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Ram Chandra demonstrates snake bite on unidentified member of the audience during Snake Show at Reid's Department Store, Ipswich, February 1978
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TitleRam Chandra demonstrates snake bite on unidentified member of the audience during Snake Show at Reid's Department Store, Ipswich, February 1978Date Created24th February 1978AcknowledgementThe Queensland Times
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DescriptionEdward Royce Ramsamy was born in Lawrence, New South Wales, in 1921. He was known by his stage name, Ram Chandra, under which he performed educational and entertaining shows with snakes, including his colourfully named ‘Pit of Death’ attraction. Another aspect of these shows was first-aid training in snake bites, which he would demonstrate to the public and to healthcare professionals in vocational training seminars. Chandra was bitten many times over his life and so his experience was first-hand.
In 1942, Chandra began his show career in Sydney before expanding north to Queensland. He would perform three shows a day and was known colloquially as ‘The Taipan Man’. It was at one of these shows, performed at the Mackay Show in North Queensland, that he met his wife, Nolear, a Torres Straight Islander woman. They lived in Mackay and had eleven children.
Chandra was passionate about educating people about snakes, and taipan snakes in particular. He was well known across Queensland and travelled widely, presenting his shows in rural towns as well as in cities like Ipswich, where he performed in Reid’s Department store in February 1978 and in Bell Street in December 1979. These department store shows did not include his famous ‘Pit of Death’, but he would show the audience an example of a non-venomous snake bite by having one of his snakes bite an audience member and show how the bite of a non-venomous snake bleeds freely and that the wound only releases blood and no venom. The envenomated bite of a venomous snake oozes venom.
Prior to the 1950s, the taipan snake was considered to be a brown snake and not its own species. In 1982, during a Queensland Legislative Assembly meeting, Members Bob Katter for Flinders and Vince Lester for Peak Downs discussed the dismissal of health authorities of taipan snakes existing outside their pre-supposed range, the insistence that all taipan bites were caused by brown snakes, and their subsequent refusal to develop an antivenom for taipans.
Chandra not only believed that taipans were their own species of snake with their own type of venom, but also that the habitat of the taipan was far greater than its accepted range, which supposed to be in the northern tropics of Queensland exclusively. He theorised that taipans were the cause of many deadly snake bites in sub-tropical Queensland. Not only was there no taipan antivenom at the time, but tiger snake antivenom, which is effective against tiger snake venom and moderately effective against brown and red-bellied black snake bites, was totally ineffectual against taipan injuries.
In late December 1951, Chandra had the opportunity to milk the venom from a taipan captured in Northern Queensland when the snake was brought into a museum in Mackay. A sample of this taipan’s venom was sent by the museum owner, J. H. Williams, to Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (CSL) in the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne. CSL was founded in 1916 and creates snake antivenom products as well as penicillin, insulin, and vaccines against infectious diseases.
In March 1955, Chandra attempted to create his own antivenom for taipan venom and tested it on a kangaroo rat. His concoction was ineffective and the rat could not be saved. The experiment was supervised by Dr Chenoweth who suggested Chandra allow him to take some fresh taipan venom to Sugar Research Station and have it freeze-dried (a process called lyophilisation) and delivered on to CSL.
CSL studied this venom sample from Chandra and had created and made available the first taipan antivenom within six months. Chandra continued to supply CSL with taipan venom for use in antivenoms for over thirty years.
The earliest human recipient of the CSL antivenom was a ten-year-old Cairns boy named Bruce Stringer. In 1955, he was bitten by a taipan when playing in at school in Freshwater, Cairns. Stringer would permanently lose his senses of taste and smell as a result of the snake bite. Chandra met with Stringer in hospital several days after the event and considered his part in saving the boy’s life his proudest moment.
On the 11th of April 1956, Chandra would require treatment with the taipan antivenom himself after being bitten multiple times by a taipan during a snake demonstration in Mackay. His case was studied as the first time a snake bite had been confirmed to be caused by a taipan and then treated with the taipan antivenom. The dose of antivenom Chandra was treated with had been made with the venom of the same snake which had bitten him.
Chandra took on the task of mapping out the numbers of taipans across Queensland in order to best utilise the available antivenom by having more antivenom available in locations of denser taipan populations. He performed his snake demonstrations to pay for the cost of his research.
Chandra would develop paralysis symptoms in his legs due to repeated exposures to snake venom. Though his condition improved from total paralysis of his legs to only minor paralysis, he walked with the aid of a cane and performed his shows sitting on a chair when possible. He would later be helped in his snake conservation work by his eldest son, Edward (Eddie) Ramsamy.
In 1973, the local council of Mackay successfully lobbied the Queensland Government Department of Health for Chandra to be recognised for his studies and his work for the benefit of Australian people. He was given an ex gratia payment of $2000 (estimated at $21,000 in 2022 values) in appreciation for his work specifically in sourcing taipan venom for the purposes of making antivenom.
In the 1970s, musical artist Lyall Sutcliffe wrote the biographical song ‘Ram Chandra the Taipan Man’ with backing from the Wagon Wheel Group. Several versions were produced, including one in 1974, 1975, and one in 1977. Chandra would sell signed copies of the record of the song at his demonstrations.
In 1975, Chandra was awarded the British Empire Medal, an award given to those who offer direct and practical services to a local community, often voluntarily. He was also given a Queen’s Birthday Honour.
In 1977, the first of three books would be published about the life of Chandra; ‘Search for the Taipan : the story of Ram Chandra’ by Phillip Jones. The second book would be released eleven years later in 1988 titled ‘Traveller Brown : the story of Ram Chandra and the taipan’ by Tasman Beattie and Nan Rogers. The final book would be published in 1999 after Chandra’s death and also be written by Nan Rogers; ‘Ram : the Man. The legend. A biography’.
In 1981, Chandra was given Mackay’s inaugural Senior Citizen’s Award.
On the 30th of June 1982, Chandra retired. On the 24th of March that year, Legislative Assembly of Queensland Member for Peak Downs, Vince Lester, described Chandra’s many accomplishments during his long career which spanned over 1,285,000 kilometres and forty years, including raising over $50,000 for charity, an amount which equates to $198,000 in 2022 values, and educating millions of people, from schoolchildren to air force personnel. At that time, thirty-eight people had recovered from taipan bites after being treated with the taipan antivenom.
In 1991, a street in Mackay was named in his honour as Ram Chandra Place. Later, the Ram Chandra Park in Slade Point, Queensland, was also named after him.
In 1992, Chandra accepted the Paul Harris International Rotary Award.
In 1995, Chandra was awarded the Order of Australia Medal, which is given in recognition of incredible service to Australia.
Chandra passed away on Friday the 31st of July 1998. On the 4th of August of that year, Legislative Assembly of Queensland Member for Mackay, Tim Mulherin, stated that over ninety people had been saved by the taipan antivenom which Chandra helped to create. Later that month, on the 26th of August, Legislative Assembly of Queensland Member for Mirani, Ted Malone, described Chandra’s funeral as “one of the largest funerals seen in Mackay in recent times.” Both Mulherin and Malone expounded on Chandra’s educational work, not only through demonstrations and snake shows to the public, but also to ambulance drivers and other first responders and health professionals regarding the best treatment of snake injuries. Chandra was also remembered for his generous donations to charities, including cancer research.
Chandra’s wife, Nolear, survived him and passed away in March 2021 at the age of 103.
A note on terminology: Ram Chandra used the French ‘antivenin’ instead of ‘antivenom’. Both terms are correct, however in 1981 the World Health Organisation (WHO) published a study called ‘Progress in the characterization of venoms and standardization of antivenoms’ which used ‘antivenom’ as the preferred term. Antivenom is the more common word today in English-speaking countries.References (online)The pioneers of venom production for Australian antivenoms – Peter Mirtschin – Toxicon Vol. 48 pp. 899-918 - Toxicon – 2006 – [Accessed 28 January 2024]We Are CSL – CSL – [Accessed 28 January 2024]Orders and Medals – The Honours System of the United Kingdom – [Accessed 28 January 2024]The Order of Australia – The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia - [Accessed 28 January 2024]The Death of Kevin Budden – David Williams – 2004 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Speech by Mr Tim Mulherin Member for Mackay : Mr E. R. Ramsamy – Queensland Parliament – 4 August 1998 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Speech by Mr Ted Malone Member for Mirani : Mr E. R. Ramsamy – Queensland Parliament – 26 August 1998 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Statements by Members : Ramsamy, Ms Nolia – George Christensen – parliament of Australia – 25 March 2021 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]97-year-old Torres Strait Islander shares the secret to long life - Sophie Kesteven – ABC – 22 July 2015 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Ram Chandra Survives Bite from Taipan – The Central Queensland Herald – 12 April 1956 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Guidelines for the production, control and regulation of snake antivenom immunoglobulins – World Health Organisation - WHO Technical Report Series, No. 1004, Annex 5 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Hunting the Deadly Coastal Taipan – ABC Conversations – 9 March 2018 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]A Big Country : ‘The Taipan Man’ – ABC – 1977 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Queensland Parliamentary Debates [Hansard] Legislative Assembly – Wednesday, 24 March 1982 – Queensland Parliament – 24 March 1982 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Milked Live Taipan – Morning Bulletin – 24 December 1951 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Taipan Venom by Air to Melb. (to aid research work) – Daily Mercury – 24 December 1951 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]1973 Queensland Cabinet Minutes Report – Queensland Government – 1973 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]
In 1942, Chandra began his show career in Sydney before expanding north to Queensland. He would perform three shows a day and was known colloquially as ‘The Taipan Man’. It was at one of these shows, performed at the Mackay Show in North Queensland, that he met his wife, Nolear, a Torres Straight Islander woman. They lived in Mackay and had eleven children.
Chandra was passionate about educating people about snakes, and taipan snakes in particular. He was well known across Queensland and travelled widely, presenting his shows in rural towns as well as in cities like Ipswich, where he performed in Reid’s Department store in February 1978 and in Bell Street in December 1979. These department store shows did not include his famous ‘Pit of Death’, but he would show the audience an example of a non-venomous snake bite by having one of his snakes bite an audience member and show how the bite of a non-venomous snake bleeds freely and that the wound only releases blood and no venom. The envenomated bite of a venomous snake oozes venom.
Prior to the 1950s, the taipan snake was considered to be a brown snake and not its own species. In 1982, during a Queensland Legislative Assembly meeting, Members Bob Katter for Flinders and Vince Lester for Peak Downs discussed the dismissal of health authorities of taipan snakes existing outside their pre-supposed range, the insistence that all taipan bites were caused by brown snakes, and their subsequent refusal to develop an antivenom for taipans.
Chandra not only believed that taipans were their own species of snake with their own type of venom, but also that the habitat of the taipan was far greater than its accepted range, which supposed to be in the northern tropics of Queensland exclusively. He theorised that taipans were the cause of many deadly snake bites in sub-tropical Queensland. Not only was there no taipan antivenom at the time, but tiger snake antivenom, which is effective against tiger snake venom and moderately effective against brown and red-bellied black snake bites, was totally ineffectual against taipan injuries.
In late December 1951, Chandra had the opportunity to milk the venom from a taipan captured in Northern Queensland when the snake was brought into a museum in Mackay. A sample of this taipan’s venom was sent by the museum owner, J. H. Williams, to Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (CSL) in the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne. CSL was founded in 1916 and creates snake antivenom products as well as penicillin, insulin, and vaccines against infectious diseases.
In March 1955, Chandra attempted to create his own antivenom for taipan venom and tested it on a kangaroo rat. His concoction was ineffective and the rat could not be saved. The experiment was supervised by Dr Chenoweth who suggested Chandra allow him to take some fresh taipan venom to Sugar Research Station and have it freeze-dried (a process called lyophilisation) and delivered on to CSL.
CSL studied this venom sample from Chandra and had created and made available the first taipan antivenom within six months. Chandra continued to supply CSL with taipan venom for use in antivenoms for over thirty years.
The earliest human recipient of the CSL antivenom was a ten-year-old Cairns boy named Bruce Stringer. In 1955, he was bitten by a taipan when playing in at school in Freshwater, Cairns. Stringer would permanently lose his senses of taste and smell as a result of the snake bite. Chandra met with Stringer in hospital several days after the event and considered his part in saving the boy’s life his proudest moment.
On the 11th of April 1956, Chandra would require treatment with the taipan antivenom himself after being bitten multiple times by a taipan during a snake demonstration in Mackay. His case was studied as the first time a snake bite had been confirmed to be caused by a taipan and then treated with the taipan antivenom. The dose of antivenom Chandra was treated with had been made with the venom of the same snake which had bitten him.
Chandra took on the task of mapping out the numbers of taipans across Queensland in order to best utilise the available antivenom by having more antivenom available in locations of denser taipan populations. He performed his snake demonstrations to pay for the cost of his research.
Chandra would develop paralysis symptoms in his legs due to repeated exposures to snake venom. Though his condition improved from total paralysis of his legs to only minor paralysis, he walked with the aid of a cane and performed his shows sitting on a chair when possible. He would later be helped in his snake conservation work by his eldest son, Edward (Eddie) Ramsamy.
In 1973, the local council of Mackay successfully lobbied the Queensland Government Department of Health for Chandra to be recognised for his studies and his work for the benefit of Australian people. He was given an ex gratia payment of $2000 (estimated at $21,000 in 2022 values) in appreciation for his work specifically in sourcing taipan venom for the purposes of making antivenom.
In the 1970s, musical artist Lyall Sutcliffe wrote the biographical song ‘Ram Chandra the Taipan Man’ with backing from the Wagon Wheel Group. Several versions were produced, including one in 1974, 1975, and one in 1977. Chandra would sell signed copies of the record of the song at his demonstrations.
In 1975, Chandra was awarded the British Empire Medal, an award given to those who offer direct and practical services to a local community, often voluntarily. He was also given a Queen’s Birthday Honour.
In 1977, the first of three books would be published about the life of Chandra; ‘Search for the Taipan : the story of Ram Chandra’ by Phillip Jones. The second book would be released eleven years later in 1988 titled ‘Traveller Brown : the story of Ram Chandra and the taipan’ by Tasman Beattie and Nan Rogers. The final book would be published in 1999 after Chandra’s death and also be written by Nan Rogers; ‘Ram : the Man. The legend. A biography’.
In 1981, Chandra was given Mackay’s inaugural Senior Citizen’s Award.
On the 30th of June 1982, Chandra retired. On the 24th of March that year, Legislative Assembly of Queensland Member for Peak Downs, Vince Lester, described Chandra’s many accomplishments during his long career which spanned over 1,285,000 kilometres and forty years, including raising over $50,000 for charity, an amount which equates to $198,000 in 2022 values, and educating millions of people, from schoolchildren to air force personnel. At that time, thirty-eight people had recovered from taipan bites after being treated with the taipan antivenom.
In 1991, a street in Mackay was named in his honour as Ram Chandra Place. Later, the Ram Chandra Park in Slade Point, Queensland, was also named after him.
In 1992, Chandra accepted the Paul Harris International Rotary Award.
In 1995, Chandra was awarded the Order of Australia Medal, which is given in recognition of incredible service to Australia.
Chandra passed away on Friday the 31st of July 1998. On the 4th of August of that year, Legislative Assembly of Queensland Member for Mackay, Tim Mulherin, stated that over ninety people had been saved by the taipan antivenom which Chandra helped to create. Later that month, on the 26th of August, Legislative Assembly of Queensland Member for Mirani, Ted Malone, described Chandra’s funeral as “one of the largest funerals seen in Mackay in recent times.” Both Mulherin and Malone expounded on Chandra’s educational work, not only through demonstrations and snake shows to the public, but also to ambulance drivers and other first responders and health professionals regarding the best treatment of snake injuries. Chandra was also remembered for his generous donations to charities, including cancer research.
Chandra’s wife, Nolear, survived him and passed away in March 2021 at the age of 103.
A note on terminology: Ram Chandra used the French ‘antivenin’ instead of ‘antivenom’. Both terms are correct, however in 1981 the World Health Organisation (WHO) published a study called ‘Progress in the characterization of venoms and standardization of antivenoms’ which used ‘antivenom’ as the preferred term. Antivenom is the more common word today in English-speaking countries.References (online)The pioneers of venom production for Australian antivenoms – Peter Mirtschin – Toxicon Vol. 48 pp. 899-918 - Toxicon – 2006 – [Accessed 28 January 2024]We Are CSL – CSL – [Accessed 28 January 2024]Orders and Medals – The Honours System of the United Kingdom – [Accessed 28 January 2024]The Order of Australia – The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia - [Accessed 28 January 2024]The Death of Kevin Budden – David Williams – 2004 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Speech by Mr Tim Mulherin Member for Mackay : Mr E. R. Ramsamy – Queensland Parliament – 4 August 1998 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Speech by Mr Ted Malone Member for Mirani : Mr E. R. Ramsamy – Queensland Parliament – 26 August 1998 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Statements by Members : Ramsamy, Ms Nolia – George Christensen – parliament of Australia – 25 March 2021 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]97-year-old Torres Strait Islander shares the secret to long life - Sophie Kesteven – ABC – 22 July 2015 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Ram Chandra Survives Bite from Taipan – The Central Queensland Herald – 12 April 1956 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Guidelines for the production, control and regulation of snake antivenom immunoglobulins – World Health Organisation - WHO Technical Report Series, No. 1004, Annex 5 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Hunting the Deadly Coastal Taipan – ABC Conversations – 9 March 2018 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]A Big Country : ‘The Taipan Man’ – ABC – 1977 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Queensland Parliamentary Debates [Hansard] Legislative Assembly – Wednesday, 24 March 1982 – Queensland Parliament – 24 March 1982 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Milked Live Taipan – Morning Bulletin – 24 December 1951 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]Taipan Venom by Air to Melb. (to aid research work) – Daily Mercury – 24 December 1951 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]1973 Queensland Cabinet Minutes Report – Queensland Government – 1973 - [Accessed 28 January 2024]
Connections
BusinessesReid's Department StorePeople & FamiliesEdward Royce Ramsamy (Ram Chandra) (1921-1998)Nolear Ramsamy (1917-2021)Curated CollectionsWho Do You Think I Am?Taxonomy20th Century | 1970s | 1978
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Queensland Times Collection
Queensland Times CollectionThe Queensland Times CollectionFebruary 1978 - Queensland Times
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Reference IDQT-1978-02-24-0018rQT-1978-02-24-0019QT-1978-02-24-0022rQT-1978-02-24-0020rAsset TypeImage - JpegImages, Maps and Artefacts (Trove mapping field)imageColour or Black & White ImageBlack & WhitePhysical DescriptionNegativeCopyright NoticeThis work was created after 1st January 1955. It is protected by the Copyright Act 1968. Copyright duration is for the life of the creator plus 70 years.
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The creator retains ownership of the copyright of this work. The creator has granted Picture Ipswich a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use and reproduce this work.
Under the Fair Dealing exception of the Copyright Act 1968, you can use this work for research or study, criticism or review, and parody or satire. Moral rights remain and the work MUST be correctly attributed to its creator (photographer, studio, author, etc.) with acknowledgement of Picture Ipswich as the source of the work.
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Copyright
This work is protected under the Copyright Act 1968
This work was created after 1st January 1955. It is protected by the Copyright Act 1968. Copyright duration is for the life of the creator plus 70 years.
The creator retains ownership of the copyright of this work. The creator has granted Picture Ipswich a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use and reproduce this work.
Under the Fair Dealing exception of the Copyright Act 1968, you can use this work for research or study, criticism or review, and parody or satire. Moral rights remain and the work MUST be correctly attributed to its creator (photographer, studio, author, etc.) with acknowledgement of Picture Ipswich as the source of the work.
You CANNOT use this work for any other purpose (including redistribution on social media platforms) without seeking permission first.
For more information, or if you require a higher resolution copy of this work, please contact Picture Ipswich.
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Ram Chandra demonstrates snake bite on unidentified member of the audience during Snake Show at Reid's Department Store, Ipswich, February 1978. Picture Ipswich, accessed 15/09/2026, https://www.pictureipswich.com.au/nodes/view/28191