The Sisters of Mercy presented this set of scales to the Young Historical Society in memory of Sister Mary Monica Carr.
The scales are now displayed in the Museum.
Sister Carr started work at the Sacred Heart Hospital, later known as the Mercy Care Centre, in 1926 and served the hospital and community for the next 50 years.
From 1935, most of those years were spent in the maternity section, where about 7,000 babies were weighed on these scales.
The scales were made by the firm owned by Jabez William Wedderburn, who had opened his first business at 88 Liverpool Street, Sydney, in 1896.
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He was the son of Jabez Wedderburn, head of the London firm Scale Makers and Adjusters.
Wedderburn later purchased property in Redfern and set up a manufacturing plant in Chippendale, where the maternity scales were probably made.
Sister Carr was born at Tallangatta, Victoria, in 1900 to Thomas and Bridget Carr.
Thomas, a native of Cork, Ireland, was one of Tallangatta’s earliest settlers.
He died in an accident in March 1916.
Bridget, the daughter of Patrick Mullin of Tallangatta Valley, died a few months later in December, due to an illness she had suffered for two years.
Orphaned at age 16, Sister Carr was helped by her mother’s family.
She was interested in music and acting, performing at local concerts and theatre productions.
She trained to become a nurse and was appointed second sister in charge of Young Hospital in 1926.
Sister Carr was supposed to be helping Sister Mary Hugh for only a few months but ended up staying in Young for the rest of her life.
She did her General training at the Mater Hospital.
At the request of the nuns in Young, she travelled to Melbourne to undergo training in obstetrics at the Women’s Hospital in 1929.
She delivered many babies prior to the opening of the Obstetrics Unit in 1936.
Not only was Sister Carr delivering babies, she and Dr Gardiner travelled to villages surrounding Young to immunise children against infectious diseases.
On one occasion, at Milvale in July 1939, 40 children were immunised against diphtheria during the week, including nine children from one family.
When Dr Gardiner’s second wife Dorothy died, she took care of his newborn daughter.
Sister Carr was awarded an MBE in 1957 for her contribution to nursing.
After her retirement, she lived in a unit at the Mercy Care Centre and then, as her health deteriorated, she moved into a room at the Centre.
She died on Monday 1st June 1987.
“Sister Carr will be remembered with great gratitude as a wonderful citizen who contributed a great deal to Young.”
Karen Schamberger - Young Historical Society
