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30
sleeping huts at Bagdad Bridge Station were so exposed to the weather , so
open to the wind and the rain, that he was afraid of sickness during the
winter months .
He stressed the need for a separate hut at Bagdad and
other road stations to be used as a hospital, and a man chosen from the
convicts to clean it and attend the sick;
while sick men were mixed with
the rest of the convicts, it was impossib le to give them proper attention;
as the sick were unable to look after themselves , the doctor 's treatment
frequently was not carried out .
inconvenient state of the watch-house at Brighton:
De Little also complained about the
the present cells were
capable of ho ldng no more tnan four persons prop erly, but , because of the
scarcity of cells, sometimes twenty to thirty persons , sometimes thirty-six ,
were confined in one cel l.
cells that the doctor was unab le to enter .
So strng was the effluvia issuing from the
He considered these conditions
ighly dngerous , especially in the case of an infectious disease . 16
On August 15, 1839 , Franklin described his impressions gained
during a second tour on which he visited Green Ponds , Oatlands ,
Campbell Town , the Isis , Norfolk Plains , Westbury, Launceston, Evandale,
George Town , Launceston via Snake Banks , the South Esk , Avoca, Malahide,
Campbell Town , Oatlands, Jerusalem and Richmond , and , in so doing , covered
the principal parts of the settled areas of the colony .
He found the
roads in many places greatly improved and commented again on the life style
of the free settlers :
The appearances presented by the Establishments of the settlers
are most satisfactory . There are almost everywhere indications
of order and regularity and real comfort , as marked as could be
expected, or perhaps even reasonably desired in so new a country . 1 7
This time , he took greater interest in the state of the convicts , visiting
both the huts of assigned servants on settlers ' farms and the road stations
on his · route .
Either he did not investigate too closely, or he was
over-optimistic in his assessment of the situation.
reported that the road stations were generally in good order :
affairs .
In any case he
Much attention is devoted to cleanliness and a proper degree
of comfort . Almost every man has his own berth which is
separated on each side from those adj oining . 1 8
Moreover , the years 1834-9 were not without incident in medical
In 1835, Scott , who , as Colonial-Surgeon, had been head of the
Government Medical Department since Decemb er 1820, was superseded by
16 cso 5/ 114/2618 .
GO 33/32 p. 333 .
1 8 Ibid., p. 335 .