Folio 43: Walter Tucker, aged 24, Prisoner; disease or hurt, gastroenteritis. Put...

ADM 101/69/7/5

1831

Folio 43: Walter Tucker, aged 24, Prisoner; disease or hurt, gastroenteritis. Put on sick list, 22 August 1831, at sea. Discharged, 10 September 1831. He had been put in double irons two days earlier for ‘having been subservient to the purposes of some turbulent characters’ who had broken into the hospital and roughly handled the attendants on the pretence of looking for stolen biscuits. Symptoms and treatment are not recorded because they were similar to those of Thomas Porter but for a ‘sort of stupor and listlessness approaching idiocy’.

Folio 44: James Andrews, aged 28, Prisoner; disease or hurt, corona veneris. Put on sick list, 9 September 1831, at sea. Discharged, 4 October 1831. He had suffered severely from secondary syphilis, large and contracted cicatrizations in each groin and the mark of a deep seated ulcer on the corona glandis, pain and swelling on the right tibia and a node on the parietal bone.

Folios 44-45: Alexander Hall, aged 31, Prisoner; disease or hurt, gastro-enteritis. Put on sick list, 15 September 1831, at sea. Sent to the Colonial Hospital, Hobart Town, 18 November 1831. Had been an attendant in the hospital but had suffered ‘an unusual degree of languor, lassitude, listlessness and loss of appetite’, eventually refusing all food. A ‘scorbutic diathesis’ was induced and treated and his recovery was protracted by the cold weather before reaching the Derwent.

Folios 45-46: David Hughes, aged 39, Prisoner; disease or hurt, retractatio testis. Put on sick list, 12 October 1831, at sea. Discharged, 20 October 1831. This was the most severe of several cases that occurred during the voyage. He worked as a cook and was constantly exposed to the worst of the weather and temperature. He had been ruptured some years previously on the right side, the testicle on the left side was retracted and very painful. He was supplied with a truss and when cured ordered to bathe his testes every morning in salt water and ‘to keep them suspended by means of a handkerchief’.

Folios 46-47: John Sutton, aged 19, Prisoner; disease or hurt, phrenitis. Put on sick list, 18 October 1831, at sea. Died, 19 October 1831. ‘Of tall stature and florid complexion’, he was apparently healthy when he embarked, though several of his contemporaries later stated he had been treated for ‘brain fever’ aboard the Justitia hulk. His head was shaved and ‘a considerable diffuse prominence’ of about three inches in diameter was found on the coronal aspect extending backwards from the coronal suture. When sensible he complained of great pain in his head. There is an account of a dissection of his body after death, when ‘a diffuse gelatinous mass’ was found on examining his head.

Folios 47-48: William Atkins, aged 56, Prisoner; disease or hurt, appoplexia. Put on sick list, 29 October 1831, at sea. Discharged, 6 November 1831. ‘Of tall stature and well proportioned, deeply marked with the small pox and has a considerable impediment of speech’, he was employed as a hospital door keeper and had been healthy. Before collapsing he had experienced ‘a sort of [swimming] in his head and now and then a dimness of sight’.

Folios 48-50: George Watson, aged 46, Prisoner; disease or hurt, enteritis. Put on sick list, 9 November 1831, at sea. Died, 13 November 1831. ‘Of short stature and rather inclined to corpulency’, he had been healthy until two days previous to complaining. During his illness he appeared to try to conceal his symptoms and assure the surgeon he felt better from a dislike of taking medicine. His body was examined after his death and his intestines found to be ‘on accreted mass of disease’. The surgeon comments that he has rarely encountered a case in which ‘remedial means were so set at defiance’. Signed David Ross, Surgeon Superintendent.

Folio 50: List of naval invalids embarked on board the Strathfieldsay on 22 March 1832 for a passage to England from HMS Zebra at Sydney, New South Wales. Durell De Sausmarez, Commander. John White, Quarter Master. John Corbett, Ordinary Seaman. John Harrison, Able Seaman. And from the military hospital of the 17th Regiment at Sydney, Antoin Gurain, Seaman belonging to Le Favorite, a French ship of war.

Folio 51: Abstract of the preceding journal, being a summary of all the cases contained therein, nosologically arranged.

Folios 52-56: Surgeon’s general remarks.The surgeon joined the Strathfieldsay on 15 June 1831 at Deptford. On 20 June, one captain, one ensign and 37 soldiers of the 4th Regiment of Foot, or King’s Own, joined with their wives and children. On 4 July they received 20 convicts from the Ganymede hulk and 80 from the Justitia at Woolwich, and on the 5 July another 50 from Justitia, in all 130. Only two were objected to at inspection and one of these was ordered to be embarked, he remained on the sick list most of the voyage with an ulcer. They left Woolwich on 8 July and arrived at Plymouth on 14 July. A further 74 prisoners were received from the Captivity hulk on 16 July, after inspection with Mr Killock, the overseer on the previous day. The surgeon was told by the overseer that there had been no prevailing sickness on the Captivity but this was subsequently found to be untrue and a considerable number had died. On 25 July the surgeon received sailing orders from London but departure was delayed by Captain Harrison receiving orders from Commissioner Ross not to sail until further orders and Captain England, Commanding Officer of the guard, applying to headquarters at Chatham to replace two deserters. On 2 August, one ensign and 15 rank and file of the 4th King’s Own Regiment arrived and the ship sailed that evening. During the delay influenza prevailed and the weather was poor. They made Madeira on 14 August and crossed the line on 9 September, made Gaugh’s Island [Gough Island] on 2 October and arrived at Van Dieman’s Land on 13 November 1831. The convicts were disembarked and inspected by His Excellency Lieutenant Governor Arthur on 21 November 1831. On 10 December the surgeon received an order from the Lieutenant Governor to take Patrick Dun, a Convict, and a detachment of the 17th Regiment, under command of Captain McPherson, to Sydney. They were landed at Sydney on 20 December 1831. There was no opportunity to return to England before the Strathfieldsay and on 15 March 1832 the surgeon was appointed to take medical charge of troops and invalids returning on her, they sailed on 30 March 1832. On 15 June 1832 they put in at Bahia for water and fresh provisions, putting to sea again on 21 June. They touched again at Flores on 13 August 1832 and departed on the 15th. The weather was fine on the outward voyage until the high southern latitudes, when it became wet and windy. There were a number of cases of influenza, rheumatism and other inflammatory diseases until they passed Madeira, they were generally healthy until they reached about 44 degrees south, when rheumatism, catarrhal affections, synocha and gastro-enteritis became frequent. The weather was cold and many of the convicts very poorly dressed. There were so many synochal affections at this time, that were cured in a day, that many have been omitted from the sick list there not being time to record them all.

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