Thomas Henry Hankin,B.V.Sc., M.R.C.V.S.

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Tommy Hankin was born in 1888. He graduated from the Melbourne Veterinary School in 1914. He soon joined the A.I.F. and served in the war as Veterinary Officer in Egypt and in France. After the war he went to Edinburgh and obtained his M.R.C.V.S. and then returned to New Zealand and set up practice in Pukekohe. In 1927 he joined the Department of Agriculture as a Veterinarian and was stationed successively in Wanganui, Masterton and Whangarei before his appointment as Livestock Superintendent, Auckland, where he stayed until his retirement in 1953. After he retired he moved to Pukekohe and was kept busy with land and livestock until his sudden death on November 1, 1971.     

Wm C. Barry,M.R.C.V.S.

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The death occurred in Wellington on August 19, 1971, of William C. Barry, a respected member of the veterinary profession. Mr Barry, who was in his 87th year, was born in County Cork and graduated from the Dublin Veterinary College in 1907 with distinction in a number of subjects. He became a Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons from that date, his membership thus encompassing a period of 64 years.     

Obituary - Dudley Arthur Gill

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D. A. Gill died in Sydney on May 1, 1973, at the age of 72. He received his training at the Royal Veterinary College, London, where he qualified in 1922. He then did a Diploma of Veterinary State Medicine at Edinburgh. He joined the New Zealand Department of Agriculture as a Veterinary Officer and from 1928 he was second in charge at the Wallaceville Veterinary Laboratory. While he was at Wallaceville he did some first-class research on the problems of listeriosis and enterotoxaemia. The house that he built at Wallaceville he later sold to his friend Dr I. J. Cunningham.     

Some problems of animal health in Australia and New Zealand

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My first visit to New Zealand was in 1924, when, immediately after graduating at the Veterinary School of the University of Melbourne, I took up a first appointment to a subsidized practice in the County of Ellesmere. I was then one of fewer than a dozen practitioners, and Government veterinarians were not much more numerous. This period of about two years in practice provided a valuable part of the field experience which is so essential to a research worker. It is again a memorable occasion when, on my return 37 years later, I have the honour to address the New Zealand Veterinary Association comprising some 300 members.     

The activities of Professor Curt Krause in Bulgaria

Prof. C. Krause spent six years in Bulgaria, from 1928 to 1934. He officially assumed his position on October 10, 1928, as he delivered his opening lecture titled About the past, present and future of the general pathology and pathological anatomy. He worked skillfully and with utmost devotion on the organization of the department of General Pathology and Pathological Anatomy at the Veterinary Faculty. The educational process normalized. Seven students completed their doctoral theses under his leadership and first research assistants were prepared. He lay the foundations of the pathoanatomical museum in his department. Prof. Krauseus contributions to the development of the pathological anatomy in Bulgaria both as a scientific discipline and as a veterinary practice are substantial. In 1939, Prof. Krause received the highest honour for his work in Bulgaria - he was awarded the title of doctor honoris causa of veterinary medicine of the Sofia University.     

William Moorcroft (1767-1825). Veterinarian, explorer in Asia--and spy?

From 1790 to 1791 the surgeon William MOORCROFT studied veterinary medicine in Alford. He was the first Englishman with a complete formal veterinary education. In 1808 he gave up his horse practice and went into service of the East India Company as superintendent of the Company's Indian stud. Search for appropriate stud-horses and his efforts for opening up trading-routes from India to inner Asia induced him to exploring expeditions into the regions of the southwest Himalayas, the Hindu kush, Samarkand and Afghanistan. There he made also a lot of geographical and biological observations. He was not only one of the European pioneer Himalaya explorers but became also an early participant of the later so called "Great Game", the struggle between England and Russia for supremacy in Central Asia.     

Obituary

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News of Mr Meldal-Johnsen's death in a road accident was received from South Africa recently. Johnny, as he was popularly called, was widely known and respected within the profession and by a large circle of friends in the farming community. He had been Veterinarian, Animal Health Division of the Department of Agriculture, Hamilton, for seven years before deciding to return to his native South Africa last year. Having made the move and having surmounted the re-settling period very successfully, it is particularly tragic that he was not given the opportunity to utilize further his wide experience in the veterinary field. His cheerful disposition and infectious enthusiasm endeared him to all and his capacity for work was never bounded by office hours. His particular interests included parasite control, animal transport and certification of animals for export, and he was active in the early stages of the tuberculosis and brucellosis control schemes in the Waikato. To his wife, and three children, we offer our deepest sympathy in the loss of a devoted husband and father.     

A survey of anaesthetic equipment in veterinary practices in New Zealand

Sixty-four anaesthetic machines and 89 breathing circuits were surveyed in New Zealand veterinary practices. Each machine and circuit was tested for correct function. Sixty-six percent of machines checked were 10 years or older and vaporiser out-of-circuit machines totalled 72% of machines surveyed. Twenty-five percent of the temperature compensated vaporisers had been serviced within the previous 1 year, 33% serviced between 1 and 10 years ago, while the remaining 42% had no service record or had not been serviced for over 10 years. Sixty-six percent of machines had some type of scavenging device. Nineteen percent of machines had a leak in the high pressure system. Thirty percent of the anaesthetic machine low pressure systems leaked and 76% of the patient breathing circuits leaked. Overall, 91% of all anaesthetic machines and breathing circuits showed malfunctions which could increase practice operating costs, increase the exposure of practice personnel to anaesthetic agents, and increase patient morbidity.     

“Stiff lamb disease” in New Zealand

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During recent years a specific myopathy has been recognized in lambs in the South Island of New Zealand. In view of the similarity of the lesions of this condition to “stiff lamb disease,” as described by various workers in the U.S.A. and also more recently by Cotchin in Great Britain, it was thought desirable to record the problem as encountered in New Zealand.     

Obituary — John Ewing Dixon Abbott

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Members of the profession will be sad to learn of the death of Jack Abbott. Few veterinarians may have known Jack as he had not been practicing for many years. He was, though, well known to those in practice in the north during the early sixties. His passing will be mourned by those he knew. The incredible way Jack and his family faced his passing is an outstanding example of courage and an inspiration to us all. It is a story I am honoured, yet humbled, to relate.     

Obstetrical observations by the cow doctor W. Munter (1767-1838) from Goudswaard (Prov. South-Holland)

Before the time that certified veterinarians from the Veterinary School of Utrecht became available, assistance with difficult parturitions of farm animals often was given by experienced cow doctors. Such a cow doctor was W. Munter, who practised at one of the islands of South-Holland. He had obtained a license for veterinary practice after being examined by the socalled Leyden Commission, in 1808 installed by King Louis Napoléon. In 1829 Munter communicated several of his case stories to Alexander Numan, director of the Veterinary School. These are edited and commented here. They shed light on the obstetrical problems Munter met in his practice and on the manner he solved them, and also on his views on the backwardness of many of his clients. It is concluded that Munter had a good practical knowledge and that he worked with accuracy.     

Some observations and discussion on the tuberculin test in Europe and U.S.A.

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This paper is an attempt to describe views and information gathered during a five-month tour of study in various overseas countries, and to discuss them in the light of the present tuberculosis programme in New Zealand.     

Serving capacity tests for beef bulls

Sir:— I would like to commend Don Fraser on his letter in the New Zealand Veterinary Journal Jan/Feb. issue, in bringing to the attention of the profession a practice that was exceedingly offensive for me to read about.     

The Adventures of Dr. Duncan McNab McEachran in Western Canada

Duncan McNab McEachran's early history and involvement in the formation of the Montreal Veterinary College as well as in livestock inspection were reviewed. His contribution to the beginning of the ranching industry in western Canada was explored in detail. In 1881, McEachran helped to establish the Cochrane Ranche, which was the first great ranch to be started in southern Alberta. He was employed as the ranch's resident general manager until 1883, in which year the Waldrond Ranch was established. McEachran was this ranch's president and general manager until approximately 1909. During this time, he came under considerable criticism from both The MacLeod Gazette and The Calgary Herald. As Dr. McEachran maintained his obligations to the ranches while he was directing the veterinary college in Montreal as well as chief inspector of livestock for Canada, it was concluded that this feat alone would rank him as a remarkable historical figure.     

Rupture of the Flexor Metatarsi Muscle in the Horse

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Sir,—The New Zealand Veterinary Journal has built up an excellent reputation during its relatively short life and this reputation should be jealously guarded. I therefore heartily endorse Mr Thornbury's criticisms of a recent article in his letter headed “Enucleation of Corpora Lutea” published in your September issue. Contributions of the calibre of that which drew his criticism reflect little credit on the authors and will hardly enhance the reputation of our Journal.     

Practice management: Is necessity the mother of contention?

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During much of this century veterinary undergraduates were led to believe that because the practice of veterinary science is a profession, after graduation they should never treat clinical practice as a business. This notion was reinforced by their peers, especially. those outside clinical practice, and still exists today. With the dependence of rural practice on the supply and sale of remedies for viability, few practices have ever been run on purely professional lines in New Zealand; but until very recently a minimal level of business ability was adequate to maintain practice viability.     

Opening address—New Zealand veterinary association conference, 1955

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We have recently seen another upsurge of interest in the question of training veterinarians in our own country. Most of you will rembember that a committee to report on the matter was appointed by the Labour Government in 1943 ; but the question of training veterinarians in New Zealand is far older than that. True it is that in the last 10 or 12years it has been bedevilled by some farmer opposition, though the farmers are not, and have not been, as unanimous in opposition as, at one time, they were in support. As far back as 1898, the Conference of Agricultural and Pastoral Associations, which at that time was the only body representing farmer opinion (for there was no Farmers' Union), resolved that provision should be made for veterinary education in one or other of the existing university colleges, or otherwise, as will qualify students for a degree. This resolution was carried, although Dr. Gilruth said it would be cheaper to send men to Britain for training. At the conference in 1902, J. G. Wilson proposed that the Government establish an agricultural college where veterinarians could receive diplomas. In the debate, J. S. Holmes, of Otago, submitted that the proper place was in connection with the medical school in Dunedin; while J. Studholme, of Canterbury, thought a chair should be established at Lincoln College. Dr. Gilruth discounted both suggestions. He would like to have men trained in the colony under his own charge. Kirk and Aston, he said, could lecture on botany and chemistry and his men could do the veterinary teaching. All they wanted was a building and the necessary equipment. He did not mention what sort of diploma would be given, or by whom: but his proposals are not without a certain interest today in the light of Dr. Burns's addendum to the Senate Committee's report of last year, to which I shall return later.     

The correlation between California mastitis test results and the presence of mastitis pathogens in composite milk samples

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In this, the Ira Cunningham Memorial Lecture, I will not detail all the Professor's achievements. He did so much so well, that I would be hard put to do justice to his record in the time available. What I will do is reflect on his professionalism and on the way he took that professionalism out to work in society.     

Down to earth

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The Polynesian migrations included the rat and the dog. There is no historical link to connect the two endemic New Zealand species of bats with any migration. With these exceptions there were no mammals introduced into New Zealand until early in the 19th century. Today the WHO yearbook records the cattle and. sheep population as 8.9 and 59.9 million, respectively; 40.3% of total export income is derived from meat and by-products. Total export income from meat, wool, dairy produce, livestock on the hoof and horses exceeds 80%. All are the harvest from the medium energy, high protein crop — pasture.