They Crossed the River is the story of a handful of sisters in the All Hallows Congregation of the Order of Mercy who, on the strength of a donation of $500 from a well-wisher, set about building a hospital complex that has become the largest in Australia controlled by a religious order. The reader will find here not only the history of the Mater Public Hospital in Brisbane, but a revealing sidelight on the evolution of free public hospitals in Queensland – the state that persisted with that particular system when others abandoned it. It is also the story of the unsuccessful attempts by the Queensland Government of the time to exclude the Mater Public Hospital for the scheme. In these days when social services are taken somewhat for granted, it is salutary to look back to a time when there was little in the way of government largess, and charity was the motive that brought such institutions into being. Apart from the fascinating history of the hospital, the book is illustrated with colour and black and white photographs. In addition, appendices give the names of every nun and every honorary medical officer who served in the Mater Hospital since its inception.