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My thanks to Chris and Sharon Simmons for
much of the following information about Dr. John Waugh
Drysdale. For further details of the Drysdale
and Hannan families email Sharon and Chris Simmons
mailto:csscsim@ntlworld.com Wollombi 1849 John
Waugh Drysdale was born on 7th May 1816 in Durham, England
to Rev. John Drysdale and Elizabeth Waugh. He arrived on the
convict transport 'John Barry' under Captain John
Robson on 17th January 1836. John Drysdale had been convicted of
embezzlement after being tried on 29 July 1835 at the Durham
Assizes, and was sentenced to transportation to
Australia for life. He was 5' 11" and described as having a
dark sallow complexion, dark brown hair and brown eyes. He
had a dimple in his chin and a scar on the back of the
little finger of the left hand. Two months after arrival,
in March 1836, John Drysdale accompanied Surveyor General Sir Thomas
Mitchell as a medical attendant and barometer carrier on
Mitchell's third inland exploration. On this
expedition the pattern
of the vast inland river system of south eastern Australia
was established and huge areas of pastoral country discovered and named Australia Felix by Mitchell.
During the expedition there were several men on the sick
list however under Dr. Drysdale's care, they speedily
recovered. In May, an accident occurred involving the young
daughter of Mitchell's guide Turandurey. Four year old
Ballandella fell under one of the wheels of the cart in
which she was travelling and broke her thigh. John Drysdale
immediately set the fracture but as the femur had been
broken near the socket, it was very difficult to bandage the
limb so as to keep the bone immobile. The child bore the
pain with admirable patience and her mother showed every
concern, soothing her daughter with soft and musical terms
of endearment. This treatment and the mother's care were
successful and Ballandella eventually recovered from the
mishap. In October Dr. Drysdale attempted unsuccessfully to save
the life of James Taylor who drowned while trying to
find a safe river crossing. Drysdale, who had seen
many such cases, having come from
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, worked for three hours on Taylor. 'The
animal heat was preserved by chafing the body and during the
whole time the lungs were alternately inflated and
compressed without success.'
On reaching Sydney many in
the exploration party were rewarded according to the
standing and condition of each. Some received absolute
pardons, conditional pardons, tickets of leave and financial
rewards. Unfortunately John Drysdale, who was considered to be a
most trustworthy man, was excluded from these rewards as he
had not been long enough in the colony to be entitled by the
regulations to any indulgence; all that could be done was to
obtain for him a very laborious place in the general
hospital by holding which he avoided the hulk No doubt Drysdale read with interest the Court reports when William Stephenson, surgeon, was indicted for having stolen a number of specimens of natural history. Stephenson was naturalist on Sir Thomas Mitchell's expedition and when he retained a number of specimens obtained on the journey, a quarrel broke out between himself and Sir Thomas. Dr. Stephenson was later found not guilty and the case was discharged . John Drysdale married Louisa Hannan on 20 August 1844 at Maitland, New South Wales. Louisa was the daughter of John Hannan and Mary Jane Amberton. John Hannan had arrived in 1826 on board the 'Orpheus'. He was a soldier in N.S.W. veterans corps and a Waterloo Veteran who had received a 40 acre land grant in West Maitland. His grant extended from Campbell's Hill to Hannan Street and Sempil Street to the Hunter river. This land was known as 'veteran's flat'.John Drysdale and Louisa Hannan had eight children - Frederick, Elizabeth, Caroline, Emily, George, John, Lucy and Emma. The twins, Emily and George were born in West Maitland in October 1847 By January 1849 Dr. Drysdale and his family were residing in Wollombi. In 1849 discussion was generated regarding the correct treatment for snakebite. Dr. Drysdale, in a letter to the Maitland Mercury related his successful treatment of a patient who had been bitten on the front of his left foot by a black snake inflicting eight legible punctures. Treatment was administered within an hour of the patient being bitten, however by then a ligature had been applied and removed by the victim who found it too painful. Although the patient continued to feel giddy, sleepy and sick with constriction around the chest for some time, with Dr. Drysdale's treatment he recovered. Among other treatments Dr. Drysdale applied a bandage from the toes to the middle of the tibia which he felt to be of 'eminent service' in the treatment of snake bite Thomas Maher of Wollombi had reason to be grateful to Dr. Drysdale for the treatment he rendered to Maher's wife after she had been bitten by a copper coloured snake in January of 1849. Maher publicly thanked Dr. Drysdale in a letter to the Maitland Mercury: 'SIR - In returning you my most sincere thanks for the services rendered by you to my Wife, while labouring under the bite of a copper coloured snake, I now beg leave to publicly assert that, had it not been for your experience and unremitting attention to her while in that state, her family would have been left to deplore her loss; but, thank God, she has by your care perfectly recovered. Therefore, dear sir, me, with my family, as in gratitude bound, will ever pray for your welfare. - And believe me to be, dear sir, your humble and obedient servant.' THOMAS MAHER, Wollombi Jan 24, 1849 In April 1849 Dr. Drysdale moved from Wollombi to Morpeth. His consulting rooms were at his residence near Mr. Eckford's butcher shop
For more information see
Australian Pioneer Medical Index
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