DENTAL SCHOOL

Evening Star, Issue 22686, 28 June 1937, Page 7

DENTAL SCHOOL

TWftTIETH ANNIVERSARY SWKY OF DEVELOPMENT Tho advancement of the Dental School and mention of prominent persons who had been associated with it formed .the text of an address given by Dr James Fitzgerald at the anniversary dinner of the Otago University Dental Students’ Association on Saturday night. The function was well attended by present and former students, and marked the thirtieth anniversary of the foundation of the Dental School. Tho president of the Dental Students’ Association (Mr J. S. Fleming) -presided, and the Chancellor, of the University . (Mr W. J. Morrell) was among those present. “it was in 1904 that the Dental Act, providing for the establishment of the school, was passed,” Dr Fitzgerald said, when proposing the toast of The Dental School,” “ and this was mainly due to the work of the former chancellor, Sir Thomas Sidey. The Dental Sqhool was founded in 1907 with _lO students, three of whom were going for the B.D.S. degree, while the rest just came in to do some practical work. That was not a very great number compared with the 100 or more students now. Apart from the work he did in helping to found the school, Sir Thomas Sidey had done a great deal for it in other ways; ho had given many gifts and had provided bursaries, and, in addition, he was always to he relied on when assistance of any kind was required, while on the University Council he was the friend of the school jcfeht through the piece.” _ ' The first professor was Dr Piokerill, i Dr Fitzgerald continued, and the school was founded at the corner of Union and Castle streets. From time to time small portions were added to it, but a great flood came and washed away one part of it, and it was then realised that a new building was needed. The Medical School wanted a new building then also, and the University Council whs faced with the question which was the rttore urgent. It decided in favour of thfe Dental School, and soon afterwards a deputation travelled to Wellington to place the position before the Minister of Education (Mr G. W. Hassell), with the result that the students had the very fine building they worked in at the present time. It was probably one of the best dental school buildings in the Southern Hemisphere. “ I think Dr Pickerill was one of tho most brilliant men we had here,” Dr Fitzgerald added. “ Not only was that so from the dental point of view, but on the medical side also he was very well qualified. He did. a great deal for the soldiers during the war, and afterwards became a very fine facial and plastic surgeon. Professor Raynor Bell was also a very good man, and Dr R. B. Dodds, the present director of the school, has proved himself, a worthy successor to Dr Pickerill. But while you may have the staff, the building, and the equipment you need, you cannot have the school without the students themselves-—those who are now receiving their training and those who are making a name for their old school all over the world.” After acknowledging the helpful assistance that the Dental School reI ceived at all times from Dr Fitzgerald oa the University Council, Dr Dodds, who responded to the toast, said he could remember' a time when there were only two students at the school —himself and another. The attendance at lectures, it should be stated, was very high . while . that condition of things existed. Dr Dodds paid a tribute to the wisdom shown by Professor Pickerill in directing the work of the school. Recognising that neither the English nor tho American systems of teaching, while both possessed many valuable points, were quite complete, he had combined the two to a_ certain extent, and had added something of his own, with the result that the whole profession owed a great debt of gratitude to him. Dr Dodds emphasised that Otago was one of the earliest universities in the British Empire, apart from Canada, to provide a degree in and that even now, while there were plenty of 1 dental colleges and dental schools, these were in many cases not university schools. The . Otago Dental School had been _ a pioneer in its way, and frequent inquiries were received from schools in other parts of the Empire which wished to use it as a model. Mr G. L. Evans, who proposed the toast;of “The New Zealand Dental Association,” said the association had made the first move towards the founding of the Dental School, and since its establishment had stood by it in many ways. Mr W. G. Middlemass. in reply, spoke of the necessity, for loyalty to the association, and impressed on the students the value of the recentlyestablished Dental Council. Other toasts were “ Kindred Faculties,” proposed by Mr E. Craddock and responded to by Dr J. A. D. Iverach, and “ Professors and Lecturers,” proposed by Mr T. M. Emanuel and replied to by Professor J. R. Burt. '