The Bert Turner Fund has been established to pay for hyperbaric treatments for patients who are not covered by Medicare or private health insurance, where efficacy is demonstrable and is endorsed by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS), the international watchdog on appropriate uses for hyperbaric medicine. The Fund has the discretion to fund patients with appropriate conditions and no health funding support.

The Fund is run by the Wesley Centre for Hyperbaric Medicine and exists through donations from the public and other hyperbaric patients.

If you wish to help others obtain the hyperbaric treatment and care you have received at the Wesley Centre, we would welcome your donation to the Bert Turner Fund. Please enquire from our staff or contact us by phone, fax or email.

Bert Turner was born in Cairns to parents, Thomas and Charlotte Turner on the 9th September 1916.

Bert was strong and athletic and excelled in numerous sports such as cricket, tennis, boxing, cycling and long distance swimming. He enlisted in the Army in Sydney on the 8th July 1940 and was selected for specialised training in unarmed combat and demolition procedures.

On the 24th of July 1941 Bert was a member of a "Z" force commando unit placed on Manus Island under the leadership of Lieutenant Palmer. Manus Island, at its closest point is approximately 320km north of what is now PNG, and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands and part of the Bismarck Archipelago.

The unit dug in and had control of the Island for some months until a convoy of Japanese ships unloaded approximately 15,000 personnel on the island.

After several weeks hiding from the Japanese it became obvious that it would only be a matter of time before they were discovered.

This small group traveled some two hundred miles though Japanese patrolled waters and disembarked from their escape boats at Bogadjim, Astrolabe Bay, northern New Guinea, near Madang.

As they walked along the beach, a small monoplane circled low overhead and eventually landed on the beach nearby. The pilot of the plane, Australian Missionary Catholic Priest Father Glover, had recognised the group from the air as Aussies and warned them that their present course would take them to a large Japanese camp. Father Glover then quickly took to the air again. It was a strange even miraculous happening to have a Priest drop out of the sky and warn of impending danger.

The soldiers, suffering from poor health, recurring malarial attacks, and with Lieutenant Palmer on a stretcher, then headed bare-footed out of Bogadjim to begin their epic journey across wilderness New Guinea. After three days of travel they reached the Upper Ramu River valley, passing over the Finnisterre mountain range. On 5 May they struggled through many flooded rivers and over the Bismarck mountain range finally arriving at the Mt. Hagen camp on 16 May. It had taken months to fight their way against the enemy and the extreme conditions of the mountains of New Guinea, and when the unit eventually reached Army Headquarters in Port Moresby (approximately 900km from Manus Island) there was a feeling of jubilation that they made it against impossible odds. However this was short lived as the officer of the day arrested the group on a charge of desertion and they were all imprisoned.

Some time later an inquiry reversed the decision and Lt. Palmer received the Military Medal for his actions. On the 22nd of May 1942, after 315 days of continuous active service, Bert was granted leave and returned to Cairns to visit his family and friends.

While he was in Cairns Bert married his sweetheart Beryl on the 24th April 1943. They decided to settle in Brisbane.

On the 8th of November 1943, after serving a total of 1219 days, Bert was discharged from further military service due to health reasons.

When Bert was studying for the Post Office exams he used to catch the ferry across the Brisbane River. He was always running late for the ferry and used to have to jump off the wharf to catch it. One day he was running later than usual and the ferry was a lot further away, however he thought that with his military training this would not be a problem and so he jumped. He ended up in the river with his paperwork and books floating alongside him.

Bert sat for the Post Office exams and achieved the highest result in Queensland. He worked for the Post Office in Brisbane for 38 years until he retired.