School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Theses
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ItemHealing without hospitals : homeopathy and medical pluralism in nineteenth century New South Wales (1840-1880)( 2000)As in the neighbouring colony of Victoria, homeopathy in colonial New South Wales attracted the support and attention of a wide cross section of society. In this thesis I concentrate on the varying ways in which homeopathy made its presence felt within New South Wales - with particular focus on the period 1840-1880. Linking itself with colonial ideals of progressive social reform, homeopathy in New South Wales, much like its counterpart in the United States, managed to establish itself in opposition to the `conservative' element within nineteenth century society. In a colony which has been described as `excessive' in its preoccupation with liberalism, the New System of homeopathy in New South Wales fitted neatly with both the anti-orthodox sentiment prevalent within New South Wales society, as well as the vision of a better, more egalitarian world which many colonists brought with them to the new country. During the 1850s the homeopaths and their supporters concentrated their efforts on the Sydney Homeopathic Dispensary both as a symbol of progress of the New System within the colony and as a means by which to extend the social benefits of this cheaper, milder and (for many) more effective medicine to the broader community. During the 1860s, with the Dispensary struggling to remain viable, the homeopaths attempted to secure legal support for the New System, petitioning the government to provide homeopathic treatments in government funded hospitals. During the 1870s, the homeopaths made their presence felt primarily through their role in blocking the repeated attempts of the regular medical profession to secure regulatory (restrictive) medical legislation within the colony. Focussing in particular on the public and political debates surrounding Sir Alfred Stephen's 1875 Medical Bill, I focus in the last section of my thesis on the nature of the opposition to restrictive legislation in the colony. I argue that this opposition needs to be understood not only in terms of the lack of unity within the regular medical profession itself, as has often been emphasised, but on the existence of a coherent and self-conscious defence of medical pluralism within the colony - a campaign within which the homeopathic movement in New South Wales played a central role. Working primarily outside of the bounds of the symbolic markers of professionalism (institutions, journals, societies,) often associated with a mature and influential medical tradition, homeopathy in New South Wales was less visible than in many comparable places during the nineteenth century, but no less influential.
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ItemGreat Britain's exiles sent to Port Phillip, Australia, 1844-1849: Lord Stanley's experiment( 2014)This thesis examines the origin, operation and outcome of the exile scheme implemented in Port Phillip between 1844 and 1849. It argues that the scheme announced by Lord Stanley, British Colonial Secretary, was an experiment in prisoner reform and labour deployment originating in imperial desperation and expediency. It notes how the scheme divided European settlers and inflamed the issue of separation from New South Wales. I conclude that this significant, often-overlooked episode in Australia's immigration history had positive outcomes for many, whilst others re-offended, partly due to government mismanagement. The early 1840s was a time of economic distress and increasing crime in Britain, but also a time of changing attitudes to prison reform. This period also witnessed economic depression in the Australian colonies. The exile scheme was created largely in response to the deteriorating employment circumstances in the penal colony of Van Diemen’s Land, to which the exiles were destined. One aim of the experiment was to provide opportunities for the exiles to begin new lives in the colony. Between 1844 and 1849, Britain transported to Port Phillip nine shiploads of conditionally-pardoned exiles from Pentonville, Millbank and Parkhurst Prisons. These 1,727 men and boys had experienced lengthy periods under the ‘separate system’ of incarceration, during which they learned a trade and improved their literacy levels. Upon arrival they landed as free men in Melbourne, Geelong and Portland, provided they did not return to Britain during the remainder of their sentences. The despatches containing Lord Stanley’s announcement and instructions accompanied the exiles in the first ship, the Royal George. These despatches were addressed to the Governor of New South Wales, Sir George Gipps, to the Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, and to the Superintendent of Port Phillip, Charles La Trobe. The exiles were enthusiastically received by pastoralists anxious for rural labourers, but stigmatized and feared by the townspeople who dubbed them ‘Pentonvillains’. The dread of a convict taint, inflamed by the press, resulted in the exiles’ presence becoming a catalyst which unleashed a spirit of defiance amongst the townspeople against the imperial government’s policy. Their response accelerated political action, which re-emerged in the campaigns of the Anti-Transportation League. This thesis seeks to give greater voice to the exiles and their descendants. In so doing, it draws on a wealth of archival sources in Britain and Australia, supplements limited secondary sources on this topic and utilises for the first time information provided by family historians. In particular, this thesis has benefitted from a meticulous examination of the prison registers. My thesis argues that while the exile scheme had positive outcomes for many participants who established productive lives in Australia, others were less successful in the colony. Finally, this thesis asserts that, despite the failures, the exile scheme was a qualified success, and that many exiles and their descendants have contributed significantly to Australian society.
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ItemThe Rocky River goldfield, 1851-1867( 1953)This thesis pretends to be nothing more than a case-history of a relatively minor Australian goldfield during its most productive years. The intrinsic interest of such “histories” may be small, but, for two somewhat similar reasons, I believe that they should be written. In the first place, case-histories of Australian goldfields are few and far between, and generalisations about the goldfields and their effects on the country’s development must remain of doubtful validity until a number of studies of this kind have been made. In the same way, secondly, enquiries into particular aspects of the history of the New England region, New South Wales, have until recently been rarely undertaken, and a satisfactory general account will not be written until its author may draw on many more monographs than are as yet available. The Rocky River goldfield was selected for examination because, though it ranked much below Ballarat, Bendigo and other famous Australian mining areas, it was one of the chief fields, if not the chief field, in Northern New South Wales in the ‘fifties and ‘sixties — and my choice of subject was, at the time, virtually limited to subjects on which the bulk of the material was available in Northern New South Wales. The period chosen begins in 1851, because gold was first discovered in the Rocky River area in 1851, and ends in 1867, chiefly because in no single year since 1867 has the field’s production exceeded 4,000 ounces of gold — indeed, in the best two years, 1868 and 1870, total production was probably not much more than the 3,144 ounces and 3,120 ounces taken by escort to the Mint. A secondary reason for the choice of 1867 as a limit was that detailed information about the field became much less abundant from the beginning of 1868. One would, of course expect the amount of information to decrease as production declined. But, as distinct from this general decrease, there was a sudden drop in the amount of information from January, 1868, because after that date, the Armidale Express (the chief local source) no longer continuously employed a “special correspondent” at the Rocky. No one year could be chosen as marking the point at which the company replaced the small party as the predominant type of organisation; this thesis is chiefly concerned with the work of small parties, but company mining had made its appearance well before 1867; the choice of 1867 as a limit, then, was not determined by organisational considerations, though even in this respect it is probably as convenient a date as any. In Part I the emphasis will be placed on the development of the goldfield — the changes in its population, its production, and the techniques employed in working it. Part II will deal primarily with the men who lived and worked on the field — their social origins, how they lived, and what happened to them afterwards; the Chinese, an important group at the Rocky, will be discussed in a separate chapter; for convenience, though somewhat misleadingly, the other miners will be referred to a Europeans. Finally, an attempt will be made in Part III to assess the more important effects of mining at Rocky River on the district, and particularly on the adjacent township of Uralla and neighbouring town of Armidale.
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ItemSydney Dance Company: a study of a connecting thread with the Ballets Russes( 2009)This thesis addresses unexplored territory within a relatively new body of scholarship concerning the history of the Ballets Russes in Australia. Specifically, it explores the connection between the original Diaghilev Ballets Russes (1909- 1929) and the trajectories of influence of Russian ballets that visited Australia. This thesis addresses unexplored territory within a relatively new body of scholarship concerning the history of the Ballets Russes in Australia. Specifically, it explores the connection between the original Diaghilev Ballets Russes (1909- 1929) and the trajectories of influence of Russian ballets that visited Australia. This study sketches the origins of the Ballets Russes, the impact its launch made on dance in the West, and how it progressed through three distinguishable phases of influence. It summarises the important features of the visits to Australia of Russian ballet companies from Adeline Genee in 1913 to the culturally altering impact of the revived Ballets Russes companies over three extended tours between 1936 and 1940. It charts the formation of viable ballet companies in Australia, commencing with Kirsova in 1939 and Borovansky in 1940, to the Australian Ballet in 1962 and the Sydney Dance Company led by Murphy between 1976 and 2008. Drawing on distinctions between classical and contemporary dance, it attempts to demonstrate the groundwork of example established by the Russian ballet, and, particularly, the revived Ballets Russes visits up to 1940. Data for this thesis was drawn from a personal interview with Graeme Murphy, original documentary research in public collections in Australia, government and Sydney Dance Company archives, newspapers and secondary literature.