About this objectHandmade footstool from parts from a metal hospital bedframe and stainless steel sterilising tray.
Hospital furniture of the first half of the twentieth century was generally mass-produced and sold via catalogues, producing a generic, uniform atmosphere across institutions. This foot stool, assumed used within this Hospital’s operating theatre, is a rare example of a ‘home-made’, purpose-built piece of furniture. A solid, well-made composite piece manufactured from a steriliser tray and hospital bedframe, the foot stool demonstrates local ingenuity, technical skill and a preference for recycling rather than disposal of redundant assets.
It is probable that Tremayne Hargans was likely to have been the most suitable metal-working specialist, with the most suitable equipment, in the local area for a task such as this.
An anecdotal account of one of the sons of Dr Benjamin Cass as a small child standing on a ‘box’ to watch his father carry out operations at Carcoar Hospital, and it is conceivable that this foot stool was in fact the ‘box’ remembered in this account.
The composite foot stool is primarily of great aesthetic value as a rare example of local adaptation and recycling of mass-produced hospital goods. It is solidly and effectively constructed, forming a piece of furniture useable within the operating theatre. It has great interpretive capacity to showcase the story of the inspiration to medical practice of Dr Cass’ sons and as a possible example of the work of noted local engineer Tremayne Hargans. Provenanced to the Hospital itself, the foot stool remains in its original context, having been manufactured here (assumed from items also used at Carcoar Hospital) and used within the building. The foot stool remains in good condition and would still be functional today. Set in the wider context of the material history of the Carcoar District Hospital, the foot stool is one of the most significant items in the collection.
Margaret Hahn, Jill Cole, Hayley Lavers, October 2019
