Here is a story of one who had sense enough to know when a friendly hand was extended to him he should grasp it for all he was worth. The hand would take him around the world serving his country and he would find himself in a position to payback with dividend, also you will learn the truth how the Australasian Hospital came to be.

The Doctor was driving in a cab one day along Cable Street, an East End thoroughfare which had an unenviable reputation as a place where vice walked boldly and crime had its own way, when his attention was arrested by seeing a number of ragged, disreputable looking urchins surrounding a man in the uniform of a French soldier. The man was clearly half drunk, and was making frantic efforts to hold on to a collecting box which for some purpose or other was in his possession. The urchins had surrounding him were doing their best to get it away from him. There is little doubt they would have succeeded had not Barnardo suddenly appeared upon the scene, stopped his cab, leapt out and intervened.

With an air of authority he demanded to know what they were up to. Impressed by his manner and tone, some of the youngsters ran away; others gathered round to hear what he had to say. As the outcome of his intervention, two of the ringleaders were taken off in his cab to Stepney Causeway. They looked upon the cab ride as a great event in their lives. Arriving at Stepney they were subjected to a searching questions, and after their stories had been tested, and the Doctor satisfied of their destitute condition, he offered to retain them and give them a chance.

One of the two was a lad named James Page. The subsequent career of this boy is full of interest. He remained in the Homes until he reached the age of seventeen, when he expressed a wish to join the Royal Artillery. He rose rapidly to the rank of sergeant and was sent to South Africa, and took part in the Zulu and Boer Wars. He was mentioned in despatches for keeping a gun in action at Ingogo when all the other gunners had been shot down by the Boers, and was awarded a medal for distinguished service in the field.

After the war Page married, and migrated to Queensland. Success seemed to follow everything to which he put his hand. He worked hard and attained a position of independence. He was then elected a Member of the House of Representatives for Maranoa. For fifteen years without a break the same constituency returned him. Thus it came about that when the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall visited Queensland, prominent among the Reception Committee was the Honourable James Page an old Dr. Barnardo boy and a one time street Arab.

During his political career the Member for Maranoa held a number of responsible posts, including that of Chief Whip. The Prime Minister under whom he served described him as one of the most faithful and trustworthy colleagues the head of any Government could possibly desire; whilst the Official Secretary to the Commonwealth of Australia in London declared that his "meritorious career" had honoured his adopted country no less than "the Home in which he was raised."

It was the Hon. James Page himself who boldly announced, at a public meeting given in his honour in Queensland, that he had "started life as a street Arab in London," and that it was through Dr. Barnardo that his foot was first placed on the ladder of success. Subsequently he wrote to a representative of the Homes who had visited Australia, stating that he had no objection whatever to the facts of his career being made public. "It may do the boys in the Homes some good," he said, "as it will show them that even a waif, by perseverance and industry, can attain much with the useful training he gets in the Home in the early part of his life." He added that many a time when his thoughts went back to his boyhood days he had offered a prayer "for the dear man and good benefactor of the poor waifs of London, who saved me from being a criminal."

The well‑equipped Australasian Hospital at the Barnardo Village at Barkingside, which has proved such a boon to thousands of Barnardo children, and which the Doctor himself fervently longed to see, was not erected until some years after his death. When a representative of the Homes visited Australia with the object of raising funds for this special purpose, the Hon. James Page warmly commended the effort and launched a subscription list, headed by a generous personal donation, among members of the Federal Parliament.

The Australasian Hospital was opened on the 6th May 1911 and gave good service to the children of Dr Barnardo's and remained open until the late 60s when the land was sold for housing. The name The Australasian Medical Unit, was transferred in the late sixties to Ivy and Oxford Cottages which had been adapted to looked after 16 severely handicapped babies and toddlers, the unit closed in 1975.

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