Finding Sanity
Page 29
Staff at so many institutions assisted—National Archives of Australia, Australian War Memorial, Royal Melbourne Hospital Library, Brownless Medical Library, the State Library of NSW, the State Library of Victoria, State Records at Kingswood, NSW, and the archival services at Scotch College, Melbourne. Of special mention, I’d like to record the contributions of Tracy McDonald, Sandra Dayao at the Cumberland Hospital library, and all the staff in Medical Records at Cumberland Hospital.
Finally, to the following individuals who, while not included in the bibliography of sources, all contributed to the final outcome of this book: Tricia Atkin, Enda Bannan, Phil Boyce, Bruce Brand, Sheila Bruhn, Carolan Dodd, Di Elliott, Val Gregory, Shirley Mewett, Leoné Morgan, Maurice Sainsbury and Nigel Starck.
Taking time off from my medical work to write the manuscript required the support of the Westmead hospital administration and in particular I thank Dr Peter Cohen and Professor John Wheatley for agreeing to my leave request.
And finally to Laraine Emberson in New York City for her last minute ‘run-around’, a big thank-you.
Greg de Moore
This book had its beginnings at the University of Melbourne during my PhD thesis. A great debt is owed to the university for providing crucial financial and institutional support to enable the research that was the genesis of this book, and to my mentors, Dr Warwick Anderson and Dr Janet McCalman, who assisted my incursions into the world of the history of Australian psychiatry. It was at this time, in the process of exploring contested explanations for serious mental illnesses, that members of the Cade family and many former mental health professionals initially gave generously of their recollections, time and memorabilia.
Later, after Greg and I had resolved to pursue this joint biographical project, we were assisted further by members of the Cade family and many others, who provided a rich variety of observation and insight, greatly enhancing our efforts to capture the spirit, flavour and character of John Cade. We were helped along the way by many knowledgeable archivists and librarians who contributed their time and expertise, in particular Cassie May and Claire Watson at the Bundoora Homestead, Jacky Healy at the University of Melbourne Medical History Museum, and the staff of the Public Record Office of Victoria, the Wellcome Institute Library in London, the Australian War Memorial, the UK National Archives and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Ann Westmore
Authors’ note
The language adopted in this biography includes much that was commonplace during the period in question. Some of this, we would now consider crude and derogatory—especially as it pertains to patients in mental hospitals or some of the descriptions from Changi during the Second World War. Nonetheless, to maintain any degree of authenticity, the language of the day, particularly in quotations, was vital to the authors in recreating the atmosphere of the times.
We would like to note that, for the most part, we have been true to the names of all individuals mentioned in this book. Names of patients have been preserved, though in many cases we only had access to first names or surnames. Details of patients are in most instances readily available on the public record. Both authors feel that during long periods of incarceration many patients—through institutionalisation—were stripped of their identities. To continue this practice of denying them an identity, so many years after the events that this book describes, we feel would be a further insult. So we have, wherever possible, included the names of all concerned.
We would also like to acknowledge that the quote from Winston Churchill was first accessed in the book A War of Nerves, and that the quotation from Private Nicholson was accessed from the book Carrying On.
Select bibliography
Archival sources
Australian War Memorial service records of William Brand and John Cade, and Repatriation Commission Records from 1916, NAA, B73, M37180
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, GB 0809 Nutrition files
Museum of Victoria, Royal Park Mental Hospital Prescription Book, 1 June 1956 to 18 September 1957, Victorian Psychiatric Services Collection, Reg. no. 85.90
Public Record Office of Victoria (PROV) Coroner’s Inquests 1950/25; 1950/1485; 1952/941; 1952/1866; 1952/1884; 1953/925
PROV, VPRS 6345/P0/367 (647) Bundoora Repatriation Mental Hospital General Correspondence File (1956–1981)
PROV, VPRS 6345/P0/245 Mental Health—Conditions of Staff in Mental Hospitals (December 1944–November 1967)
PROV, VPRS 2385/2 Parcel 23 Dangerous Drugs—Control of Mental Hospitals 1953–54, letters re dispensing of medicines in Metropolitan Mental Hospitals dated 10 November 1953 and 7 December 1953
UK National Archives PIN 15/28921 Conditions at Changi 1942–43; PIN 15/3539 Historical Notes by R. Powell, 28 May 1946
University of Melbourne Medical History Museum, Cade, J.F.J.’s patient history and reference cards related to therapeutic lithium research undertaken at Bundoora Repatriation Mental Hospital in the late 1940s, donated by Mrs Jean Cade
WA Register of Deaths for 1950, no. 84
Extended conversations with the author(s)
Dr Richard and Peney Cade, Fr Maurice Catarinich, Barbara Cytowicz, Dr Elizabeth Dax AM, Susannah Dax, Dr Madonna Grehan, Gabrielle Haveaux, Professor Frank Hird, Elizabeth Prendergast, Dr Frank Prendergast Jnr, Margaret Rush, Thea Rush (née Catarinich), Dr Susan Sherson, Dr Terry Smith, Joanne Wandel and Mr David Weatherill
Recorded interviews
Shirley Andrews, 25 November 1999
Professor Barry Blackwell, 22 May 2015
Mabel Body, 25 August 2010
Jean Cade, numerous interviews, 2 December 1998–24 December 2000
Dr John (‘Jack’) Cade, numerous interviews, 17 February 1999–28 March 2012
Dr David Cade, numerous interviews, 14 December 2010–30 March 2011
Peter Cade, 25 August 2010
Dr Lloyd Cahill, 23 September 2010
Professor Ed Chiu, 30 March 2005 and 20 April 2011
Doug and Val Craig, 9 July 2013
Dr Eric Cunningham Dax, numerous interviews, 5 July 1997–3 November 2005
Dr Ed Darby, 20 September 2013
Professor Brian Davies, 5 April 2011
Dr Graham Edwards, 9 August 2011
David Elder, 23 September 1999
W.A. (‘Bill’) Flowers, 18 February 1999 and 24 August 2010
Lisl Gershon, 2 November 2010
Professor Sam Gershon, numerous interviews, 20 October 2010–22 December 2012
Professor Gordon Johnson, 24 August 2010
Dr Jerzy Krupinski, 16 November 1998
Ray Marginson, 19 January 2011
Professor Russell Meares, 9 August 2011
Dr Pat Melia, 17 September 2010
Dr Michael and Judy Messer, 11 November 2011
Dr Frank Prendergast Snr, December 1999
Bill Schmitt, 13 October 2010
Dr Alan Stoller, 12 November 1998 and 18 November 1998
Nita and Ray Wandel, 10 June 2015
Audiovisual sources
‘Hindsight’, ABC Radio, Interview with Stan Alchin, ‘Behind the Ha-Ha Walls’, November 2001
Troubled Minds, SBS Television documentary on John Cade and the discovery of lithium, 2004
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