Since opening in 1941, Concord General Repatriation Hospital has been tied to veteran wellbeing and treatment, with a strong reputation as an excellent teaching and research hospital. In 1999, seven old ramp wards were demolished to make way for the newly created ANZAC Research Institute - A biomedical research institute based at Concord Hospital, with a focus on ageing and improving the future health of our community. The building was opened in 2000. Today, the Institute operates in memory of our war veterans and their families. 
 

The bronze statue is based on George Silk’s iconic photograph, ‘A fuzzy wuzzy angel’, taken in Papua on Christmas Day, 1942. It depicts Papuan man Raphael Oimbari assisting George Whittington, a wounded private who would die of scrub typhus six weeks after the photograph was taken. Mr Oimbari was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his support and the photograph represents the spirit of mateship and the close relationship between Australia and Papua. The bronze statue is an original work by Dr Maryann Nicholls, a former chief haematologist at Concord Repatriation General Hospital.
 

Orderlies or bearers like Raphael Oimbari were essential to the Australian war effort in Papua and were affectionately known to soldiers as ‘the fuzzy wuzzy angels’. Some fought in organised units but most acted as bearers, carrying food and ammunition to the front lines and wounded soldiers back for treatment.

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