Tag: Photo Ramona Markowski

Australia’s only underground hospital was built out of necessity — but never used

January 5, 2020

Lyrics

No Comments

Mount Isa 4825

As World War II inched closer to Australia, miners in Queensland’s north-west volunteered their manpower to dig and fit out Australia’s first — and only — underground hospital.

Consisting of four tunnels, and only a stone’s throw from Mount Isa’s actual hospital, the underground structure was the town’s back-up plan should it be bombed like Darwin.

The threat was real, considering Mount Isa had its mine and plenty of valuable minerals nearby.



Photo:
The tunnels are not far from Mount Isa’s actual hospital. (ABC North West Queensland: Kelly Butterworth)

While the subterranean hospital was never utilised for its intended purpose, weekly drills involved staff relocating patients to the tunnels in preparation for an actual attack.

A maternity section and bassinets were in place, as was an area designated for emergency surgeries.

The tunnels began collapsing in the late 1970s but were repaired and have been open as a tourist attraction in 2001.



Photo:
Ramona Markowski is one of the hospital’s many volunteer guides. (ABC North West Queensland: Kelly Butterworth)

Knowing the history

One of the hospital’s many tour guides is Ramona Markowski, who has been volunteering for about four years after she moved to Mount Isa from the United States.

She said its “fascinating” story was a unique part of Australia’s history.

“It is the only underground hospital we have in Australia,” she said.

“Even though it was never used as a hospital, the nurses would come here after their shifts to sleep because it is so much cooler in the tunnels than it is outside.

“When it was built, the threat to Mount Isa seemed very real as the copper mine was seen as a strategic resource of great value to the Japanese.

“Reacting to the perceived risk of air raids, the director of the regional district hospital, Dr Edward Ryan, contacted the superintendent of the mine who offered the services of his company and his chief underground foreman to design and construct a series of tunnels to serve as an emergency underground hospital site.”



Photo:
A collection of instruments and bottles found during the excavation of the hospital. (ABC North West Queensland: Kelly Butterworth)

Building on their own time

Ms Markowski said local miners volunteered their time and completed the work in just two weeks between March and April 1942.

“The miners drilled, blasted and mucked out a series of four tunnels,” she said.

“Three run parallel to each other and the fourth intersects them, creating a capital E shape.”

“They had their supplies down there, the surgical tables were in place, and they did their drills every week — they were ready,” she added.

After the tunnels collapsed and two fires had burnt through them, a university team came to Mount Isa to reconstruct the hospital and, using wartime photos, replicate its original layout.

Now, tourists can walk through and see the incredible sight of an entire hospital system sitting in the side of a hill.



Photo:
The hospital is full of historically accurate furnishings. (ABC North West Queensland: Kelly Butterworth)

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news

Recent Posts