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ennumerated population.
273
Interestingly, he disclosed that 1861 was
remarkable for the great rainfall, 28. 19 inches, exceeding the twenty
years' standard mean by 6.61 inches .
On October 23, 1862, Hall comp leted the paper "On the Epidemic
Diseases of Tasmania" requested by M ilroy for the Quarantine Committee.
It is much to be regretted that the queries of the Quarantine
Committee, forwarded by the Secretary of State, did not elicit
any response from the Tasmanian authorities; I have done my
best to remedy the neglect.
This was certainly true, as the article was his most ambitious, and was
highly regarded in the science of medicine .
On April 6, 1863 , it was
read by Milroy to the Epidemiological Society and subsequently published
in that society 's Transactions , Part II Volume II. Like Abbott's 40 Tables
of Meteorol o gy
it was the culmination of over twenty years of observation
and research into the colony 's diseases , and consequently of inestimab le
value to the Australian medical historian. Cumpston, indeed, in 1923,
described it as a '1most exhaustive and valuable paper" and its author as
"the pioneer epidemiologist of the Australian colonies". 21
As a product of his mature years , the article was clear ,
straightforward and simple in arrangement.
After a brief statistical
introduction he merely tabulated each disease which had appeared in the
island and discussed its origin, history, incidence , and sometimes
treatment , concentrating on the broad social implications of each epidemic
rather than on small medical details, in accordance with his life-long
custom of looking upon 'unhealth' as a social malady , not a physical one
peculiar to an individual . Told in his inimitable fashion , the story of
Tasmania's early diseases was a fascinating one.
Measles , he found, was
first introduced from an unknown source in the early part of 1854 , and
had reached epidemic proportions again in 1861;
epidemically in 1843 , and again in 1853 and 1858;
scarlatina first appeared
diphtheria "this novel
disease" was first observed almost simultaneously in two inland districts
of the island (New Norfolk and Oatlands) in January, 1859 .
According to
Cump ston , Hall 's remarks on diphtheria revealed "a lively spirit of
investigation" on his part.
a "filth" disease, he wrote
21
At a time when diphtheria was still considered
The first deaths in Hobarton were two children, brought to the
city for medical treatment from Oatlands . • . . In the same family
two other children had previously died there with the disease,
and three of their cousins. The next- death in this city occurred
in April , though it was registered as from croup . The fourth ,
a young lady of eighteen , was a well-marked case which removed al l
H.L. Cumpston "The First Australian Sanitarian", Health, April 1923,
p. 89 .
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