As another exemplification of the frequent assertion that the earth is
not so large after all is a letter which the editor of the RED CROSS
MAGAZINE recently received from Australia. Mr. H. Leslie McWhinney,
of Auburn, Victoria, in some unexplained way, obtained a copy of the
MAGAZINE for October, 1912, and became so interested in the activities
of the American Red Cross that he was moved to write the editor. His
letter contains so much information relative to the work of the First Aid
Volunteer Association in Australia that a portion of it is quoted here,
as follows:
“First aid work in Australia is organized and conducted by the St. John
Ambulance Association, an English institution, which conducts first aid
and nursing classes, and has a permanent ambulance service in most of the
capital cities of the six States. It also has an organization called the
St. John Ambulance Brigade, consisting of men’s and women’s (nursing)
divisions. Sydney and Brisbane have civil ambulances as well. In
Melbourne we have the First Aid Volunteer Association, owing allegiance
to St. John’s, but acting quite independently of it.
“This association had its origin in the visit of the American fleet in
1908, when this country became wild with enthusiasm and large crowds
visited the seaports to see the fleet. The Melbourne City Council,
expecting large crowds and many accidents, called for volunteers holding
first aid certificates, and a number responded, and rendered good
service. Afterwards Mr. W. F. Pratt, our present secretary, suggested
that those on duty should form a practice society, and this was done, the
First Aid Volunteer Association being formed.
“Our membership has increased from 40 to 110, and is now growing
rapidly; the average attendance at weekly meetings ranges from 30 to 40
and at lectures from 60 to 80. We encourage people interested in first
aid to visit our meetings and send members out to help class secretaries.
We also supply members for first aid duty at large public meetings,
exhibitions, missions and other gatherings. Last year our members
attended the Scoville Mission for six weeks, treating 44 cases; the
Alexander-Chapman Mission (4 weeks), and several other large gatherings.
A hygiene exhibition opens in Melbourne next week and we have agreed to
supply 12 members a night for four weeks. We make no charge, and our
members take no payment. Of course, we are willing to accept donations to
our funds, but do not ask for them.
“We have a stretcher and a first class kit and plenty of bandages,
besides medical instruments for use on duty by any medical man who
happens along. At our monthly outings, which take place out of the city
on Saturday afternoons, the secretary prepares a list of accidents,
labels various ‘patients,’ and the other members have to work in pairs,
being allowed one bandage apiece and having to improvise the others.
Average attendance is thirty. We usually do a little propaganda work at
these outings, inviting the local class secretaries to bring along their
pupils, if any.”
Of course, the readers of the RED CROSS MAGAZINE will understand the
difference between this First Aid Society in Australia and the American
Red Cross. The First Aid Volunteer Association was organized with only
one purpose in view, that of practicing first aid, and one of the
conditions of membership is that the applicant must have received a
first aid certificate; whereas the activities of the American Red Cross
have many ramifications and any reputable citizen of the United States
may become a member thereof simply upon the payment of dues. Membership
in the First Aid Association in Australia is rather analogous to
membership in the classes throughout the United States organized by the
First Aid Department of the American Red Cross.
It is interesting to note that the arrival of the American fleet in
Australian waters in 1908 was the prime cause for the organization of the
First Aid Volunteer Association.
[Illustration: “BROKEN THIGH.” FIRST AID PRACTICE.]