Guide to the Papers of Edwin G. Tscharke, 1930-1998

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9067

Creator:

Edwin G. Tscharke

Extent:

5.1 metres and (30 ms boxes + 1 large folio box)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Edwin G. Tscharke, National Library of Australia, MS 9067, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Part available for research; part not available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The collection documents aspects of life in remote Papua New Guinea, and in particular the process of establishing a primary care health facility with local community involvement.

The bulk of the collection comprises 235 administrative files created and maintained by Tscharke, which are found in Series 2 and 3. They contain correspondence, reports, research proposals, teaching notes and manuals, minutes of meetings, hospital records, statistical records and miscellaneous papers, mainly relating to the Lutheran Gaubin District Hospital, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea and the associated training school. While there are some early papers, the majority relate to activities in the 1970s-80s. Much of the material consists of photocopies, with the originals being retained at the Gaubin District Hospital archives.

Also included in the collection are folders of personal correspondence, photographs and slides, computer disks containing data copied from hospital records, and copies of Tscharke's publications.

Biographical Note:

Edwin Gerhard Tscharke was a Lutheran missionary, hospital administrator, health educator and physician. He was born into a Lutheran family at Neales Flat, South Australia on 25 December 1918. He aspired to become a doctor, but family circumstances did not allow for him to continue with his studies, and he was forced to leave school at the age of 14 to work at mixed farming. Tscharke left this at 19, and trained as a carpenter. Because of his close association with the Lutheran Church, Tscharke felt called to do missionary work, and in 1941 was sent by the church to Finschhafen, New Guinea as a lay missionary.

In 1942, during the invasion of New Guinea by the Japanese, Tscharke served with the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles. He survived an ordeal which saw his unit, all of them sick with dysentery, malaria and malnutrition, march overland to Port Moresby via the Bulldog Trail. The men were written off by the army as 'lost in action', and when they finally arrived at Port Moresby, were nicknamed 'the lost legion'.

While recuperating in Australia, Tscharke completed an army educational correspondence course in Anatomy Physiology for X-ray Technology, through the University of Melbourne. He returned to New Guinea in 1943, and undertook a Tropical Medicine training course, from which he graduated as a medical assistant. He was posted to several different hospitals in New Guinea, before being discharged from the Army in 1946.

In 1947 Tscharke was sent by the Lutheran Church to the island of Karkar, off the coast of Madang in New Guinea to set up and run a hospital on behalf of the Lutheran Medical Services. When Tscharke arrived on the island, the population was approximately 8,000, and there were no medical facilities. Tropical diseases were rife amongst the indigenous people, and mortality rates were high. By the time he retired forty-one years later in 1988, the population was over 30,000, and he had established a 200 bed District Hospital at Gaubin. He had been instrumental in controlling the diseases which had so badly effected the population on his arrival. In 1966, in order to involve the local community in primary health care, Tscharke set up a training school for nurses and aid post orderlies who could staff outpost medical centres. He wrote a number of manuals, texts and teaching guides, aimed at providing relevant information to the indigenous people.

During his time on Karkar, Tscharke performed many medical and surgical procedures, although he had no formal qualifications. The skill and expertise he developed in this area were recognised in 1989, when he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine by the University of Papua New Guinea.

Tscharke's approach in involving the local community in primary health care was acclaimed in 1984 by a World Health Organisation representative as being 30 years ahead of the rest of the world, in relation to providing health care in third world countries. In addition to this, the medical records he meticulously maintained over the years have been recognised by academic bodies and individuals as a valuable primary resource for research purposes.

Tscharke married Tabitha Grace Rohde on 10 March 1945. During their years in Papua New Guinea, she not only provided Tscharke with tremendous moral support, but also made valuable contributions in her own right to the establishment of primary health care facilities on the island. They have two children, Margaret and Michael, and several grandchildren.

Following his retirement, Tscharke and his wife returned to Australia, settling in Ipswich, Queensland.

Edwin Tscharke died on 22 September 2000.

Awards

Edwin Tscharke's work has been recognised through a number of awards. These include:

Date	Event
1974	M.B.E.
1975	P.N.G. Independence Medal
1977	The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal
1982	Madang Rotary Club, P.N.G. Paul Harris Fellow Medal
1987	R.S.L. Anzac Peace Prize
1988	Unsung Heroes Heroines of Australia Medallion (an Australian bicenntenary project to identify 200 people worthy of special recognition)
1989	Honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine, University of Papua New Guinea
1989	Order of Australia
1992	Ipswich City Rotary Club, QLD, Paul Harris Fellow Bar

Provenance:

The papers were donated by Dr Edwin Tscharke in two installments, one in December 1997, and a small addition in December 1998.

Arrangement:

The original arrangement of the papers has been preserved by the library.

Indexed terms

Names:

Edwin G. Tscharke

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1420385).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Edwin G. Tscharke, National Library of Australia, MS 9067, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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