Cook |
| The Society's medical
ministry started in 1922 with the appointment of Sister
Dorothy Allmond, an English nurse and deaconess to form a
pastoral-medical team with the Diocese of Gippsland's
Deaconess Winifred Shoobridge in the isolated of Cann
River. The two lived in a tent and their "nursing
centre" was 80 km's from the nearest doctor at
Orbost. The Bishop Kirkby Memorial Hospital at Cook was
established in 1937 to minister to the many railway
fettlers involved with the building and maintenance of
the railway line. Now only one settlement remains, Cook,
to maintain the track between Tarcoola and Kalgoorlie. Cook's population at the end of 1996 was just over 50 and just under 50% of these are the children of the employees of Australian National Railways. The town is approximately midway between Port Augusta SA and Kalgoorlie WA, both of which take 12 hours to reach by train. The closest town, Ceduna takes about five hours by road the first 100km's is a dirt road down to the Eyre Highway. Except for the school and hospital staff all the people in Cook work for the railway. The hospital is responsible for medical, social and spiritual care of Cook. This can involve sewing, craft, playgroup and church services with the visiting clergy. We are also a weather observation station (recording and reporting the weather conditions to the Meteorological Office every three hours, 9am to 9pm) and act as the Post Office. There is often a need to give medical advice over the phone and to passengers and crew on the Indian Pacific which stops four times a week together with the 78 freight trains each week. The RFDS doctor visits monthly for clinic and other health services visit when requested. Our ministry in Cook ceased on the 14th March 1998. This was as a result of a change in working practice of the railway operators, the families were relocated - most now living in or around Port Augusta and the railway workers being "flown in -flown out" on block work as required. The effect of this was to remove the permanent population of the town resulting in the closure of the school and the Bishop Kirkby Memorial Hospital.
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Copyright © 2000 Bush Church Aid Society of Australia |
Anneliese Cusack, our nurse is from
Longreach in Queensland and joined BCA in July '96. After
a short rest in Tasmania Anneliese is now a nurse with
the Royal Flying Doctor Service at Port Augusta. In this
role Cook comes within her "territory." She has
a history of nursing in both rural and remote Northern
Territory, Western Australia and Queensland.
