Napier Hospital, around 1900. Photo / Michael Fowler Collection
Smallpox was a disease believed to have existed from around 10,000 BC, and claimed the lives of millions until its eradication, which was declared by the World Health Organisation in 1980.
The deadly disease, caused by the variola virus, started off with a fever and vomiting, then fluid filled blisters covered the body. It was named smallpox in 16th century England to distinguish it from syphilis, which was then known as the "great pox."
Smallpox (like today's Covid-19), put fear into any country into which it appeared – and New Zealand was not immune from outbreaks.
Englishman Edward Jenner (1749-1823), who was apprenticed to a surgeon, had heard stories that dairymaids were protected from smallpox naturally after suffering cowpox.
Jenner found a dairymaid who had cow pox lesions on her hands, and taking matter from her lesions in May 1796, cut and rubbed it into the arm of the eight year old son of his gardener, James Phipps. The boy developed mild fever and had aches and pains over nine days, before it cleared up. To test his theory that James would now be immunised, Jenner infected the boy the same way with actual smallpox. No disease resulted, and Jenner concluded James had been protected by the cowpox.
While Jenner did not invent the method, he is often credited as the father of vaccines due to his scientific approach (albeit medically unethical today).
The word vacca means cow in Latin, so Edward Jenner coined the term we know today as vaccine or vaccination.
In a link to New Zealand, Edward Jenner, who was interested in natural science, helped classify the many species James Cook brought from his first voyage in 1769. (He was asked to go on his second voyage with Cook but declined).
In April 1913, a serious threat to New Zealand from smallpox occurred when Mormon missionary Richard Shumway arrived in Auckland from Vancouver aboard the Zealandia. Attending a hui, he thought he had measles (that in itself deadly) as he broke out in a sweat and sneezing while performing hongi (pressing noses together). However, he had smallpox.
In July 1913, Hastings mayor William Hart received this telegram from the Public Health Department, Wellington requesting: "Would you please arrange for a room for public vaccination and urge the public to get vaccinated. The use of the lymph made locally has been authorised."
Hastings doctors J C Tosswill, P J Barcroft and Robert Nairn were listed as public vaccinators and would use a room at the old public library in Market St the Hastings Borough Council had provided. The doctors, who were joined by a fourth unnamed doctor, were there every day from July 18 except 11am to 1pm Sunday (church service time) until further notice.
Doctor Robert Nairn (1862–1932) grew up in Nelson and Wellington, trained in medicine in London and set up in practice in Hastings in 1894, first in Eastbourne St, then in Railway Rd. The lymph made locally was from the Hawke's Bay Vaccine Institution, owned by Robert Nairn.
Robert's vaccine was made from lymph from local calves, where cowpox sores were harvested, then purified (Dr Nairn mixed the lymph with glycerine to act as a germicide to destroy any harmful microorganisms).
The doctors vaccinated 3200 people over five days, including two of them travelling to Māori at their "pahs" in the Hastings district.
Not only had Dr Nairn's vaccine been distributed around New Zealand for many years, but also to Australia – which was having its own smallpox outbreak.
The Australian agent for importing the vaccine from Hastings, Ivan Bruck, responded to criticism that 300 people were unsuccessfully vaccinated from the Hastings calf lymph in Newcastle.
Ivan stated: "This lymph, having been successfully used by the medical profession has attained the reputation of being the purest and most efficacious calf lymph in the market. It is a clear, colourless fluid sold in the state fresh state only, and never fails, unless the person operated on is immune, or the lymph has been tampered with. I have sold many thousands of the tubes of this lymph in the past few weeks and had not a single complaint." (Apparently, according to a report, the New Zealand vaccine had been "over-diluted", reducing its effectiveness).
Not everyone was happy to be vaccinated. John Rich of Karoola orchard, Havelock North, and others were dead against the smallpox vaccine. He wrote: "We hear a lot about this 'pure' calf lymph now being used. Now what is this lymph but a filthy poisonous discharge, thrown from the blood of a diseased animal, and most animals are diseased — it is pus, rotten pus, just pure filth. Cancer, tuberculosis, and lock-jaw are passed on to human beings in this way."
John Rich's assertions were disputed publicly (likely) by one of the doctors, signing a nom de plume "Medico".
Māori were the most affected by smallpox, with less immunity than Europeans, and therefore many Europeans feared coming in contact with them during this period. Hastings people wanted separate vaccination centres, but the doctors argued they had not the time nor resources to do so. Visits were however made to marae to administer the vaccine.
Hastings' vaccination programme appeared to be successful with large numbers of European and Māori taking up the vaccine. One morning 250 Māori and Europeans were vaccinated.
Interestingly, any passengers departing by sea to Australia from Napier had to have a certificate saying they had been vaccinated.
There appeared to cases of smallpox in Hastings in July 1913 at the Māori Agricultural College at Bridge Pa but proven not to be the case.
Where Māori fell ill with smallpox, a yellow flag was raised over their kainga (village or settlement) and they were put in quarantine. To travel on the railways, Māori had to carry with them a form saying they had been vaccinated.
In October 1913, another case was feared at Paki Paki and strict measures were put in place by the government, such as Māori could not travel by taxi or attend movie theatres.
It turned out after Hawke's Bay MP, Hugh Campbell asked the question of the Minister of Health in parliament if it was a case of smallpox, it appeared to be it wasn't.
The smallpox outbreak of 1913 infected about 2000 people, with 55 dying from it – most if not all, were Māori.
Dr Robert Nairn passed away in April 1932, while still practising medicine, and is buried in the Havelock North cemetery.
His wife Mary left for Scotland in 1940 to be near her daughter in Edinburgh, where she passed away and was buried in 1944.
• Michael Fowler (mfhistory@gmail.com) is a contract researcher and commercial business writer of Hawke's Bay history. Follow him on facebook.com/michaelfowlerhistory