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Royal Perth Hospital Museum > Records

TUB, METAL

c. 1960
Overview

Oval, pale pink painted metal tub with white painted inside and red painted lettering on the outside reading 'FLOWERS Friends of RPH'. There are two small transfer stickers at either end of the upper inside of the tub showing a dog having a bubble bath and a kitten holding a toothbrush.

Historical information

The tub was used for storing patients' flowers overnight before returning them to the ward the next morning.

Pioneer nurse Florence Nightingale promoted flowers and plants to help a patient recover. She said:

"...the effect on sickness of beautiful objects, of variety of objects, and especially of brilliance of colours is hardly at all appreciated."

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-48-OB2020.1
Item type
Objects
Material
Tin Alloy
Width
430 mm
Height or length
540 mm
Depth
230 mm
Themes
Medicine & Health
Inscriptions and markings

The manufacturers' stamp 'WILLOW Made in Australia' is embossed on the underside and appears in reverse on the inside base.

Red handwriting on the underside reads 'Ward 82'.

Contextual Information

Nurses were responsible for patient's flowers until 1959 when the Friends of RPH Volunteers took over the role. This was phased out in the 2000s as demand for space in the hospital increased and flowers were increasingly pre-packaged in vases.

Year
c. 1960
Statement of significance

This item illustrates changes in hospital practices, as well as the role of volunteers in day to day hospital activities and creating a welcoming environment. Historic, social and aesthetic significance, with interpretive value.

Primary significance criteria
Historic significance
Social or spiritual significance
Comparative significance criteria
Interpretive capacity
Well provenanced
Royal Perth Hospital Museum

Royal Perth Hospital Museum

Organisation Details
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Item Feedback

Outpatients Registration Centre, RPH, with flowers at reception desk, 1964
Adhesive transfer on inside of flower tub

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