Skip to main content

Please be advised: this website contains the names, images and voices of people who are now deceased.

Collections WA has a responsibility to preserve and make accessible the history and culture of Western Australia in all its various forms. The intention of Collections WA is to support research, and to reveal actions of the past that have impacted upon communities, families, and individuals.

In doing so, Collections WA acknowledges the need to respond sensitively and appropriately in cases when accessing this material may be confronting to Aboriginal visitors and clients.

Please also note: Some historical materials within this portal may include language or opinions that today are considered inappropriate or even offensive. Collections WA does not endorse this language and apologises for any distress caused.

Continue
Continue showing cultural advice
Stop showing cultural advice
CWA Logo Collections WA brings together collections from libraries, galleries, museums, archives, historical societies, cultural organisations, community groups and other collecting organisations across Western Australia.

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
Material
Width
430 mm
Height or length
540 mm
Depth
230 mm
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
View Collection
Item Feedback

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

Scan this QR code to open this page on your phone ->

Full size unavailable (you're already seeing this image in its highest resolution available on Collections WA)
Loading...