Marks-Hirschfeld Museum of Medical History

Explore of one Australia’s finest collections of medical instruments and memorabilia at the Marks-Hirschfeld Museum of Medical History.

Established initially as the Museum of Surgical and Scientific Instruments and Equipment in 1950, the museum was renamed in 1980.

The current name honours local Brisbane identities within the medical community – the Marks family, whose members served in the Australian Army Medical Corps during both WWI and WWII, and Dr Konrad Hirschfeld, a pioneering chest surgeon in Brisbane and past curator of the museum.

Come visit the museum and discover innovative learning opportunities to inspire and educate all visitors.

The Marks-Hirschfeld Museum of Medical History is free and open to the public. Tours are available Tuesday and Thursday mornings and can be booked through email at medmuseum@uq.edu.au.

The Collection

An estimated 5000 items and 500 photographs make up our collection. Ranging from medical equipment and instruments, to furniture, other medical memorabilia and even the bibliographic index of Queensland doctors, our collection tells the rich history of medicine in Queensland. The extensive library also houses early medical textbooks, journals, and art.

Our collection includes some incredible objects of national and international significance, such as the Brady and Martin X-ray Apparatus. Manufactured in 1896, it was used to x-ray hands and is among the earliest commercially manufactured pieces of x-ray equipment in the world.

Other amazing antique pieces include Lord Lister’s carbolic sprays used for antisepsis during surgery, the Patterson infant respirator and several early models of the sphygmograph, a pulse measuring device invented by Karl von Vierordt in 1855.

Among the library shelves you find the 18^th century James Medical Dictionary and the WWII clinical diary of Dr Burnett Clarke, who recorded tropical diseases among Australian prisoners of war at the infamous Changi internment camp in Singapore.

Exhibitions

Become a friend

Support us

Our generous philanthropic supporters are vital to the work of the museum, and we welcome donations in support of preservation and archival programs, exhibitions and educational activities.

Your gift will play a vital role in preserving medical history and help continue building a significant collection to deliver inspiring and engaging learning opportunities to our students, researchers and the community.

Ways to give

All gifts over $2 are tax deductible, and go directly to the Museum.

Phone: 07 3365 5063
Email: med.advancement@uq.edu.au
Mail a cheque (made out to The University of Queensland) to UQ Advancement, Level 7, JD Story Building, Brisbane, Queensland 4072. Please include a note indicating your gift is in support of the Marks-Hirschfeld Museum.

If you would like to discuss making a donation for a specific purpose, opportunities for regular giving or leaving a bequest, we would love to hear from you. Please feel free to phone us on 07 3365 5063, or email med.advancement@uq.edu.au.

Donate an object

The Marks-Hirschfeld collection has been built on the generosity of donors. The museum welcomes donations of objects, photographs and documents of significance to Queensland’s medical history.

If you have an object that you would like to donate to the museum, please begin by completing a donation proposal form including:

Physical description of the object, including type, age, size, and condition
As much historical information about the object as possible including any known provenance, dates, associated people, places and events
A photograph of the object
Supporting evidence, if available (e.g. associated documentation, receipts, personal photographs, oral history)

Please forward the completed donation proposal form to the curator at c.strelan@uq.edu.au, or mail the form to:

Ms Charla Strelan
Curator
Marks-Hirschfeld Museum of Medical History
Faculty of Medicine
The University of Queensland
288 Herston Rd
Herston, Qld 4006 Australia

A museum representative will contact you to discuss your proposal.

The museum is unable to accept or hold any object until a decision is made to accept a donation. Please do not bring or send objects to the museum without prior agreement.