History will be carved at The University of Queensland Ipswich Campus this week when artwork by a patient of the former Ipswich Hospital for the Insane is celebrated.
Peter Harley, a patient from 1907 to 1941 at the Ipswich Hospital for the Insane, later named the Challinor Centre, carved an Honour Board and mirror frame which will be unveiled at a morning tea at the Ipswich Campus on Friday, June 30.
Mr Harley was born in Scotland and travelled to Australia, probably around the turn of the century. He was admitted to the Hospital in 1907, died there in 1941 and was buried in the Ipswich Cemetery. He was well-known at the Hospital for his wood-carving.
The Honour Board was unveiled by the Queensland Home Secretary on the occasion of a Parliamentary visit to the Hospital on August 25, 1916. The Honour Board was donated to The University of Queensland when it moved to the Challinor Centre site in 1998.
The mirror frame was carved in 1914 and was presented to the Ipswich Campus by sisters Joan Witt and Margaret Boulter on August 2, 2005. It belonged to their grandfather, Mr Thomas Tunstall, who was given it by Mr John William Lobley, a senior attendant at the Hospital in the early part of the 20th century. Mr Lobley’s name is inscribed on the hand-carved frame.
Relatives and friends of the families and members of staff will join together to celebrate the work of Mr Harley at the morning tea, hosted by Pro-Vice-Chancellor Ipswich Professor Alan Rix.
It is believed to be the first such event to celebrate publicly the work of a patient from the former Asylum.
Media: Photographs and interviews are available at the morning tea at 10am on Friday, 30 June in the Internal Garden, Building 8, Ipswich Campus. For details, telephone Loretta Porche on 3381 1068 or 0421 587 278.
