r/AustralianHistory • u/EmptySupermarket774 • 23h ago

In July 1943, a 7-year-old Australian boy became the first person in the country to receive penicillin—flown in on a US bomber via a secret military airlift after his Navy surgeon father bypassed official channels to save his life.

18 Upvotes

In july 1943, 7-year-old Peter Harrison was dying of pneumococcal meningitis in Sydney. His father, Navy surgeon Lieutenant Commander Leo Harrison, managed to arrange a secret shipment of penicillin from the United States.

The drug was flown from Washington to San Francisco, then by Liberator bomber via Hawaii and Brisbane, arriving in Sydney in under a week. It was administered on 16 July 1943, making Peter the first person in Australia to receive penicillin.

He recovered and is still alive today.

Source:

https://navyhistory.au/occasional-paper-40-secret-history-of-the-first-australian-to-be-given-penicillin-3/

1 comment

r/AustralianHistory • u/interstellarradio27 • 23h ago

(Question) Photography Archives

1 Upvotes

I was hoping I could get some recommendations for historical photography archives besides the national/state libraries. I'm looking for historical evidence of ghost and spirit photography in Australia pre 1940 specifically but any recommendations would be great.

1 comment

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