The Australian Women's Register

Small, brown, compressed fibre suitcase with steel clips and carry handle. The inside lid of the case has a typed sheet glued to it outlining the ‘simple requirements’ contained within. The case interior has been partitioned into sections using wooden slats. The medical case contains the following supplies. One bottle of ‘Acriflavine lotion’; one box each of ‘BEX’ and ‘VINCENTS’ powders; one tube of zinc cream; one tube of ‘TANNAFAX’ tannic acid jelly; thirty four assorted steel safety pins; a white calico medical tool roll containing four pairs of tweezers, two pairs of scissors and a mercury thermometer stored in a chromed brass tube; a small sealed packet of oiled silk; an assorted bag of eleven rolled, open wove bandages; bag of two ‘Boric Lint’ antiseptic dressings; one small bottle of ‘Epsom Salts’; one medicine glass; one tin of ‘Caress’ talcum powder; one blue and gold ‘Clayton’ brand first aid tin containing a small bottle of ‘MELANYL’ ink, a small tin of ‘Potassium Permanganate’, a small glass jar of ‘Boracic ointment’, a small glass jar of ‘Solidified iodine’; a small tin of ‘Boric ointment’ and a small cork stopper; a bag containing four types of cotton wool; one hand towel and face washer; six assorted sized cotton slings; two cotton calico bags marked ‘Dressings wool and Gauze’; one cotton calico bag marked ‘Dressings’; one cotton calico bag marked ‘Dressing towels’; one cotton calico bag marked ‘Sundries’; one bag containing two reels of white cotton thread, a packet of steel needles, two loose steel needles and a roll of white cotton tape; one bag containing some discarded cellophane wrappers and a blue and white paper label; one bag containing a newspaper clipping, titled ‘Medicine Chest to meet emergencies’. The clipping lists how a well stocked medicine chest is made up. Used by Maud Ethel Smith while serving with the Voluntary Aid Detachment in Australia during the Second World War.