MEDICAL PRACTICE IN OTAGO AND SOUTHLAND IN THE EARLY DAYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3511, 28 June 1921, Page 53

MEDICAL PRACTICE IN OTAGO AND SOUTHLAND IN THE EARLY DAYS.

By

Robert Valpy Fulton,

LXIII. —HOCKEN THE HISTORIAN. (Continued.) Dr Hocken was in 1863 appointed Coroner for the city, and one of his first inquests was upon the ever memorable tragedy, the wreck of the Pride of the Yarra on the 4th July in Otago Harbour, a wreck accompanied by the loss of many valuable lives, including that of the Rev. Hewitt Campbell, first rector of the Otago Roys’ High School. The little paddlesteamer left Port Chalmers wharf in the dusk of the evening and after taking off the passengers from tlie Matoaka at Hobart Town Point and returning to Port Chalmers for those on board the recently arrived William Miskin, she steamed otf ’towards Dunedin. When opposite St. Leonards, or v»liat was then known as Blanket Bay, she met the Favourite just where the channel is fairly narrow ; somehow, someone “lost his headthe lights were not what they ought to have been, the steamers were travelling at a dangerous pace, and before one could count a hundred the crash came, and the Pride of the Yarra filled, sank, and carried to a watery grave no fewer than 14 persons. We think we are right in saying that Mr John Ross, of this city, is the only one now surviving of that terrible catastrophe, and to a reporter of the Evening Star, July 10, 1909, he gave a graphic account of his experiences, the recollections of which even after a lapse of half a century were indelibly impressed upon bis memory. He was standing near the bows of the Pride, when he saw lights coming fast down the channel towards them, and he concluded at once that there must be a collision. He got close to the gunwale, well forward, and as the Favourite struck he got haid of her rail and hung on, his body half over, by securing a grip of an iron ring. To this he hung, but could get no further because other people kept catching hold of his legs and body and climbing over him on to the Favourite. The Pride, of the Yarra sank in a few moments, and when Mr Ross could get his legs free and was able to scramble on board, he was badly knocked about and hardly conscious owing to the trampling he had received. The Favourite took most of the survivors to the Port, where some staved, others driving up to Dunedin. Fourteen bodies were found next day and laid out for the inquest in the Provincial Hotel. Mr John Mill, of f’nrt Chalmers, is, we think, the only one left of those who assisted in this melancholy task. The late Mr W. Melville, of George street, was one of those who had a narrow escape. Later on he secured a fine picture by O'Brien of the hulk of the Pride as she lav on the shore for many a year. There is a good photograph of it in the Early Settlers’ Museum. The Rev. Hewitt Campbell was the newlv appointed rector who had the day before arrived from England by the Matoaka: he, his wife and five children, aged 5,4, 21,, 11, years and 6 weeks, with two maids were all drowned in the cabin. When their bodies were taken out and laid side by side their faces were placid and fresh; they had had no time to struggle and must have perished almost instanteously. The papers of the time say that the emotion and grief displayed by many of those who witnessed this pathetic sight, was overwhelming, and the whole citv attended the public funeral which followed. At the inquest, Dr Hockcn’s summing up of the evidence and address to the jury contained many strictures upon the gross lack of supervision and control of the harbour steamer traffic. His remarks were severe, and the result of the inquest was that the captain and mate of the Favourite were committed for trial for manslaughter, but later were aquitted and finallv discharged. At the end of 1863 the Superintendentappointed a commission to examine into the conduct and working of the hospital and lunatic asylum, Dr Hocken being appointed one of the commissioners. We have referred freely to this commission in the articles on Dr Eccles, but the fact of Dr Hocken’s appointment to such an important boclv shows that he had already made a good impression upon the provincial authorities, and was probably armed with particularly good testimonials from the Home colleges as to his fitness in medical jurisprudence. The evidence given before this commission was startling in the extreme, and is well worthy of perusal by anyone particularly interested in asylum management. The Provincial Ordinances for the day are quaint and make interesting reading. Bread Ordinance lavs down weight and character of loaves, excluding fancy bread and stale bread, etc. Sabbath Observance Ordinance forbids any games, discharge of firearms, manual labour, and sales in shops on Sundavs. The only exceptions were sales of medicines and liquor in hotels. [Note.—Golfers and tennis players of to-day have a free hand. Hotels are closed and the sale of medicines is restricted to very limited hours, an<] yet we arc? alive and do not seem much the worse.) Vaccination Ordinance for the extension of the practice of vaccination and prevention of the spread of that terrible disease small pox, which many of Hit* wise old city fathers had had personal experience of in their youth, thus they thev practically stamped out the disease even in the midst of an influx of persons of all nations and languages, flooding the citv from the various points of the com7.oss. {Police Ordinance, which included penalties for building wooden chimneys, for loading vehicles with part of the load projecting more than five feet from the centre ©f tTie vehicle; for driving or leaving vehicles with curtains unfastened or flapping, there!,v frightening horses, etc. In the “sixties,” just as to-day, melancholy

accidents were reported of persons shot dead or shockingly wounded by gunshot, the result of careless meddling with firearms, playful pointing of weapons, an unexpected explosion and the usual story of “I did not know it was loaded” coming out at the inquest. The same accidents occur and will occur until every child is taught in the home, as the writer was taught with a heavy hand and a laid-on-slipper that to POINT at another person a toy weapon of any sort, be it bow and arrows, shanghai, gun or pistol, is a criminal offeree, and that although it is only a. representation of a lethal weapon, the make believe threatening with such, or the pretence at “I’ll shoot you” leads to carelessness and has caused more accidents than almost any other reason, and that an ingrained rule of never to POINT or AIM any weapon, imitation or real, would largely prevent such deplorable occurrences. Children pointing and firing “toy-cap’’ pistols at each other should bo duly warned, and, if necessary, severely punished. This lesson is well worth impressing on our youngsters. Why not teach it in the schools? If a child knows it is wrong to POINT an imitation weapon he will never POINT a real one. At this time also there sat a Commission to inquire into the allegations made by Miss Rye in a letter to the London Times about the character of the inmates and the gross mismanagement, by the authorities of the Dunedin Immigration Barracks in Princes street. The buildings stood where afterwards was erected the Old Times Restaurant, just south of Police street, which was then occupied by the site of the mounted constable barracks; and much fuss was made by Miss Rye because the two establishments were back to back, her letter hinting at wrong doings which the inhabitants of Dunedin were quick to deny and confident in their powers of disproval. The commission consisted of Messrs Rennie, Steele, Duncan, Pinkerton and Dick, and they went most fully into all the allegations, called in evidence—the Matron (Mrs Allpenny), the Immigration Agent (Mr Colin Allan), Inspector Branigan of the Police, Sir John Richardson, the Superintendent, and finally a number of the inmates, girls who were new arrivals from Home. They entirely disproved all the charges made by Miss Rye, except that the accommodation was not extensive and that the girls, few of whom stayed long, were not made very comfortable. Some of the charges were ridiculous and a grain of humour was given to the evidence by the fact that Miss Rve had stated that the girls had been fed upon hominy, and no one could be found who knew what HOMINY was. The cruel accusations against the character of the girls themselves were completely disproved and the commission did not scruple to say so. The year 1865 was a notable one : it was Exhibition Year; it was the year of a large comet; it was Hie year when tremendous and extensive fires devastated the town starting with one in Stafford street, when a man was burned to death ; a week later the original First Church and the Bank of Otago, in Princes street, went up in smoke and flame; then another in the Octagon and Princes street on February 8, and a bigger one in the Telegraph Hotel in the Octagon on March J. 5. The great Jarvey poisoning case dragged on from March to June, and from June to September, and finally came Captain Jarvey’s execution on October 14. German Charlie was murdered in Alva street, close to the site of the High Street School, then covered in thick native bush and scrub. In 1866, three hotels in Maclaggan street were burnt, the first Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society Show took place, and bellringing which had become quite a nuisance in the streets and at shop doors was prohibited by ordinance, and horn blowing immediately took its place. Cook Strait cable was laid and the town became plunged into- festivities—balls, banquets, dinners, levees and races—for Sir George Grey the Governor, had arrived. Now occurred the largest fire so far seen in Dunedin, both sides of (Princes street from Moray place to the Octagon being in a blaze. The whole Province was in an uproar for half the year over Provincial v. General Government control of the goldfields; public meetings, private meetings and finallv a plebiscite showed an overwhelming opinion as to the wish of the people, that the management should be left in the hands of the Provincial Government-. Dunedin Waterworks Company was formally opened, and a census of the Province taken. In 1868, gales, floods, wrecks and fires took place so that February 20 was set apart as a day of humiliation and prayer for escape from disaster by sea and land. During the year foundation stones were laid of New First Church (May 28), Masonic Hall (May 31), Graving Dock (July 20), and later the Floating Dock was launched. 1869 was noted for its gales and floods in January; the death of Mr John Jones, cue of the most prominent of the very early settlers long before the arrival of the immigrants to the Scottish Province. ITe was a most useful man, and, though not without his faults, was an immense help to the pioneers, and his name is perhaps better known to the “old identitv” than that of any other man in New Zealand. The Duke of Edinburgh arrived, qnd, as was fitting, great festivities, races, etc., took place. A smart earthquake shock was felt on June 24, and on July 20, the first meeting of the Otago Institute, a branch of the N.Z. Institute, was held, and His Honour Judge Ward delivered his presidential address. Dr Hocken was appointed honorary secretary with Mr J. S. Webb, and the following year Mr Webb becoming vice-president Dr line-ken remained as secretary. As will be seen later, he retained a most vital and active interest in the affairs of this, the Scientific Societv of the Province, for a period of nearly half-n-century, tkiunda tion of the Atlienanun and of the Wesn|fc>>i 1 lm-rclr were laid in the same year, 1869. 1870 was ushered in with gales and floods, and, as had been the

case for many years, with ,a considerable number of shipwrecks. The fire brigade had been thoroughly reorganised, and the number of fires was materially reduced, and the fires often checked as soon as they began. Agricultural shows were held all over the Province, and the Acclimatisation Society, in which both Dr Hocken and Dr Eccles took great interest, got busy with its importations of birds, hares, and fish ova. The Rev. Dr Burns, the Aaron of the settlement, died on January 23, 1871, and the usual Burns’ Anniversary Meeting was postponed until February 3, on this account. Mr Donald Reid was elected M.H.R. for the Taieri. ... .M’.S. Clio with. Governor 80-wen on board struck upon a rock in Milford Sound, but- she was got off without serious damage, and the Governor arrived safely at Invercargill on March 6. Bishop Moran entered his diocese on February 18, and two days later a stirring election took place for the Superintendency of the Province; Donald Reid, the member for the Taieri, quite a young man in general politics, challenged the veteran James Macandrevv, and was beaten by but 293 votes out of a gross poll of 6193. Fires still broke out at intervals, the City Buffet and Dunning Brothers, in Princes street, in June, Woodhaugh Flourmills in July, and the following year Black and Thompson’s Timber Yards and McLeod and Company in (Princes street; Duncan’s Flourmills and Wilson’s Brewery at the Water of Leith. Bishop Nevill arrived on November 14, and the first Session of the Anglican Synod took place on December 11. H.M.S. Dido entered the Graving Dock on December 20, and next day Governor Bowen arrived by the p.s. Luna, and, amidst great acclamations, opened the Port Chalmers Railway on December 31. It need no! be mentioned that all this time Dr Hocken had been extremely busy in bis capacity as Coroner, ail shipwrecks, accidents, murders, suicides and fires added to his burdens, and in February, 1873, he was appointed medical officer to the Benevolent Institution. He carried on the duties of attendant to these aged inmates for many years with infinite skill and solicitude; he also acted as surgeon to the volunteers, having been gazetted to the Dunedin Naval Brigade as early as 1865, and to the Dunedin Naval Artillery in 1885, resigning in 1887 on being gazetted surgeon to thb N.Z. Defence Forces. In 1876, some exception was taken by Mr J. B. Bradshaw and others as to the coro-ne-rships being held bv medical men in active practice. Considerable discussion took place in the House of Parliament, and in 1885 a fresh agitation resulted in all practising coroners being asked to resign their positions or relinquish practice. Dr Hocken and Dr J. G. Smith, of Balclutha, after some newspaper correspondence, were gazetted out of the service as they refused to resign their positions. (To be Continued.)