Hygiene, health, and bodily knowledge, 1880-1940: A New Zealand case study

Journal of Family History

Volumn 28, Issue 2, 2003, Pages 297-313

  Brookes, Barbara ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO   (New Zealand)

Author keywords

Germs; Health; Housing; Hygiene; Menstruation; Sex

Indexed keywords

ART; ARTICLE; FAMILY HEALTH; HEALTH EDUCATION; HISTORY; HYGIENE; NEW ZEALAND;

FAMILY HEALTH; HEALTH EDUCATION; HISTORY, 19TH CENTURY; HISTORY, 20TH CENTURY; HUMAN BODY; HYGIENE; NEW ZEALAND;

EID: 0038048997     PISSN: 03631990     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0363199002250895     Document Type: Review

References (117)

1. The name has been fictionalized to protect confidentiality. Otago Benevolent Institution Outdoor Relief Casebooks, vol. 1 (Dunedin: Archives New Zealand, 1889-1911), 84, 148, 679. I am grateful to Annabel Cooper for access to transcription of this and other cases.
2. "Report on the Hospitals and Charitable Institutions of the Colony," Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives, H-22 (Wellington: New Zealand Government, 1898), 41.
3. Michelle Broadhurst, "The Presbyterian Orphanage," (490 diss., University of Otago, 2002).
4. For an analysis of some aspects of health knowledge in Australia, see Judith Raftery, "Keeping Healthy in Nineteenth Century Australia," Health and History 1 (1999): 274-97.
5. For further information on the Caversham project, refer to the Web site at http:// www.otago.ac.nz/nzpg/caversham/.
6. The Caversham oral history NUDIST database contains eighty-nine interviews. Tapes and transcripts are held for an additional twenty-four interviews with women, specifically addressing women's health, while another eleven address people's experience of the Great Depression.
7. Erik Olssen, Building the New World: Work, Politics and Society in Caversham 1880-1920s (Auckland: Auckland University Press, 1995).
8. G. N. Stedman, "The South Dunedin Flat: A Study in Suburbanisation, 1849-1965" (MA thesis, University of Otago, 1966), 75, 95. W. A. V. Clark, "Dunedin in 1901: A Study in Historical Urban Geography," (MA thesis, University of Canterbury, 1961), 28.
9. G. N. Stedman, "The South Dunedin Flat: A Study in Suburbanisation, 1849-1965" (MA thesis, University of Otago, 1966), 75, 95. W. A. V. Clark, "Dunedin in 1901: A Study in Historical Urban Geography," (MA thesis, University of Canterbury, 1961), 28.
10. Olssen, Building the New World, 125-27.
11. Ian B. Campbell, Compensation for Personal Injury in New Zealand: Its Rise and Fall (Auckland, Auckland University Press 1996), 16.
12. Erik Olssen, "Friendly Societies in New Zealand, 1840-1990," in Social Security Mutualism: The Comparative History of Mutual Benefit Societies, edited by M. van der Linden, (Bern: P. Lang, 1996). Shaun Ryan, "Friendly Societies: Caversham, St Kilda and South Dunedin" (Caversham working paper CWP 1997-1, Caversham Project, University of Otago), 10.
13. Erik Olssen, "Friendly Societies in New Zealand, 1840-1990," in Social Security Mutualism: The Comparative History of Mutual Benefit Societies, edited by M. van der Linden, (Bern: P. Lang, 1996). Shaun Ryan, "Friendly Societies: Caversham, St Kilda and South Dunedin" (Caversham working paper CWP 1997-1, Caversham Project, University of Otago), 10.
14. Skilled workers made up 32 percent of the membership while unskilled workers contributed 24 percent, although the class composition varied by individual lodge. Shaun Ryan, "Friendly Societies," 14.
15. Penelope Isaac, "'No Room for Luxuries': Aspects of Life in a Working-Class New Zealand Community in the 1930s" (MA thesis, University of Otago, 1999), 114-15.
16. 14. Records for individuals recorded in the Caversham Electoral Roll who died in 1896, 1897, 1898, and 1899. Place of death for individuals recorded on the 1925 Greater Caversham Electoral Roll who died in 1925, 1926, 1927, and 1928. Caversham Project death records, 1925-28.
17. Men's rate of hospitalization was twice that of women during the years 1891 to 1895. Jean Marie O'Donnell, "Female Complaints. Women's Health in Dunedin, 1885-1910" (MA thesis, University of Otago, 1991), 100.
18. The Stone's Directory lists three chemists in southern Dunedin in 1899 and four in 1903 and 1910. For a similar situation in Australia, see Judith Raftery, "Keeping Healthy in Nineteenth Century Australia," 282.
19. Annabel Cooper and Marian Horan, "Down and Out on the Flat: The Gendering of Poverty," in Sites of Gender, edited by B. Brookes, A. Cooper, and R. Law (forthcoming); Margaret Tennant, Paupers and Providers. Charitable Aid in New Zealand (Wellington: Bridget Williams Books, 1989).
20. Annabel Cooper and Marian Horan, "Down and Out on the Flat: The Gendering of Poverty," in Sites of Gender, edited by B. Brookes, A. Cooper, and R. Law (forthcoming); Margaret Tennant, Paupers and Providers. Charitable Aid in New Zealand (Wellington: Bridget Williams Books, 1989).
21. Nancy Tomes, "The Private Side of Public Health: Sanitary Science, Domestic Hygiene, and the Germ Theory, 1870-1900," Bulletin of the History of Medicine 64 (1990): 152.
22. A chair of domestic science was established at the University of Otago in 1909 in response to fears about the declining birthrate and the changing position of women. Heath McDonald, "'This Educational Monstrosity... ' A Study of the Foundation and Early Development of the School of Home Science, University of Otago, Dunedin," (BA hon. diss., University of Otago, 1984).
23. For an elaboration of the argument about gendered responsibilities, see B. Brookes, "The Risk to Life and Limb. Gender and Health in Southern Dunedin," in Brookes, Cooper, and Law, eds., Sites of Gender.
24. Linda Bryder, Not Just Weighing Babies: Plunket in Auckland 1908-1998 (Auckland: Pyramid Press, 1998) gives a survey of the work of the organization. See also Erik Olssen, "Truby King and the Plunket Society: An Analysis of a Prescriptive Ideology," New Zealand Journal of History 15, no. 1 (1981): 3-23.
25. Linda Bryder, Not Just Weighing Babies: Plunket in Auckland 1908-1998 (Auckland: Pyramid Press, 1998) gives a survey of the work of the organization. See also Erik Olssen, "Truby King and the Plunket Society: An Analysis of a Prescriptive Ideology," New Zealand Journal of History 15, no. 1 (1981): 3-23.
26. Isaac, "No Room for Luxuries," 115
27. F. Truby King, The Expectant Mother and Baby's First Month. For Parents and Nurses (Australia: Angus and Robertson Ltd., 1923).
28. Infant death databases, compiled by Conrad Schumacher. Although every attempt was made to obtain accurate data, the addresses of those dying were not always complete, and if they died in an institution, the home address is not always given. The number of deaths within institutions increased over time. A further difficulty lies in connecting these addresses to the study area. The trend is, however, likely to be accurate. See Conrad Schumacher, "Why Did So Many Babies Die? Infant Mortality and Causes of Death in Dunedin, 1900-1920" (BA hon. diss., University of Otago, 1998).
29. Douglas C. Ewbank and Samuel H. Preston, "Personal Health Behaviour and the Decline in Infant and Child Mortality: The United States, 1900-1930," in What We Know about Health Transition: The Cultural, Social and Behavioural Determinants of Health, edited by John Caldwell et al. (Canberra: Bibliotech, 1990), 116-49.
30. Mrs. D.R., (b. 1917), interviewed December 1997 by Penelope Isaac, Caversham Oral History Project [hereafter, COHP], 20.
31. Ibid., 21.
32. Mr. K.H., (b. 1929), interviewed November 1997 by Penelope Isaac, COHP, 12.
33. Penny Isaac and Erik Olssen, "The Justification for Labour's Housing Scheme. The Discourse of the Slum," in At Home in New Zealand. Houses History People, edited by B. Brookes (Wellington: Bridget Williams Books, 2000), 123.
34. Stedman, "The South Dunedin Flat," 75, 95; Clark, "Dunedin in 1901," 28.
35. Stedman, "The South Dunedin Flat," 75, 95; Clark, "Dunedin in 1901," 28.
36. J. S. C. Elkington, MD, DPH (Chief Health Officer of Tasmania), Southern Cross Series, Health Reader, with Chapters on Elementary School Hygiene (Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs, 1905), 7. We have no way of knowing how frequently such popular health manuals were bought or read. Many were in pamphlet form and therefore less likely to be deposited in archives.
37. The sentence comes from a longer quote from Samuel Smiles that begins, The Physical health of the rising generation is entrusted to woman by Providence; and it is in the physical nature that the moral and mental nature lies enshrined. It is only by acting in accordance with natural laws... that the blessings of mind and morals can be secured at home. (Charles W. Budden, MD, The Way of Health. Plain Counsels in Personal Hygiene [London: Pilgrim Press, 1920], 24)
38. Budden, The Way of Health, 100.
39. Plunket Magazine, January 1915; Royal Society for the Protection of Women and Children Collection, 1909-16 (pamphlet, Dunedin: Hocken Library).
40. Plunket Magazine, January 1915; Royal Society for the Protection of Women and Children Collection, 1909-16 (pamphlet, Dunedin: Hocken Library).
41. E. N. Marshall, The Home Doctor or Simple Ways to Health. Containing valuable simple remedies, useful information, and the natural way to health, strength and longevity (Melbourne: no publisher, 1921). Marshall's booklet followed in a much older tradition of sectarian medicine that opposed surgery and the invasive remedies of orthodox medicine and sought herbal and "natural' remedies such as hydropathy.
42. Ibid., 36
43. Ibid., 5-24.
44. Ibid., 48.
45. J. Renfrew White, The Growing Body: Its Nature, Needs, and Training, 2d ed. (Dunedin: Coulis, Somerville and Wilkie, 1932), 204. This book contained the system of physical training prescribed by the education department to be used in state schools.
46. Robert J. Terry, How to Get Well and Keep Well (Auckland: no publisher, c. 1933), 51-66.
47. Anon. (b. 1918), interviewed December 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts; Mr. R. Perth, (b. 1903), interviewed May 1996 by Erik Olssen, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 11, 282. (Unless otherwise stated, all interviews were carried out by Megan Cook.)
48. I b i d.
49. Mrs. Marion Cooper, (b. 1925), interviewed April 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 252.
50. Anon., 11.
51. Marshall, Home Doctor, 42.
52. Mrs. Hilda Maher, (b. 1912), interviewed April 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 220.
53. Evening Star [hereafter, ES], January 4, 1910, 2; Chamberlain's Tablets, ES, January 3, 1920, 4.
54. Evening Star [hereafter, ES], January 4, 1910, 2; Chamberlain's Tablets, ES, January 3, 1920, 4.
55. Mrs. Kitty Brown, (b. 1905), interviewed December 1995, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 50; Mrs. Marion Cooper, 251.
56. Mrs. Kitty Brown, (b. 1905), interviewed December 1995, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 50; Mrs. Marion Cooper, 251.
57. Mrs. Phyllis Crossan (b. 1922), interviewed January 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 72.
58. Mrs. Jory (b. 1902), interviewed March 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 370.
59. 51. Mrs. Verna Syme (b. 1918), interviewed April 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 320.
60. 52. Mrs. Cooper, 245.
61. Mrs. Lake (b. 1912), interviewed 1996, COHP, Transcript Series One, vol. 1, 58.
62. Miss Marina Mackenzie (b. 1908), interviewed December 1995, Transcript Series One, vol. 1, 72.
63. Mr. Harris, (b. 1916), interviewed June 1996, COHP, Transcript Series One, vol. 2, 252-53.
64. Mrs. K. Brown, (b. 1905) interview, COHP, Transcript Series One, vol. 1, 110.
65. Mrs. Wellman, 370.
66. Mrs. F. Harris (b. 1917), interviewed June 1996, COHP, Transcript Series One, vol., 2, 234.
67. Mrs. R. Paul (b. 1909), interviewed May 1996, COHP, Transcript Series One, vol. 2, 116.
68. Mrs. Cooper, 247.
69. Doris Odium, "Appendix to a Talk on Biology," undated pamphlet, 3. Contemporary Medical Archives Centre, Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, London.
70. T. F. Tucker and M. Pout, How You Grow. A Book for Boys (London, pamplet, 1935), 28. Contemporary Medical Archives Centre, Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, London.
71. Mrs. M. Scott (b. 1909), interviewed January 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 145.
72. Miss R. David (b. 1921), interviewed April 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 342.
73. Mrs. Marion Cooper's mother told her that periods meant she could have babies about two years after she first menstruated.
74. Mrs. J. Jones (b. 1926), interviewed January 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 200.
75. Anon., 16.
76. Mrs. L. Wellman (b. 1909), interviewed March 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 366-67.
77. Mrs. J. Darby (b. 1918), interviewed April 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 76.
78. Mrs. Darby, 75.
79. 71. Mrs. J. Dean (b. 1922), interviewed January 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 59.
80. Anon., 17.
81. Nellie M. Smith, The Mother's Reply (pamphlet, New York: Parents' Association/New York Social Hygiene Society, 1914), Victoria State Library, Melbourne, 22.
82. Smith, Mother's Reply, 22-23.
83. B.H., Written Reminiscences, 20/3/95. Menarche 1939, aged thirteen years, in author's possession.
84. N. Gain (b. 1912), interviewed May 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 114.
85. Margaret Wray, "Some Aspects of Menstruation in Fifth Form Girls at Otago Girls' High School," (fifth-year thesis, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Otago, 1948).
86. Mrs. Wellman, 368. Mrs. Jory, 377.
87. Smith, Mother's Reply, 24.
88. Mrs. Wellman, 368.
89. Mrs. Darby, 75.
90. Mrs. Gain, 111.
91. Mr. Perth, 277.
92. Mrs. Y. Morris (b. 1911), interviewed April 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 295.
93. Mrs. M. Redwood (b. 1924), interviewed March 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 133.
94. Mrs. Jones, 199.
95. Mrs. Gain, 115
96. Mrs. Morris, 294.
97. Sally Alexander, "The Mysteries and Secrets of Women's Bodies: Sexual Knowledge in the First Half of the Twentieth Century,' in Modern Times. Reflections of English Modernity, edited by M. Nava and A. O'Shea (London: Routledge, 1996), 164.
98. Ibid., 166
99. Mrs. Darby, 77.
100. Ibid., 78.
101. Mrs. Wellman and Mrs. Jory, 377.
102. Ibid., 376.
103. Lawrence Jones, "A Home in This World? Provincial Writers and the Puritan Family," in Brookes, ed., At Home in New Zealand, 95.
104. Charles Brasch, Indirections: A Memoir 1909-1947 (Wellington, 1980), 88. Cited in Lawrence Jones, "A Home in This World?" in Brookes, ed., At Home in New Zealand, 95. Jones presents a number of other examples of New Zealand writers recalling the difficulty of speaking about sex in the years prior to 1960.
105. Charles Brasch, Indirections: A Memoir 1909-1947 (Wellington, 1980), 88. Cited in Lawrence Jones, "A Home in This World?" in Brookes, ed., At Home in New Zealand, 95. Jones presents a number of other examples of New Zealand writers recalling the difficulty of speaking about sex in the years prior to 1960.
106. Mrs. Cooper, 240.
107. Alexander, "Mysteries and Secrets," 164.
108. Mrs. Morris, 300-301.
109. Mrs. Y.H. (b. 1921), interviewed April 1998 by Penelope Isaacs, COHP, 1.
110. Brooke Whitelaw, "Women and Child-Spacing in the 1937 Housing Survey" (History 351 essay, University of Otago, 1999).
111. Mrs. L. Kent-Johnston (b. 1918), interviewed March 1996, COHP, Medical Transcripts, 161.
112. Mrs. Scott, 155.
113. Jane Tolerton, A Life of Ettie Rout (Auckland: Penguin, 1992), 13.
114. Ibid., 14.
115. Mary Pauline Callender, Marjorie May's Twelfth Birthday (Sydney: Australian Cellucotton Products Ltd., 1930-31-32).
116. See Barbara Brookes and Margaret Tennant, "Making Girls Modern: Women and Menstruation in New Zealand, 1920-1960," Women's History Review 1 (1998): 565-81.
117. Randall Reeves, "Declining Fertility in England and Wales as a Major Cause of the Twentieth Century Decline in Mortality. The Role of Changing Family Size and Age Structure in Infectious Disease Mortality in Infancy," American Journal of Epidemiology 122, no. 1 (1985): 112-26.