On 23 June 1923 the Queensland War Council passed a resolution that Anzac Cottage funds could be used to provide homes for returned soldiers who were suffering from consumption (T.B./tuberculosis). The Anzac Cottages Committee was a fundraising sub-committee of the Queensland War Council. It aimed to assist homeless widows and descendants of deceased men who had enlisted in Queensland for military or naval service during the First World War. More detail about the Queensland War Council can be found in this previous blog entry.
The applications received following the 1923 resolution of the Anzac Cottages Committee provide a trove of information on 108 returned sailors or soldiers, and help fill out post-war stories about these men. This correspondence has been indexed to assist researchers find the names of applicants.
Details in the index include:
- personal and war service information
- particulars about a specific block of land where the applicant desires a house to be erected, and/or
- particulars about a locality where the applicant desires a house to be erected.
A lot of the applications are written around 1923, but correspondence does continue until 1932.
Several applicants, like Percival Buchanan, were writing from the Sanatorium at Stanthorpe. This south east Queensland area with its cool, dry air was considered good for the treatment of the disease.
As one of our Facebook readers commented, the Stanthorpe Sanatorium was a military hospital known as: Tubercular Military Sanatorium “Kyoomba” Stanthorpe, or as Percival Buchanan writes in his application: Kyoomba Sanatorium, Stanthorpe.
Other Queensland State Archives records that relate to this index include:
- Digital Image ID 26096, Letter to Mr James from the Secretary of the Queensland War Council explaining the scheme for providing homes for T.B. ex-sailors and soldiers, 17 March 1932
- Digital Image ID 26099, Correspondence regarding the continuation of the T.B. Housing Scheme and allocation of funds from the Golden Casket funds, 27/11/1929 – 6/12/1929
- Series ID 16748, Queensland War Council Minute Books, 1915-1921
- Series ID 16750, Indexes to Minutes, 1917-1921
How do we access the index?
Hi Rebekah, it appears the links to the index in the blog are not working. I have sent a query to one of our Archivists, who will get back to me on how to access this index.
As soon as I have an answer, I will let you know 🙂
Thanks for contacting us!
Hi Rebekah, you’ll find the index at the folowing page http://www.archives.qld.gov.au/Researchers/Indexes/war/Pages/TB-Home-applications-1923-1932.aspx