Literature

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25866, 9 June 1945, Page 3

Literature

THp OTAGO MEDICAL SCHOOL

A HISTORY BY DR CARMALT JONES

Annals of the University of Otago Medical School, 1875-1939. By D. W. Carmalt Jones, Professor Emeritus of Systematic Medicine, University of Otago. (A, li. and A. W. Reed). £1 Is.

Reviewed by A. H. McL»iutock, M.A., Pli.D. (Lond.)

This book is a sound and painstaking survey of the growth of the Otago Medical School, and, along with the late Professor G. E. Thompson’s “ History of the University of Otago, 1 ’ will provide a wealth of valuable data concerning university education in this province. As Dr Carmalt Jones points out, the history of the Otago Medical School was first succinctly written by Sir Louis Barnett, who, in April, 1934, contributed to the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery an article on the evolution of the Dunedin Hospital and Medical School. For this reason, Dr Carmalt Jones bluntly asserts, his task has been mainly the filling in of names and dates from the University correspondence files and similar sources and the handling of material which, he states, possesses little human interest. In a word, he has been content to play the part of a judicial and competent chronicler. But. of course, Dr Carmalt Jones does far more than this. The' very fact that for some twenty years he played a prominent part on the teaching staff of the Otago Medical School enabled him to arrange and simplify his material with understanding. Moreover, as he came from England “ to a new’appointment in a strange land at the fairly mature age of 45.” possessing an education “ along rigidly conventional lines,” it is not to be wondered at that the story of the slow develonment of the Medical, School, from feeble beginnings to resounding triumphs, should have kindled his imagination and given to his handling of material a warmth and a sympathy that impart valuable qualities to the work. Difficult Beginnings The planning of the book reveals a true appreciation of historical background. The Medical School grew from the province; its roots run back to the early days of education in Otago, and to the Motherland itself. Consequently the introductory chapters are wisely devoted —an important consideration where English readers are concerned —to a survey of early New Zealand history, the activities of the New Zealand Company, and, naturally, the settlement of Otago. With this foundation on which to develop his facts, Dr Carmalt Jones proceeds to concentrate on the history of medical practice in the province, and hospital administration, providing a wealth of information of historical and human interest. The first hospital in Dunedin, for instance, was built in 1851 and was regarded by the hardy and canny settlers as a needless extravagance in a place where health was so good. The building, at best, was a ramshackle affair and, as patients were few, the local lunatics were housed there instead of in the gaol, which' seems, as the author somewhat dryly relates, to have been regarded as the proper place for them.

To-day it seems strange to contemplate the fact that the early years of the Medical School were fraught with difficulties at times almost insuperable, for the public was largely apathetic, and the local practitioners regarded the project as injudicious or, at best, premature. The whole scheme, says the author, was on the horns of a dilemma; x-ecognition could, not be given to a school that did not exist, and a school could not discharge its functions until it was recognised. It was this delicate situation of uncertainty that saw the appointment of Dr Coughtrey to the Chair of Anatomy and Physiology, and it is clear that the author, in portraying the character of the first professor in the Med.cal School, has thoroughly enjoyed himself, the more so since he was passing judgment upon one not his contemporary. Coughtrey, it appears, was made for sportive tricks,” and during the weary months of waiting for the Medical School to function, the new professor filled in his time by addressing large audiences in a series of popular lectures on such mysteries as anatomy and physiology, and in advocating cooking classes and sound diet. Certainly Coughtrey believed in participating in the general life of the community. A good horseman, a keen volunteer and surgeon major of the Otago Hussars, associated too with the Zingari-Richmond Club in the almost legendary ’eighties, Coughtrey. it is hardly surprising to note, failed to commend himself to the Council of the University, and he res’gned his appointment little more than two years after his election. Thus Coughtrey Dlaved little part in shaping the fortunes of the struggling school. The real work was carried on by a snlendid line of teachers and others who had the interests of the school at heai't. to whose selfl°ss efforts Dr Carmalt Jones pavs well-merited tribute, and not the least to those of h’s contemporaries who rightly deserve the nrominence so impartially awarded them. The Author’s Part The book is well illustrated, and to those who know nothing of the artistic interests of the author, three pencil sketches will appear as a welcome surprise. The index is excellent, and the appendices, including a reprint of Sir Louis Barnett’s article, were wisely deemed worthy of inclusion. Naturally Dr Carmalt Jones says little about the part he has played as Professor of Systematic Medicine; he states, however, that his election to the chair was the greatest piece of good fortune which had ever befallen him. In writing these annals he has repaid the debt, although it would be foolish to suggest that this has been'his chief contribution to the history of the University. of Otago and its Medical School.