Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine building facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine Building |
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Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine Building, 1992
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| Location | Clifton Street, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1900 - 1914 (early 20th century) |
| Built | c. 1912 - 1913 |
| Official name: James Cook University Department of Public Health and Tropical Medicine Building, Anton Breinl Centre, Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600889 |
| Significant period | 1913 (fabric) 1910s-1930 (historical) |
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The Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine Building is a special old building in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was built around 1912 to 1913. This building was a very important laboratory for studying diseases found in tropical places. It is also known as the Anton Breinl Centre. Today, it is part of James Cook University. This historic building was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992.
Contents
What is the History of the Building?
Why Was the Institute Needed?
In the early 1900s, people in Europe and Australia talked a lot about studying tropical diseases. Many believed that tropical places were not healthy for white people. This was due to old ideas about race and climate. Research later showed that diseases were also linked to how people lived. These old ideas made people think that medical research was needed. This would help European colonies in tropical areas be successful.
Because of these concerns, research schools opened in London and Liverpool in 1899. Other European countries also started their own research centres. Australia first sent money to the British institutes. But by 1902, Australian doctors wanted their own research place.
How the Institute Started in Townsville
It became very important to have an Australian research centre. This was especially true after malaria parasites were found in blood samples in Cairns. Bishop Frodsham of Townsville led the effort. A person on his staff had died from an unknown illness. He got local support for his idea.
In 1907, Gordon Ross, a doctor at the Townsville Hospital, suggested something. He told the Department of Health to hire a scientist. This scientist would study and treat patients with tropical diseases. Dr. Ross wanted to find out what caused these diseases. This would help stop them from spreading.
Dr. Anton Breinl Arrives
In 1908, the government decided to build an institute in North Queensland. This was in response to doctors and the community. Some people worried it was too far from southern medical schools. Most doctors hoped an Australian would lead it. But Dr. Anton Breinl, from Austria, was chosen.
Dr. Breinl arrived in Townsville on January 1, 1910. He had worked at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He was a brilliant medical scientist. He had won awards for his work in tropical medicine. He helped find a treatment for sleeping sickness. This treatment used a medicine called "atoxyl". It was a big step in developing early chemotherapy.
Early Work and Growth
At first, Dr. Breinl and his assistant, Fielding, were the only staff. They worked in a small, three-room building. It used to be a wardsman's living area at the Townsville Hospital. Their work included going into the field. They collected animals for study in the lab. They also looked at patient information.
By 1911, Dr. Breinl showed that more staff and a better building were needed. The Australian Government agreed to expand research. They wanted to study how white people lived in the tropics. To help with this, a new laboratory and animal house were built. The new Institute opened on June 28, 1913. The Queensland Governor, Sir William MacGregor, officially opened it.
In 1912, the staff grew to six people. They hired a parasitologist, bacteriologist, biochemist, and entomologist. The Institute's work expanded greatly. Scientists studied many diseases. These included malaria, dengue fever, filariasis, typhoid, hookworm, and many unknown fevers. They also looked at amoebic dysentery, tropical sprue, leprosy, and yaws. During this time, Dr. Breinl found amoebic dysentery on a trip to New Guinea.
Challenges During World War I
The start of World War 1 caused problems for the Institute. Many hospital staff left. Dr. Breinl had to become the head doctor of Townsville Hospital. He also worked as a Quarantine Officer. At the same time, he kept doing his research at the Institute. During the war, he treated soldiers from New Guinea and the Middle East. Many of them had malaria.
In early 1916, Dr. Breinl resigned as Quarantine Officer. This happened after some people questioned his background. He was from the Sudeten region. Many in the community supported him. They valued his work. But others wanted him to leave Australia.
Changes and Moving On
Even after resigning from the Quarantine job, Dr. Breinl continued his research. But after the war, the government controlled money more strictly. Staff were not replaced. By 1920, Dr. Breinl was the only medical staff member. Research became very hard without money and staff for field trips.
The Institute later became part of the new Commonwealth Department of Health. Dr. Breinl lost control over the research. He resigned in October 1921. He then worked as a private doctor in Townsville for the rest of his life.
Other directors followed Dr. Breinl. One was Raphael Cilento, who started in 1923. He stayed until 1928. In 1930, the Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine moved. It went to the School of Health at the University of Sydney.
Later Uses of the Building
Drawings from 1957 show how the building was used. The ground floor had labs for TB and other research. The first floor had a small apartment. By 1971, the building was called the "Commonwealth Health Laboratory, Townsville."
In 1984, plans were made to "restore" the building. Around 1990, the Angelo Gabrielli Research Laboratory was added. This was a memorial, helped by the Townsville Mt Stuart Lions Club. The Gabrielli family's building company did the work. Their director, Angelo, had died from a rare tropical disease. A plaque inside says the Anton Breinl Centre for Tropical Medicine opened on July 2, 1992. The Honourable Neal Blewett opened it.
In 2004, the Anton Breinl Centre moved again. It went to a new building at James Cook University's main campus.
What Does the Building Look Like?
The Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine Building is a two-storey building. It is shaped like a rectangle. It has a two-storey timber verandah all around it. The building is located on the old Second Townsville General Hospital grounds. It faces north-east. It sits on a corner of an internal road. The ground slopes, so part of the building is cut into the hill. The other part sits on a raised base. There is a garden with palms and tropical plants on the north-eastern and north-western sides.
The roof is made of corrugated steel. It is half-hipped with small gables at the front and back. The timber verandah has a wooden railing on the top floor. The lower level has a boarded edge, a ripple iron ceiling, and a concrete floor. From the top level, you can see other buildings to the north. The south-east and south-west verandahs are closed in. They are covered with chamferboards.
The outside walls are made of masonry with a smooth finish. They have columns built into them. There are French doors and casement windows on both levels. These open onto the verandahs. The inside walls are made of vertical wooden boards. These are called tongue-and-groove boards.
The ground floor has a hallway in the middle. Offices are on either side. You enter them through four-panel doors with small windows above them called fanlights. In the hallway, there are display cases. They show equipment and photos from Anton Breinl's trips to Papua in 1912 and 1913. This equipment includes a microscope, a rifle, a camera, and other medical tools.
The first floor has the library and laboratory areas. The library has a pressed metal ceiling. It also has timber bookshelves and cabinets. One cabinet holds a collection of journals that belonged to Anton Breinl. These include Bulletin of Hygiene from 1927 and Tropical Diseases Bulletin from 1925. One of the laboratories is named the Angelo Gabrielli Research Laboratory.
Why is This Building Important?
The Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine Building was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992. This means it is a very important historical site.
- It shows how Queensland's history changed.
This building was the first tropical institute in Australia. It was built in 1913. It was very important for starting tropical medical research in North Queensland. It was also one of many similar institutes around the world. Its research was known internationally.
- It is a rare part of Queensland's history.
Even though it wasn't the first building used, it was the first one built specifically for this purpose. It opened in 1913. It is the oldest building still standing in the Townsville General Hospital area. It is also the last building of its kind left.
- It is important to the community.
Today, it is part of James Cook University. It is still used for tropical medicine research. The library is mostly unchanged. It still has journals that belonged to Anton Breinl.
- It is linked to important people in Queensland's history.
The building is important because of Dr. Anton Breinl. He was a brilliant medical scientist. Before coming to Australia in 1910, he won awards for his tropical medical research. As director, Dr. Breinl started research into many tropical diseases. He identified several of them. He and his team also developed treatments for many diseases. These diseases affected early settlers in North Queensland.
Images for kids
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Newly opened building in July 1913
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Anton Breinl, 1910
