From the Collection
Other Collections
SPASM Museum provides a service to help individuals and organisations with identification of medical instruments, however, valuations are not given.
SPASM does not act in isolation but has a close relationship with other Museums throughout Australia and New Zealand and some of those links are below.
Prince Henry Hospital Nursing And Medical Museum, Little Bay
Australian Society of Anaesthetists
(Harry Daly Museum)
Australian & New Zealand History of Medicine
Society Inc
Australian Medical Pioneers Index
(AMPI)
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Museum
and Archives
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Walking Tour
University of NSW Pathology Museum
of Human Disease
University of Sydney Medical Heritage Trail
The Collection
The collection includes in excess of 7000 objects, documents, photographs, portraits and books. The Society is unable to display all these items at once but has a selection on display in a series of themed rooms throughout the two buildings.
Wherever possible items on display have labels which provide information about the use of the item, the maker, the approximate date of manufacture as well as the history of the item where known.
There are items used in hospital, in the operating theatre, in general practice, in country rural practice, by the district nurse, in military medicine, in diagnosis and in treatment. The collection also holds items specifically related to the old Tarban Creek Asylum which are displayed in Building 1.
The museum uses MOSAIC software to catalogue the collection and more than 50% of the instruments and equipment items have been identified and photographed or have scanned images attached to the data entry. The software allows for the tracking and location of items. Objects are marked using an identification number unique to SPASM.
SPASM holds a comprehensive collection of surgical equipment catalogues which cover much of the instrumentation made in the late 19th and 20th centuries and it is from these catalogues that identification of objects is made.
Objects are loaned to other Museums, film companies and small displays are provided to medical and nursing conferences. Specific displays are curated for special events eg. History Week or for conferences.
