leprosy Channel Island wartime
• Mycobacterium ulcerans
• Diarrhoea-dysentery
• Hookworms
• Medical papers
• Dengue
• Poly Arteritis/Ross River

• Dr Clyde Fenton personal papers sent from Katherine
• Dr C Cook papers, large bundle
• American material including maps, bombing reports, Nightcliff Hospital etc
• Dr Herbert Basedow 1910-22 Medical inspection of aborigines in southern states
• Various files on Aboriginal nursing assistants, AIM material
• Katherine Hospital flood of 1957
• Darwin Hospital Opens Myilly Point 2 Feb 1942 - floor plan
• NB-One of the folders in this drawer has documents relating to history of health services in NT and Palmerston local Board of Health minute book 1899-1915 and Copies of early SA correspondence relating to health and hospital issues here

• History Notes Territory and New Guinea
• Missionary Aviation Fellowship (Papua New Guinea)
  -Correspondence, newsletters, pamphlets-1976
  -Register of leprosy patients
• Papua New Guinea book-includes photos, “material not needed”
• Papua New Guinea personal papers- includes correspondence, invitations
• Study block-PMC School of Nursing
• House of Representatives Committee Inquiry into Aboriginal health problems-various documents
• Gone Bush
  -Documents and correspondence relating to publication
• Infant Mortality
  -Statistics, articles, correspondence
• Papua New Guinea History of Nursing- correspondence in Australia
• Published papers- collection of papers from various authors and publications. Includes signed article by Frank Flynn
• School Public Health and Tropical Medicine, also correspondence with Medical Journal of Australia
• ‘That they might live’- correspondence
• 1970’s Community Health for next History
• Bush Medicine
• Darwin Medical Society
• ‘Development of Rural Health Services in the NT’ paper by Ellen Kettle
• Documents relating to weight measurements
• File labelled ‘Health journal’ and various articles
• File labelled ‘History- Chapter 6- 1940-1945, 1942-1946’ (2 files)
• Material collected by Judith Mackay
• Milingimbi School Children- Growth, Weight
• Milingimbi- Settlement patient record book
• File labelled ‘Milingimbi tapes by Jessie Smith
• Post war material; newsletters and various studies in 1970’s
• Rural Health Nursing Service
• Various articles and reports
  -including 1908 report by a doctor/protector of Aborigines during the South Australian era.
• Yuendumu Births and Deaths
• "War Chapter Part 1&2 - 1939-1945 - Duplicate copy"