July, 2024

An understanding of infectious diseases and epidemics was greatly advanced in the 1800’s through the knowledge gained by surgeons, travelling abroad with the Royal Navy and the military, and with new fields of colonization. 

One little known fact, is that successful introduction of smallpox vaccination into Australia, was facilitated by Dr John Savage, the author of the first book on New Zealand, published in 1807 .  Savage as a young, 33 year old doctor, departed from London in 1803 as assistant surgeon for New South Wales, carrying with him a sample of cowpox lymph from a colleague of Edward Jenner, who had discovered it could be used to inoculate against smallpox.  The plan was to inoculate ships’ passengers, particularly children, to keep the vaccine alive. However, the vaccine dried, and was inactive when he arrived in Sydney in 1803.

More samples were sent, but also failed. However, it appears that Savage had carried with him, other samples packaged differently, and he was able to successfully inoculate a child, and so a vaccination programme began.  Savage was subsequently court martialled for malpractice, in failing to attend a woman in childbirth, who died.

He sailed for England to clear his name (successfully) and called into the Bay of Islands for a couple of months on the way, recording information for his small, but iconic book.

About 50 years later, New Zealand was visited by another army surgeon, Arthur S Thomson who became the first medical scientist to work in and write about New Zealand,

Thomson a Scot, graduated in medicine in 1837, and served in India until 1847, writing on fever epidemics, already a pioneer in using statistics in study of disease epidemiology.  He joined the 58^th Foot Regiment and sailed to New Zealand.  With the main fighting in the Northern Wars was over, and Thomson was able to travel, observe and write spending about 11 years in New Zealand, and published it’s first general history (link #018352) the following year, but didn’t live long to enjoy it. He served with his regiment in China in the second Opium War, was in Peking when it fell, and died there in 1860.

Thomson ends his book with comments on the population decrease of Māori, pointing out that the decline of indigenous people was a frequent consequence of many British colonization efforts. He gives numbers, and tables, diseases and issues of sterility and possible in-breeding, and calculates that over the last 30 years there was been an annual 1% decline in Māori population, which would, if continuing, would eventually eliminate the race.

We are offering copies of both John Savage’s Some account of New Zealand; particularly the Bay of Islands, and surrounding country; with a description of the religion and government, language, arts, manufactures, manners and customs of the natives, &c. &c London, 1807,  and A S Thomson’s The Story of New Zealand: Past and present – Savage and Civilised. London,, 1859.