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Scone.
Thomas Fowler arrived in the
Upper Hunter region as a young man employed as surgeon to
Thomas Potter Macqueen's Segenhoe estate. He later eloped with Macqueen's wife however
eventually returned to Scone. He was often in conflict with
Dr. John Goodwin. In 1847 he testified at the trial of
Goodwin
who had been accused of feloniously injuring a patient to such an extent as to
cause her instant death and by attempting to deliver her while he was
intoxicated Dr. Fowler deposed that he was
a legally qualified medical practitioner residing in the district of Scone many
years, and had been occasionally practising his profession there the whole of
that time. He was called to attend Mrs.
Norah Hatherall about 3pm or 4pm on the afternoon of 28th July. He
met Dr. Goodwin outside the house and was told by him that the woman had been
many hours in labour and he had found difficulty in the case. They then went
together into Mrs. Hatherall's bed room and Dr. Goodwin showed him what had been
done. They consulted and agreed to give the woman some soothing medicine and
mariate of morphine being agreed on. Dr. Fowler returned to
his home and sent back with Job Hatherall
six grains of morphine dissolved in four ounces of water in a phial bottle. Dr.
Fowler did not immediately return to the house but when he returned in half an
hour he saw Dr. Goodwin outside and was told by him to his surprise that the
whole of the morphine had been administered to the woman, but that she had
thrown off the greater part from her stomach. A second examination afterwards
was made by them both and after a brief period the child was delivered still
born. During the latter part of
their attendance, Dr. Goodwin was reported to have been so intoxicated that he
was hardly conscious of what was going on. Fowler stated that instruments had
been used by Dr. Goodwin without administering medicine in a way he would not
himself have ventured on and he thought that the woman died from haemorrhage
caused by rupture which must have take place some hours before delivery. He died in Scone in 1858 and was buried in
St. Luke's churchyard.
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