LASHINGS OF WINE AND TASTY BARK TO NIBBLE IN TOUGH PENAL COLONY

Medical   treatment  in  early  Tasmania .

In  need of  a  band aid  in  places , the  above 1977  book , by   Beatrix Kelly, hopefully  no  relation  to  a certain  unqualified  medico of the same  surname  , purchased from  a  Queensland  op  shop , is  full  of  most  interesting   information .

It seems that if you were feeling ill, in what had  originally been  named  Van Diemen's Land  by  explorer  Abel Tasman , you could  be  given  some wine  and a concoction made from  bark .

In l804 a settlement was set up in  what  became  Hobart  and there was an epidemic . Surgeon  Jacob  Mountgarrett  had  to house  12  patients in his own hut  , one  of   which  died .

As the settlement expanded there were outbreaks of scurvy (reaching epidemic proportions ), dysentery and catarrh . In  the  early hospital days  kangaroo  meat  was  made  into  soup  and  fed  to  patients .

There were more than 30 deaths from scurvy, nine being prisoners  and 21 free settlers. Nurses were not mentioned  in records  until 1818 .Prior to that relatives and  friends  of  patients  had been allowed to  sleep in the hospital .

At His Majesty's Colonial General Hospital , it was the practice to issue each patient  an allowance of  tea ,sugar and wine . Instructions were  issued by the Lieutenant  Governor  to  prevent  patients  hoarding such items  to sell to other patients ,or over-indulge  in wine . 

A free settler suffering  from  malnutrition and  a hernia  was   prescribed a nutritious diet  and supplied  with  a  gallon of  sherry . Fast forward for a moment of tropical madness . 

  

 A  thirsty modern Tassie  hernia  and  hemorrhoid  sufferer, obviously in great pain ,  is  pictured  above   in  Dr  Kelly's crowded  waiting room  to  get  a  jab with a recycled needle from the  Wagga  Wagga  tip  and  a free bag of  coal  to  keep the  home  fires and  the  rest of  the  nation   burning . 

Dr Kelly's  impressive  medical credentials from  an American hamburger  university on  display  above,  thanks to brave rabid dog catcher, David Rowe  , of the Australian Financial Review .  

Meanwhile , back in colonial Tasmania, It is fascinating to read  that  vaccination  against  smallpox was  introduced  early  in  the  settlement .  It  had   first  been  used in   New South Wales by Captain McMillan, surgeon on  HMS  Buffalo , the vessel  connected with the  settlement  of  Adelaide ,  who  had  been  rewarded  with "two  cows." 

Bark was also shipped in  from Sydney and made into drinks supposed to have  medicinal properties . Fresh supplies  of  Sydney  and Tasmanian  leeches  were on sale   A woman suffering from breast cancer was strapped into a chair , given a  stiff  dose of  rum , and operated on  by a surgeon off a  visiting warship .

 There is much information about the treatment  of female convicts, kept in the  House of  Correction and  the Female Factory , covering expectant mothers, babies, the  overworked  midwife  and " good  behaved "women  paraded   like  cattle  before  men  looking  for  a  wife. 

THE DYNAMIC IRISHMAN   

An  Irish  patriot  convict ,   Kevin  Izod  O'Doherty ,  the   son of  a  solicitor , who had  studied medicine  and worked  at  Meath  Hospital, Dublin , was transported  to  Hobart  in l849  . A member  of  the Young  Ireland Movement and co - editor of  the  Irish Tribune , he  had  been convicted of  treason  and  sent  to  the  colony for 10 years.

 Because of  his  medical qualifications , he  was acting surgeon  at St.  Mary's Hospital and on receiving a ticket of leave  managed  the Hobart dispensary .

In June 1853  he  received  a  conditional  pardon  which forbade him returning and  residing in  the United Kingdom . This dynamic individual then made his way to Paris, from whence he made a secret trip to London where  he married Mary Eva Kelly on August 23,1855.

The  following year , receiving  a full pardon , he returned  to  Ireland .After graduating as a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in June l857 , he set up practice. 

Then he sailed for Australia , landing in Victoria in 1860  where he  spent a short time at Geelong ,  moved to  Sydney, then up to Brisbane where he became  a  leading  physician . 

During his time in Queensland he influenced  the medical system, education and politics. As a member of the  Legislative Council from 1877-l885, he sponsored a bill which opposed  Blackbirding , the recruitment of  Kanakas  to work on  Queensland farms . He was also responsible  for the  first Health Act in the state .

His standing  in the  nation's Irish community was such that he was elected president of  the  Irish Australian Convention held in Melbourne in l883.

In another amazing turn in his life , in l886 he was elected to the House of Commons as the member for North Meath , but resigned after the split in Parnell's party , so returned to Brisbane .

His final appointment in Brisbane  was as secretary to the  Central Board of Health and supervisor of  the quarantine station.

When he died in 1905, the Queensland Irish Association placed a monument over his grave in the Toowong cemetery . He was survived by his wife and one of  their  eight  children .

His lively wife was a  poet , known as Eva of the Nation . The  Dictionary of Australian Biography states she wrote throughout her married life and that poems written in Queensland  had  a tone of sadness and a longing for Ireland . Published was a collection, Poems, San Francisco ,1877, and a second edition, Dublin, 1909, the  year before  she died . 

Beatrix Kelly , the author of this most interesting volume,  which took this blog down some interesting  avenues of  follow  up , graduated  in general nursing at St. Vincent's Hospital ,Melbourne , in l916. Called up for military service in  1917, she went to India , was posted to the Bombay Convalescent Hospital , later appointed   theatre sister at  Bangalore Military Hospital .

 At that hill station there were  6000 troops and a hospital with 1000 beds . She was invalided home to Tasmania  in 1919 during the  Spanish flu epidemic and spent the  duration of  that  time  carrying out district duties at  the Tasman Peninsula .

IN THE WAKE OF XAVIER HERBERT

 

 Rapidly sailing  into  dreamland  after  sitting  up  late  to watch  the  first  part of   Sam Neill's   informative  voyage  In  the  Wake of  Captain Cook , I  snapped to attention  on  hearing  author Xavier Herbert  mentioned  by  Phillip  Adams  on  Late  Night Live  in  connection  with  the   book (left )  by  Craig   Munro .

 

In  the  interview  with   Munro ,  Herbert's  prolix  novel  writing  style  was   mentioned  and  Capricornia  , based  on his experiences in the   Northern Territory , which  won the  Australian  1938 Sesqui-Centenary  Literary  Award  and  the epic Poor Fellow  My  Country , winner of the 1975  Miles Franklin  Award  for  Australian  Literature  .

A  1990  edition copy of  Poor Fellow  My Country , 1465 pages including a two page glossary of Aboriginal terms , (Bigger than the Bible-Xavier's proud boast ), with an Albert Namatjira Central Australia  painting on the cover , and  an inscription wishing a woman a happy 50th birthday,  was  recently   found  in  a  Townsville op shop . 

By Peter Simon 

I  had  a memorable   relationship  with   Xavier .  At  one  stage , he  said  I was  old  enough  to  pass  as   his son-but   uglier  than  any  one  he  may  have  sired . 

In 1980, , after an absence of 40 years, he returned to the Territory to give evidence in  an Aboriginal land claim  hearing in Darwin . He had  long advocated land rights ,saying : " Until we give back to the  blackman  just a bit of land  that  was his , and  give  it back  without provisos , without strings  to snatch  it  back , without  anything  but complete generosity of spirit in concession for the evil  we  have  done him-until  we do that ,we shall remain what we have always been so far , a  people  without integrity, not a  nation, but  a  community  of  thieves ." 

While I was driving him about  Darwin, we were overtaken  by  a car which bore a  quirky message : I'M  NOT A DIRTY OLD MAN-I'M A SEXY SENIOR CITIZEN . When I  pointed it out to him, he laughed , asked me to repeat  what  it  said   and  wrote  it  down  in  a  notebook . 

When I  took him down the track to places  where he  had  worked and through which he travelled   during the  1920s  and  1930s ,  he  spoke  about  the urge to write  another novel  set  in  the  Territory , based  on  Alice Springs in the Centre,  the  other two  having  been  about  the Top End .

When I showed him the remains of a WW ll explosives  magazine cut into a hill , with an adjoining railway line , at  Adelaide River, he became  excited. 

In the next novel, he said , he had in mind  a "renegade priest " , an Aboriginal, who  hid in  the hills and emerged from  caves  to make raids.  With  great enthusiasm, he walked  up and  down  the site, stood on the  railway  line , gazing  out  over the  surrounding  country, declaring it "wonderful." 

Another key character he envisaged in the novel was a prominent newspaper man fed up by  the way the nation  was being run .This person , he added, would "sneak " a controversial  editorial into his newspaper on  a subject which  would  cause   uproar  in  the land .  

How could  such a thing be performed  on a newspaper, he asked . After much discussion, he seemed to accept the idea that a Sunday , when the newspaper was being prepared by a small staff, for a Monday morning  edition on a  publication like the Sydney Morning Herald might be the best time to strike .  

At  his request , I  tried to arrange a  meeting   with  Rupert  Murdoch as he was  deeply  interested  in  the  rising  media  mogul . There  is  a  letter  in the   files  relating  to   this .

With him , I  drove to Alice Springs , went  to    Pine Gap , where  he  was  photographed (above) at the entrance  , called in  at  the casino , spoke to Ian Barker ,QC, who  would  go  on  to prosecute  in  the Azaria  Chamberlain case , visited  pioneer  aviator  Eddie  Connellan . 

In early  1982, Xavier  was working on the novel  with  the tentative title ,Billygoat Hill , an  Alice  feature , later  Me and  My Shadow  

The shadow referred to here was not that of  an Aborigine , nor Xavier's   wife, Sadie,  but  Queensland born   journalist , political  speech  writer  and  editor   Brian  Penton , who wrote  two  novels  about   Queensland   pioneering  landtakers   and  had  been  highly  critical  of   Capricornia ,in the  Sydney Daily Telegraph. 

In January  l984, Xavier drove to Alice in a Landrover  with  a small trailer , became ill . He was visited in hospital by the famous Australian painter Sir  Sidney  Nolan and his wife, Mary ,who were in the Centre shooting  a  film .

Nolan had visited Xavier at his home  in Redlynch , Cairns, in l981  to tell him he wanted to use scenes from Poor Fellow My Country  in a mural to mark the bicentenary of white Australian settlement .

On that occasion, Herbert told  the artist the only true Australian  national hero  had   been  Ned  Kelly. Nolan responded   by  doing a drawing  for  Xavier in  John  Mahoney's book, I am  Ned  Kelly.

Xavier got  me to ring the Wentworth Hotel  in Sydney  where Nolan  was staying  to  check if  he   had  followed up  some  matter  they had  discussed. Then  Xavier criticised  Nolan for  accepting  a  knighthood .  

Death  for  Herbert  came on November 10,l984. He was  buried in the Alice Springs cemetery on November 15 ; Sadie's ashes were   placed on  the grave  along with the Eureka flag, Aboriginal flags  and handfulls of paperbark to mark his association with Val McGinnness's people from the Finnis  River .

Val , closely associated with Xavier , with relatives from Darwin and Cairns , performed a  ritual smoking  to  appease  Herbert's spirit. 

Among those in the funeral service was Pat Dodson, Australia's first Aboriginal Catholic priest who left the church, became an  activist  and  an ALP politician . 

He had been ordained in 1975,  at the time  saying he understood the deep seated bitterness of  urban black activists  and  although he did not  agree  with all that they said or did , he had sympathy with their aims and emphasised  his  support  for the  task of  improving  the welfare of Aboriginal  people .

He worked in the  Diocese of Darwin ,which covered the entire  Northern Territory. Herbert had spoken to  him in  Alice Springs  in 1981 and  told me he was a most interesting man, who had  given him many ideas  for the renegade   priest  in  the   proposed  novel.

The novel was never finished. It  was said to have been "all over the place ". Clearly self autobiographical, it dwelt, in part, with his guilt over Sadie  and other  women in his life , with extensive sexual descriptions .The manuscript and  some of  his  other papers  were  embargoed  to  avoid  scandal.

While   carrying out  research on  Xavier ,  I  made  contact  with several people   who  died  soon  after  I interviewed  them , almost  as  if  mentioning  his   name   hastened   their  demise . The  wife of  a prominent   literary  figure  felt  certain her husband  , who  had been  unwell  ,  but  now  much  better ,  would like to  talk  to  me  over  the  phone  about  his association  with   Xavier  Herbert.   She  returned  to  the phone  saying  he  had  suddenly  become  unwell , could  not  talk to  me . 

The above unusual  memorial  to Xavier Herbert  is  situated in the  Cairns Council building  near   the  library's  drive   through  return  books  chute. 

UPCOMING :  More  stormy weather  experienced  in the wake of  Xavier Herbert . 

CAPE YORK MONSOON FLIGHTS RESUME

 Aeronautical Correspondent  Abra  takes off    

TOSSED OUT INTO THE CRUEL , COLD (STEAMY) WORLD

 Parents  taking hardline with  siblings 

Old enough to look after itself, this  young  possum  has  obviously been   told to go bush by  its mother. As  a  result, it has suddenly appeared  in  the  roof  at   the  back of  the  Little Darwin  cluttered   den  with  the obvious  intention  of  moving  in . One  position  it  has explored would not only give  it  a room   with a  view , but  a light  bulb  as well, which would come  in   handy  trying   to  read  the  fine  print of  the   television guide  at  night .    

Once it settles in  and gathers  friends , we  can  expect to hear  the pitter- patter  of   a  band   of  wretched  possums  in  army boots   galloping   across  the  roof  at   all  hours  of   the  night .

Soon also to be  told to  hit  the  road  by  their  parents   are  our    two resident , now  voracious  Curlew  chicks .They are so big it is hard to tell them  from their parents  with  whom they line up at the  backdoor  early in the  morning  demanding  to   be  fed .

Their  mother is showing signs of again  going  broody ,so  the youngsters will have to move on . The  chicks are so boisterious  they  almost  knock their parents over  grabbing food  thrown out  to  them , reprimanded  occasionally  with  a  peck . The chicks  sprint about the yard  as  if  training for the  Stawell Gift  foot race . Another  sign of  their looming  departure is the  fact that  they are seen  jumping about, flapping  their  wings , as  if   keen  to  become airborne  for  the  first  time . 

CLOUDY DAZE

 

Magnetic Island . Vallis photos 

STEP INTO MY PARLOUR

Vallis photos .

KING OF THE COUCALS

 The distinctive  loud whooping call of the Coucal is being heard ,especially from this one which  regularly takes  up  a position atop  a  high  tree  and  declares the area  his  domain .  On the  ground , foraging , a  Coucal , also known as Swamp Cuckoo ,  is spotted  now  and  again , scurrying   for  cover  as  you  approach .