Disease, accident, violence: we are as subject to these dangers as the early citizens of Sandgate and its surrounding district were. The difference is that, with better treatments and access to sophisticated medical expertise, we are less likely to die as a result.
That is not to say that our ancestors were bereft of medical care. Our Sandgate predecessors were fortunate to have had several resident doctors to call upon. But they were busy men and stretched thin. In 1884, for example, Dr Henry Girdlestone (who was then aged 70) was called to attend the victim of an accident at what is now Woodford, which would have required nearly a day’s riding; and Dr Guildford Davidson regularly attended cases on the Redcliffe Peninsula which, again, would have necessitated many hours of travel.
The Trials of Early Medical Care in Sandgate
Not only was this hard on the doctors, it meant that other patients were deprived of medical assistance in their absence. The mother who brought her snake‑bitten daughter from the North Pine River to Sandgate in 1894 was lucky to find Dr Paul at home and able to treat the child.
General practice in those days was just that – general – and doctoring demanded a diversity of skills and experience ranging from the surgical, such as Dr Girdlestone successfully reattaching a child’s severed toes, to the diagnostic, as when he correctly identified and treated several cases of food poisoning brought about, respectively, by eating improperly preserved meat (for which he prescribed oil and brandy) and tinned fish.
More intractable cases were referred to the closest hospital, which was at Herston, and patients from outlying places like Sandgate were transported by horse-drawn carriage, dray or, if they were lucky, train. Spare a thought for Mr Roberts, who was knocked over by a horse-drawn bus in Rainbow Street in 1890 and “was picked up and taken to Brisbane Hospital” by the local constable. As for most patients in his situation, the journey would have been long and rough.
If no doctor was available, or if your woes were dental, one could consult the chemist. Mr Henry Field “Chemist, Druggist and Surgeon Dentist”, formerly of Brisbane, opened a premises in Sandgate in 1891, from which he offered dispensing services as well as “teeth carefully extracted”.
So, if you’re ever waiting at a hospital or dental clinic for what you think is a very long time, tip your metaphorical hat to those tough and stoical folk who preceded us, especially Mr Field’s dental patients: his advertisement made no mention of anaesthetic.
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