The Cairo Luna Park was a trolley park [1] in Heliopolis, Egypt. Open from 1911 to the beginning of 1915, the Cairo Luna Park was the first Western-style amusement park in Africa and the first in the Middle East. [2] On 19 January 1915, buildings and grounds were converted into an auxiliary hospital at Luna Park for World War I; [3] the hospital was closed on 10 July 1916. [4]
Heliopolis, designed to be an "oasis" of Cairo, [5] was built in the first decade of the 20th century. After a 1907 stock market crash, the city's developers contracted with the Egyptian government to build housing for government workers; in addition, entertainment venues for the new arrivals were also planned, turning Heliopolis into Egypt's first entertainment zone. In addition to a hippodrome, polo field, cricket field, aerodrome, golf course, restaurants, and a new tram from Cairo, [6] a new amusement park - Luna Park, the first amusement park in Africa and the first in the Middle East - was built around 1910. [2] Opened to the public for the first time on 16 June 1911, Luna Park offered mechanical rides (including a switchback roller coaster), a midway, a skating rink, and restaurants. [7] [8] [9]
The onset of World War I in late 1914 led to the formation of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACS) under General William Birdwood in Egypt. One of its first acts is the establishment of No. 1 Australian General Hospital in the Heliopolis Palace Hotel just outside Luna Park by 19 January 1915. Demand for bedspace increased to the point that the ANZACS expanded the medical facilities, first to Luna Park's ice skating rink by establishing an auxiliary branch of No. 1 AGH; [8] [9] [10] [11] by 28 April 1915, over 500 beds filled the rink, and further accommodations were provided in makeshift-fashion in the haunted house, the round about, the scenic railroad, and the pavilion; the ticket office was modified to contain an operating theatre. By middle of May 1915, the hospital was treating casualties from Gallipoli; at this point, Luna Park contained over 1200 beds, many constructed of bamboo and palm wood, each bed with its own "customer". No. 1 AGH created additional auxiliary branches of its hospital nearby. By August 1915, the number of wounded at Luna Park reached 1400. [12] Ultimately, this auxiliary branch of 1AGH closed on 10 July 1916, when the main hospital moved to France. This auxiliary should not be confused with the real No. 1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital which opened at Harefield, England in March 1915. [13]
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Roxy Square now occupies the former site of Luna Park. While many of the buildings that rimmed the park remain, no traces of the once-popular tourist attraction exist. [14]
Collège du Sacré-Cœur is a Roman Catholic French-language school located in Cairo, Egypt. The school hosts two campuses the original one in Ghamra founded in 1904 and a second campus founded in 1911 on Beirut street at Heliopolis. Despite being labelled a collège, the school covers all years from nursey through secondary and is a member of The Network of Sacred Heart Schools.
The Gallipoli campaign, the Dardanelles campaign, the Defence of Gallipoli or the Battle of Gallipoli was a military campaign in the First World War on the Gallipoli peninsula from 19 February 1915 to 9 January 1916. The Entente powers, Britain, France and the Russian Empire, sought to weaken the Ottoman Empire, one of the Central Powers, by taking control of the Ottoman straits. This would expose the Ottoman capital at Constantinople to bombardment by Entente battleships and cut it off from the Asian part of the empire. With the Ottoman Empire defeated, the Suez Canal would be safe and the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits would be open to Entente supplies to the Black Sea and warm-water ports in Russia.
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division and one light horse brigade. The infantry division subsequently fought at Gallipoli between April and December 1915, with a newly raised second division, as well as three light horse brigades, reinforcing the committed units.
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood commanded the corps, which primarily consisted of troops from the First Australian Imperial Force and 1st New Zealand Expeditionary Force, although there were also British and Indian units attached at times throughout the campaign. The corps disbanded in 1916, following the Allied evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula and the formation of I ANZAC Corps and II ANZAC Corps. The corps was reestablished, briefly, in the Second World War during the Battle of Greece in 1941. The term 'ANZAC' has been used since for joint Australian–New Zealand units of different sizes. The day ANZAC day is used for the rememberence from the ANZACS who have died.
Heliopolis was an early 20th century suburb outside Cairo, Egypt, which has since merged with Cairo and is administratively divided into the districts of Masr El Gedida and El Nozha in the Eastern Area.
In Australia, the outbreak of World War I was greeted with considerable enthusiasm. Even before Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, the nation pledged its support alongside other states of the British Empire and almost immediately began preparations to send forces overseas to engage in the conflict. The first campaign that Australians were involved in was in German New Guinea after a hastily raised force known as the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force was dispatched in September 1914 from Australia and seized and held German possessions in the Pacific. At the same time another expeditionary force, initially consisting of 20,000 men and known as the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF), was raised for service overseas.
Heliopolis style is an early 20th-century architectural style developed in the new suburb of Heliopolis in eastern Cairo, Egypt. The Belgian Cairo Electric Railways and Heliopolis Oases Company, responsible for planning and developing the new suburb, created the new style to implement an exclusive distinctiveness to the design of its buildings. This revivalist style is a synthesis of Medieval Egyptian Revival, Moorish Revival, Persian Revival, and European Neoclassical architecture styles.
The military history of New Zealand during World War I began in August 1914. When Britain declared war on Germany at the start of the First World War, the New Zealand Government followed without hesitation, despite its geographic isolation and small population. It was believed at the time that any declaration of war by the United Kingdom automatically included New Zealand; and the Governor announced that New Zealand was at war with Germany from the steps of Parliament on 5 August.
The Heliopolis Palace is one of the three Egyptian presidential palaces and residences, the others being Koubbeh Palace, Montaza Palace and Ras el-Tin Palace, for the executive office of the President of Egypt. It is located in the suburb of Heliopolis, northeast of central Cairo and east of the Nile in Egypt. It was originally built as the grand Heliopolis Palace Hotel in 1910. Now it is for the use of the President of Egypt.
RMS (later HMTRoyal Edward was an ocean liner of the Canadian Northern Steamship Company that was sunk in the First World War with a large loss of life while transporting Dominion troops. She was launched in 1907 as RMS Cairo for a British mail service to Egypt.
Elizabeth Pearl Corkhill, MM was an Australian military nurse of the First World War. Trained as a nurse in Sydney, Corkhill enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 4 June 1915. After serving in France at the 1st and 3rd Australian General Hospitals, Corkhill was assigned to the 38th British Casualty Clearing Station near Abbeville on 21 August 1918. On 23 August, while the camp was being heavily bombed by enemy aircraft, Corkhill remained calm and continued to tend to her patients, despite the danger. For her bravery, she was awarded the Military Medal, one of only seven Australian nurses to be so decorated in the First World War. Following the Armistice, she went on to work as a nurse at various public hospitals, and donated a large collection of her father's photographs to the National Library of Australia.
The 23rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was raised in 1915 as part of the Australian Imperial Force for service during World War I and formed part of the 6th Brigade, attached to the 2nd Division. After being formed in Australia, the battalion was sent to Egypt to complete its training, before being committed to the Gallipoli Campaign as reinforcements in September 1915. They remained on the peninsula until the evacuation of Allied troops in December, when they were withdrawn back to Egypt where they were reorganised before being transferred to the Western Front in March 1916. Over the course of the next two-and-a-half years, the 23rd took part in a number of significant battles in France and Belgium, before being disbanded in mid-1919 following the conclusion of hostilities. In 1921, the battalion was re-raised as a part-time unit within the Citizens Forces in the state of Victoria, but was amalgamated with the 21st Battalion in 1929 to form the 23rd/21st Battalion.
Grace Margaret Wilson was a high-ranked nurse in the Australian Army during World War I and the first years of World War II. Wilson was born in Brisbane, and completed her initial training as a nurse in 1908. After the outbreak of World War I she joined the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) and subsequently transferred to the First Australian Imperial Force. From 1915 until 1919 she was the principal matron of the 3rd Australian General Hospital. She served as the temporary matron-in-chief in the AIF Headquarters, London from late 1917 until early 1918. Wilson returned to Australia in 1920 and left the AIF to work in civilian hospitals. She was appointed the matron-in-chief of the AANS in 1925, and in September 1940 joined the Second Australian Imperial Force. She served in the Middle East until August 1941, when she returned to Australia due to ill health. She left the Army the next month, but from September 1943 worked in the Department of Manpower Directorate (Victoria)'s nursing control section.
The Australian Army was the largest service in the Australian military during World War I. The First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was the Army's main expeditionary force and was formed from 15 August 1914 with an initial strength of 20,000 men, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Meanwhile, the separate, hastily raised 2,000-man Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF), landed near Rabaul in German New Guinea on 11 September 1914 and obtained the surrender of the German garrison after ten days; it later provided occupation forces for the duration of the war. In addition, small military forces based on the pre-war Permanent Forces and part-time Citizen Forces were maintained in Australia to defend the country from attack.
Archie Albert Barwick was an Australian farmer and soldier known for his diaries of World War I. His set of diaries are recognised as one of the most extensive and well written first hand accounts of military service in World War I.
Alice Appleford, was an Australian civilian and military nurse who took part in both World Wars. She has been described as Australia's most decorated woman. During the First World War she served in hospitals in Egypt and France and was one of only seven Australian nurses to be awarded the Military Medal for gallantry. In the Second World War she held a senior post within the Australian Army Medical Women's Service. In 1949 she was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest award made by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Jean Nellie Miles Walker RRC, was an Australian army nurse who served in Egypt during World War I. She was the only Tasmanian nurse to die on active service during World War I.
Florence Elizabeth James-Wallace (1886–1970) was an Australian nurse, who served with the Australian Army Nursing Service during World War I. She and her unit were praised for their service in support of the Australian soldiers.
Alice Elizabeth Barrett Kitchin was an Australian nurse who served in the First World War with the Australian Army Nursing Service.