Click photo to enlarge
Author and historian Dr Dorothy Page. Photo by Gregor
Richardson.
While Dr Dorothy Page was researching the history of
the University of Otago medical school for her new book, she
came across some fascinating characters. Elspeth McLean
reports.
While Dr Dorothy Page did not get many surprises from her
research into the history of the University of Otago medical
school, she did find she came to like some of the characters
in the story more than she would have expected.
Surprises were limited because her history Anatomy of a
Medical School - A history of medicine at the University of
Otago, 1875-2000 is the third history of the school.
The others were "insider" or "top-down" histories written by
influential men in the establishment.
A former head of the history department at the University of
Otago, Dr Page, who worked on the more than 400-page book
following her retirement in 2000, said one of her aims with
the history had been to provide greater context for the
school in a variety of ways.
These included its place in the university.
The medical school was part of the university but at times
almost separate from it and hostile to it.
There was also its relationship with local and central
government, its local community, the development of medicine
and changing concepts of education.
Among the characters Dr Page found admirable was the first
dean of the school, John Scott, who, for the first 27 years
of his tenure, was the sole professor at the fledgling school
and did everything himself, " both for reasons of economy and
temperament".
Although he was not a warm character, his students regarded
him with a real, if wary, affection.
He used his own artistic skill to save money, producing
"superlative" anatomical drawings for use in his teaching.
He was friends with Frances Hodgkins and a leading light of
the Dunedin art community, influential in setting up the
Dunedin Public Art Gallery.
Two characters who complemented each other well and were
remembered with much affection by their students were John
Malcolm and William Gowland, who taught the preclinical
curriculum together for about 30 years until 1943.
Dr Page said Malcolm was small, shy and quiet, whereas
Gowland was a larger-than-life character with a store of racy
stories, most deemed not suitable for inclusion in the book.
He was also skilled at casual teaching in the dissection
room.
The style of early teaching was not generally to Dr Page's
liking.
One of the things she found most objectionable about it was
the deep-seated, long-lasting and withering sarcasm which was
common.
Dr Page was particularly interested in the students, both
from the point of view of the enormous change in size of the
student body and the much greater diversity among its members
which had developed over the years.
The first generation of students were "lads of European
descent" whose parents had enough money to send them to
finish the last two years of the course overseas because
Otago could only offer a two-year course.
Many of the students went to Edinburgh University for the
last part of their course in the early years of the school
and it was not until 1887 there was an " entirely local
graduate".
(An edited version of her section on women is reproduced
below.)Dr Page sees more books within the book she has
written, but says it would take somebody younger to write
them.
Among the areas for further consideration would be books on
different disciplines and on medical students and their
influence on the general student body.
They presided over the students' association for many years.
She does not expect that her book will suit everybody.
There was too much information and too many people and, in
the end, it was a matter of giving examples and people "may
or may not agree with examples given".
Dr Page's next work is something rather different.
She is setting aside a couple of years to delve into the
history of the Presbyterian Otago Southland Foundation Trust
board, which dealt with church property.
