Dr EA Koch Memorial

The memorial to Doctor Edward Albert Koch was erected by the people of Cairns in 1903 to honour his work in tropical medicine, particularly in the successful treatment of tropical fevers such as malaria. Dr Koch was amongst the first to understand the role of the mosquito as the carrier of the malaria parasite. He patented a fever medicine consisting of a mixture of quinine and diluted sulphuric acid to treat and suppress malaria. Dr Koch's Celebrated Fever Mixture for Malaria was prepared by a Cairns chemist and marketed across north Queensland and Papua New Guinea. It was later credited with containing the endemic malaria existing in Cairns prior to WWII. The memorial was funded by public subscription. Townsville stonemasons Melrose and Fenwick were commissioned to design the memorial drinking fountain. It was unveiled by the governor, Major-General Sir Herbert Chermside on 13 June 1903, and was located in the centre of the intersection of Abbot and Shields streets. It was relocated to Anzac Park in the 1960s, and this park was redeveloped to allow construction of the Reef Casino in the 1990s. The memorial now overlooks its original location at the intersection of Shields and Abbot streets.