Meet Egbert, Mt Lawley Hospital’s teaching skeleton

A teaching skeleton was recently transferred from St John of God Mt Lawley Hospital to the Heritage Collection Store.

8 Mar 2021

We don't know much about him, other than he has been at Mt Lawley Hospital for a long time and was used in teaching seminars for theatre staff.

So how did we transfer a 30+ year old skeleton?

First, we removed the screws holding the skeleton’s legs in place, before individually wrapping the legs in foam and bubble wrap before wrapping together in more foam for extra stability.
We then made cushions out of foam to support his head and lower body while we wrapped each arm and then the torso in more foam and bubble wrap.
The result was a compact bundle that could be easily moved, with the skeleton safely cushioned inside.

Egbert the skeleton is now one of the more significant Mt Lawley Hospital items in the St John of God Heritage Collection. Hopefully we will have a reason to include him in a display sometime soon.

Many thanks to St John of God Mt Lawley Hospital Nurse Unit Manager, Peri-Operative Services Shirley Sullivan for instigating Egbert’s retirement to the Heritage Collection, and the Executive for entrusting him to us.

We'd also like to thank Mt Lawley's Arts, Heritage & Volunteering Coordinator Kerrie James and Group Manager History & Heritage Jacqui Sherriff for making sure Egbert’s journey went smoothly and safely.