Also by ARCHIE KALOKERINOS

Australian Precious Opal

Every
Second
Child
ARCHIE KALOKERINOS

NELSON
Thomas Nelson (Australia) Limited
597 Little Collins Street Melbourne 3000
104 Bathurst Street Sydney 2000
Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd
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Thomas Nelson and Sons (Canada) Ltd
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First printed 1974
© THOMAS NELSON (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED 1974
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Type set by Dudley King Pty Ltd, Melbourne
Printed by New Century Press, Sydney
To the mothers of those tiny children. Because they suffered so.
They knew not of the trees,
They knew not of the flowers.
The river flows beside them,
The wind they cannot hear.
These little Aborigines
So small in death,
So early to the grave.
'Tis sad they did not know
The legends of their land.
 \ FOREWORD

This book presents the engrossing account of the attack, in large

part ultimately successful, made by Dr Archie Kalokerinos on the
problem of the very high death rate of Aboriginal children in the
part of New South Wales in which he was working. After he had
recognised the problem and had rejected the usual explanations of
the high death rate of the Aboriginal infants, he was led finally to
the conclusion that the infants were suffering from scurvy, a
deficiency of vitamin C. This discovery was at first rejected by the
authorities, and by most of his fellow physicians; but the weight
of the evidence has finally led to acceptance of his views.
Through his work Dr Kalokerinos has made a great contribution
to the health and welfare not only of the Australian Aborigines but
also to people everywhere in the world.
The idea that there might be a rather general deficiency in
vitamin C was developed slowly during the twenty years from
about 1949. In that year G. B. Bourne pointed out that the gorilla,
which like man requires vitamin C in his food in order to keep
alive, obtains in his daily supply of food a very large amount of
vitamin C, about 5000 milligrams, 100 times the amount usually
recommended for human beings. In 1965 the American biochemist
Irwin Stone presented several arguments to support the thesis that
the optimum intake of vitamin C, the intake that leads to the best
of health, probably for most people lies between 1000 and 5000
milligrams per day. One argument leading to this conclusion is
that most animals manufacture vitamin C in their own bodies, and
the amount manufactured corresponds to an intake by man of
between 4000 and 16 000 milligrams per day. It is interesting also
that the Committee on Human Foods and Nutrition of the United
States Academy of Sciences-National Research Council recom-
mends only 60 milligrams per day for human beings, whereas the
Committee on Feeding of Laboratory Animals, also a committee
of the United States National Academy of Sciences-National
Research Council, recommends 2000 milligrams per day for
monkeys. It is likely that the second committee has more reliable
experimental information to support its recommendation than the
first committee, because it is possible to carry out controlled
experiments on monkeys more easily than on human beings.
 In the period between 1942 and 1961 several investigations were CONTENTS
reported in which it was found that people receiving 200 milligrams Foreword Linus Pauling, Nobel Prizewinner, & Professor of
to 1000 milligrams of vitamin C per day had fewer colds than Chemistry, Stanford University, California vii
people who were given an inactive tablet. During the last three Introduction xiii
years six more studies have been made of people who receive either 1 When White Men Came 1
vitamin C or an inactive tablet over a period of weeks or months, 2 The Graves at Collarenebri 6
and they were observed to see whether the incidence and severity 3 Aboriginal Life 12
of colds were affected. It was found in every one of these investiga- 4 First Observations 16
tions that an added intake of vitamin C leads to a decrease in the 5 Billy 20
number of colds and also to a decrease in the amount of illness 6 One Survived 25
caused by colds. Moreover, it has been found that there is a 7 Coober Pedy 30
decrease in the incidence of non-respiratory diseases, as well. We 8 Trouble 34
may conclude from these studies that an improvement in health 9 About a Dog 42
may in general be expected to result from an increased intake of 10 First Discoveries 45
vitamin C. 11 Teething 48
The problem of obtaining a suitable amount of vitamin C is, of 12 Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths 52
course, a far more serious one for the Australian Aborigines than 13 Disease Patterns 56
for other people. I believe that the conclusion reached by Dr 14 They Refused to Listen 61
Kalokerinos that the high infant mortality and generally high 15 The Trial of Nancy Young 64
incidence of disease among the Aboriginal infants is to be attributed 16 Malnutrition 78
in considerable part to a low body content of vitamin C is correct. 17 The Twins 84
Moreover, it seems to be not unlikely that the Australian Aborigines 18 Teddy 91
have a special immunological problem, as described by Dr 19 The First Evidence 96
Kalokerinos, and that in addition the deficiency in vitamin C is 20 Dangers of Immunisations 100
exacerbated by immunisations and inoculations, since it is known 21 Research and Conspiracy 106
that immunisation and inoculation leads to destruction of vitamin C. 22 Another Death 110
Dr Kalokerinos deserves much credit for having made these 23 Overseas Support 114
discoveries. 24 Fred Hollows 120
LINUS PAULING
25 Some Listened 123
Nobel Prizewinner, & 26 Some Recognition 129
Professor of Chemistry, 27 What Must Be Done 133
Stanford University, California Appendix Letter: Dr Irwin Stone to Dr Dettmann 137
Bibliography 139
Index 143
 ILLUSTRATIONS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

1 Collarenebri District Hospital facing page 34 Many men and women, Aboriginal and white, contributed to the work described
in this book. To mention them all would be impossible; to select some would
2 An Aboriginal infant has up to ten times greater chance of dying do injustice to the others. However, there are a few whose help has been particu-
before the age of one year than a white child 34 larly encouraging. Amongst these were Debbie and Harold Hodges from
3 Mary. Showing head retraction and back arching 34 Lightning Ridge. Without them, work loads would have been impossible to
4 Cerebral irritability more advanced 34 complete. The Aborigines and people of Collarenebri, the Hospital staff and
5 A white infant asleep after an injection of vitamin C 35 Hospital Board together with Harry Hall from Walgett, stood by me during
6 The little boy from Walgett, shocked and unconscious from periods of crisis that otherwise would have ended in disaster.
In parliamentary circles, all political parties gave their support. Ralph Hunt,
vitamin C deficiency 35 one-time Minister of the Interior, risked his political career to advance the work
7 A 'running' nose 35 that was being done at Collarenebri; Max Fox, then Government Leader in the
8 A 'running' ear 35 Senate, and John Fitzpatrick, local member, gave unqualified support.
9 Dirt-floored shanties on the Collarenebri reserve 50 In academic circles, special gratitude is due to Geoffrey Kellerman, Associate
10 Diarrhoea. The so-called 'gastroenteritis' 50 Professor of Biochemistry at Monash University. His work is not mentioned in
this book because of its specialised, technical character. Nevertheless, it has been
11 Classical scurvy gums 50
of considerable value, and it promises to be even more so in the future. From
12 Scurvy gums, not so obvious 50 the University of Sydney, Professor J. S. Gunn, Department of English, and
13 The twins soon after birth 51 Professor W. O'Neil provided facilities for computerised library references;
14 One twin ten days later 51 Professor H. Freeman, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, took up the study
15 The twins, nearly one year old 51 of zinc deficiencies and liver enzyme systems. From the University of New
South Wales, Professor J. Beveridge provided a specialist paediatric service,
16 Tom's humpy burnt to the ground after he died in it 51
while the work of Associate Professor F. Hollows has become a legend.
17 Teddy's grave 66 The Tamworth Base Hospital, Dr Douglas Harbison and Dr Peter Wakeford,
18 Jenny dying from pneumonia 66 provided constant advice and were directly instrumental in the saving of many
19 The author during an immunisation campaign 66 an infant's life. Douglas Harbison was the first to recognise the unusual disease
20 A distended abdomen caused by vitamin C deficiency 67 patterns exhibited by Aboriginal infants suffering from vitamin C deficiencies.
21 An infant in the Alice Springs Hospital demonstrating the Glen Dettmann and fellows from the Australian College of Bio-medical
Science were the first to offer scientific support for my observations in
refusal to eat and drink 67
Collarenebri. Ames Laboratories (USA) offered the facilities of their research
22 Dr Eban Hipsley in Collarenebri: collecting blood for vitamin and development network.
assays 67 My solicitor, Mr Bob Goodyear from Inverell, and his associate, Professor
23 Professor Fred Hollows working on a reserve 67 Hal Wootten, may be surprised to find their names mentioned here. In spite of
24 The little girl who survived after receiving an injection of our sporadic encounters, 1 do not underestimate the value of their contribution.
Dr Langsford and Dr Hipsley from the Commonwealth Department of Health
vitamin C 82
must be mentioned for their work on vitamin deficiencies. Dr Nobile and Roche
25 Her legs: showing where attempts were made to administer Products of Sydney performed the intricate assays involved in this work.
intravenous fluids 82 There are many who sent me references or passed on their experiences to me.
26 The boy with scurvy resulting from a diet of 'Sunshine' milk A great part of this material has been of considerable value, and I am most
with no vitamin supplements 82 grateful to them.
27 The boy's body is arched, his head is retracted 83 Finally, I want to thank my brother, James, who was my first supporter and
constant adviser. Without him the events in this book would never have
28 He drinks eagerly after an injection of vitamin C 83 happened.
29 Two days later, smiling 83 ARCHIE KALOKERINOS
30 The dead infant referred to in the text 83
 INTRODUCTION

In writing this book I have been stimulated by one thought alone:

the welfare of Australian Aborigines. The wrong approach of
European settlers to these people resulted in the virtual loss of their
culture and the highest infant death rate in the world. For years I
worked amongst them with care but without knowledge. Rows
upon rows of tiny graves in the Aboriginal cemetery at Collarenebri
bear silent testimony to the inefficiency of my early efforts. Then,
in December 1967, I discovered the truth. The death rate fell and
has since remained at a figure that rivals the lowest in the Western
world. This book describes the long process of this achievement.
Many a time I have been tormented by doubts as to my right of
intruding into the privacy of those concerned. Some will be dis-
turbed to see aspects of life and death revealed so bluntly. I tried to
avoid all this, but I see before me so much suffering, so many deaths
and so much responsibility. If I am to accept this burden, then I
must claim the right to do what I can to put an end to it.
It has been claimed that the results achieved at Collarenebri are
due to 'dedication' and not to specific methods. I can only ask the
readers of this book to test this assertion for themselves.
 1 When White Men Came
Some two hundred years ago, the Australian Aborigines lived in
almost total isolation from the outside world. A few groups in the
far North had some contact with islanders but mutual fear, hostile
acts, the lack of any reason for trade and the natural barriers of the
ocean prevented anything but fleeting contact. As a result, a unique
race was developed in Australia—approximately 300 000 Abo-
rigines divided into 500 tribes whose culture remained virtually
untainted by outside influences.
Tribes varied in size and, to some extent, in structure. About 500
people occupied an area of land in which they hunted and foraged
for food. But tribal land had a deeper meaning than something that
simply enabled you to exist. Over thousands of years, myths and
legends were woven around natural and geographical phenomena,
around plant and animal life. These myths and legends became the
basis of their religion, in fact of almost everything the Aborigines
were concerned with. Thus tribal land and its contents became
endowed with extreme sacredness. Natural features were rarely
disturbed. Animals and plants were used as food but this use was
tempered by a system that prevented exploitation. Australia
remained, therefore, a 'virgin' country undisturbed by the scourge
of human destruction.
Some parts of Australia were teeming with wild life. Obtaining
food in such areas was relatively simple. Other parts were barren
and to live required the development of a special art—the under-
standing of nature, the seasons, and the life cycles of plants and
animals. Even in fertile areas this art was specially developed
because of the sacredness of all things. The immensity of the know-
ledge gained over thousands of years could hardly be exaggerated.
Aborigines really lived with nature. They loved it. They loved it
deeply. They understood it and enjoyed it in a way that no modern

1
2 EVERY SECOND CHILD
person could understand, because no-one has the knowledge the
Aborigines had.
Discipline and law in tribes were extremely strict. Tribal elders
controlled most problems. Serious breaches of law were punished
by death. This applied particularly to marriage and sexual relation-
ships. There were laws controlling the distribution of food, respon-
sibilities towards others, conversations, demeanour, the training of
the young and initiation. The initiation ceremonies played vital
roles, and only a select few, who proved themselves to be men of
extreme calibre, were entrusted with the more responsible positions.
Even then a system of rule by elders tended to dominate. In most
parts of Australia, circumcision and subincision of the penis were
included in certain stages of initiation. Superficial and specially
designed wounds that were encouraged to scar were other outward
signs of initiation. However, the fundamental aim of initiation was
to provide a method of delegating responsibilities and controlling
law and order.
In 1770, when Captain Cook 'discovered' the east coast of Aus-
tralia, he and his botanist, Sir Joseph Banks, were fascinated by
what were to them new varieties of fauna and flora, and carefully
studied them by methods used by Western scientists. Neither
Cook nor Banks gave serious consideration to the opinions of the
Aborigines. That these 'savages' could have a knowledge superior
to theirs was unthinkable; that these naked 'primitives' could love
and appreciate nature was equally unthinkable. Beauty, loveliness
unsurpassed, a tenderness and delight in all things created by
nature were there, but his Western upbringing blinded Cook and
he missed the greatest discovery of all times.
The Aborigines also failed in their observations of Cook. They
did not realise that his coming meant the destruction of their race,
the introduction of disease, the death of their legends, the loss of so
much loveliness and the desecration of tribal land. So much sad-
ness and suffering was to come. Ironically, the suffering was to be
worst in a field that had already gained Cook considerable fame—
scurvy. Thousands of Aborigines were to die during the next two
centuries from this dreadful disease. Yet there, on the east coast of
Australia in 1770, Cook already had the knowledge to prevent and
cure scurvy. During long sea voyages, up to fifty per cent or more of
WHEN WHITE MEN CAME 3
crew members used to die from scurvy; Cook fed his sailors with
lime juice and did not lose a single man.
The introduction of European diseases to the Australian
Aborigines was particularly disastrous. Thousands of years of
isolation had left the Aborigines free from even simple diseases
like the common cold, measles and influenza. This meant that they
did not develop immunity to these diseases and that they were
extremely susceptible to them. Therefore, when the Europeans
came, thousands of Aborigines, adults and infants, coming in
contact with them, became seriously ill and died. Only one
European in several thousands would die from complications
following a bout of German measles, yet a vast number of
Aborigines died during primary epidemics. Few would doubt that
this was due to a lack of immunity. Tuberculosis had similar
effects. Only a few Europeans suffered from the rapid form of the
disease known as 'galloping consumption'. During primary epi-
demics, most Aborigines developed tuberculosis in this way.
It would be interesting to know the possible role played in this
respect by King O'Malley, the politician who founded Canberra.
O'Malley arrived from the United States in a sailing vessel more
dead than alive, riddled with tuberculosis and apparently dying.
He was taken ashore on an isolated portion of the Queensland
coast and 'left to die'. Aborigines found him there, cared for him
and eventually nursed him back to health. The records do not show
if and how many Aborigines contracted tuberculosis from O'Malley
but the chances are that many did.
If ignorance can be invoked as an excuse for introducing diseases
into Australia, it is more difficult to find one for the destruction of
Aboriginal society. Blinded by ignorance and superiority com-
plexes, the white settlers were not even aware of the existence of an
Aboriginal society and that something was destroyed at all.
They took away the land that was sacred to the Aborigines; they
broke the system of tribal discipline and law; they introduced
alcohol, a drug to which the Aborigines had no tolerance; they
broke the laws of sexual relationships. They destroyed much of
importance until the Aborigines lost their way of life, their pride,
the loveliness of the legends, everything. Small wonder that they
became degraded, disgraced, depressed and apathetic. Some
4 EVERY SECOND CHILD WHEN WHITE MEN CAME 5

fought against the Europeans. They were killed. Whole tribes were preferred to ignore the entire situation—the suffering, the sickness,
killed. In Tasmania, an entire race was destroyed. the high death rates. Alcohol and gambling were great vices on
Only a few Aborigines were able to withstand the shock of change these reserves. Most men drank heavily and, because their systems
and rise from the ruins. The rest remained degraded—literally were not tuned to the detoxification of alcohol, the effects were
kicked into the gutter by Europeans who were only too willing to almost always disastrous. Men 'went mad'. They fought, they
criticise them for being there. Aboriginal girls were used as cheap killed, they were bashed without mercy by police, and finally locked
prostitutes, men as cheap labour. The only parts of Australia that up in gaol. While this went on, women gambled—not just for a few
were regarded as 'clean' were those that were free from hours but often throughout the day. Babies and children were left
Aborigines. to care for themselves or thrown a few crusts of bread and a tin of
But the worst was yet to come. A subtle horror had begun whose jam. Such was the destruction of the Aboriginal race. The
features, serious though they were, were to remain unknown for Aborigines had lost their reason for living and along with it, their
nearly two hundred years. The change from a nomadic way of life dignity.
to life in permanent camps brought about nutritional problems of
which nobody was aware at the time. True enough, the Aborigines
did not go hungry. There was plenty of flour, jam, and enough
meat. Property owners supplied Aborigines with these items 'free'
or for token sums in return for work done. But this diet was a killer,
and one of the worst types, because it killed infants and adults in a
way that was not obvious, so that nobody was aware of it. The
waste of human life, the suffering and bewilderment, simply went
on and on.
In all fairness it should be noted that many European settlers in
later years partially learned to understand, appreciate and love the
Aborigines and did their best to improve this tragic and prepos-
terous situation. Obviously, they never returned the land to the
tribes; such an act would have been futile anyway. But they treated
respectful Aborigines as equals and always consulted them in
matters of importance. A few European men married Aboriginal
women. Many more simply 'lived' with Aboriginal women and
gave them children. The results of these unions depended to a large
extent on the quality of the 'stock'. If the parents were 'good',
the children would follow suit. If either or both parents were 'bad',
the children would probably be bad also. This, of course, is an
oversimplification of a complex situation, but the principle applies.
As parts of Australia became densely populated, the Aborigines
in those areas were either wiped out altogether or herded into so-
called 'reserves'. These were usually on the outskirts of towns and
consisted of a number of humpies. There were no proper water
supplies, sanitation was virtually non-existent, and most Europeans

2 The Graves at
Collarenebri
My grandfather must have loved this country in spite of its strange-
ness. Its remoteness from the Mediterranean island on which he
was born, the hardships and loneliness that resulted from his
inability to communicate with ease in English, must have been
outweighed by something far greater, for, instead of returning to
his native land, he sent for my father. And so I was born in
Australia, in the peaceful New England town of Glen Innes. It may
have been chance, but I like to think that it was fate that made me
grow up in a place where there was all you need to enchant the soul
of a child and endow it forever with love for all that nature has
made. Indeed, it would be difficult to become an atheist in the
midst of so much splendour—the low rolling hills, the quiet
waters of the Severn River and the glory of the wattle as it blooms
in late spring. The early settlers must also have felt the spell of this
beautiful spot, as the names they gave to places seem to illustrate—
Shannon Vale, Red Range, Glencoe. One Aboriginal name was
among them: Furracabad. Had it not been for such names, I would
never have known that less than 150 years ago this country belonged
entirely to Aborigines.
When I was at school nobody spoke about the Aborigines who
once lived in the district and how the land had been taken away
from them. The scars of conquest had been covered completely. I
was taught that I was an 'Australian', that 'Australia' meant wattle
trees, pioneers, the light-horse brigade, poetry and the King of
England. At Glen Innes I never met an Aborigine, I never saw an
Aboriginal camp site or an Aboriginal implement.
It was in Sydney, in a school library, that I discovered the world
of the Aborigines. Books had been written about Aborigines and
their country—exciting books, vivid and imaginative. I read about
great hunters, famous fighters, men of stamina, of courage, and of
THE GRAVES AT COLLARENEBRI 7
amazing intelligence. All this I devoured with the eagerness of
boyhood and the memory of those parts of Australia that I too had
grown to love.
Unfortunately, I was unable to develop this love. First, there was
the war, then the study of medicine at the University of Sydney.
How strange this all seems now! Six years at medical school and I
cannot recall hearing even once the word 'Aborigine'. Our teachers
were good men; many of them, indeed, were great men. But their
views were limited to what they had learned themselves in London
and Edinburgh. None of them knew about the problems of the
Aborigines or that only a few miles away there were infants dying
at rates that exceeded the worst rates in underdeveloped countries
overseas. At least if they did know, they never said so—and that,
for such fine men, is unthinkable. Fortunately, there were safety
valves. We were taught to observe, to examine and to think. Many
otherwise serious deficiencies were thus minimised.
Work for me as a medical graduate began in Lismore, on the
north coast of New South Wales, 500 miles from Sydney. In the
area there were several Aboriginal reserves and I was quickly
trained to regard these people as 'dirty', 'hopeless', 'rather funny'
and full of disease. The last statement was certainly true. Once, with
a pathologist, I looked down a microscope and observed 'almost
every parasite that exists'. There were regular V.D. clinics at the
hospital; T.B. was rife.
After eighteen months of contact with the Aborigines I saw no
reason to believe that their response to disease was any different
from Europeans — they were just dirty and lazy. These were the
views that I took with me to England in 1952 and expressed with
confidence on the basis of my 'wide experience'. Not that many
bothered to ask about Aboriginal diseases. There were too many
problems related intrinsically to English medicine and surgery and
on these I concentrated. The standard of work in English hospitals
was high. There was so much to learn, so much to do. Emphasis
was always on quality—accurate diagnosis, statistically controlled
results, careful thought and respect for work well done. Such an
atmosphere suited me. Only one fault continuously plagued the
arrangement, and that concerned rates of pay. Eventually, after six
years, this forced the issue and in 19571 returned to Australia simply
in order to earn a reasonable living.
8 EVERY SECOND CHILD
At the time I was still filled with the glory of medicine. I
expected to be greeted by fellow Australians with questions con-
cerning recent progress in medicine and surgery. I expected long
hours of discussions over cups of tea on subjects varying from
acute appendicitis to the effects of new drugs—just as in English
hospitals. But there were no questions, no discussions about recent
achievements—just one piece of advice: 'get a good accountant'.
Money had come to medicine in Australia and it had come in a big
way. Results, generally, were weighed in the money earned. Only
a handful still cared about anything else.
Nearly all men of calibre who had graduated about the same time
as I had become established in research posts or as specialists in
cities or large centres. Few were working in outback areas or in
government health departments. This was largely the reason why
Aboriginal health was for so long ignored. The men who really
cared were inundated by the routine of 'keeping kids alive'. There
was little time for research and even less for careful thought, and
although enough work had been done to expose the problem in
size and nature, official reports were shelved, ignored, or
deliberately misrepresented.
It was the professional dishonesty and hunger for money of some
of my colleagues that drove me into the outback. Soon after arriving
in Australia I was offered a very lucrative share in a large city prac-
tice, but I could not work under those conditions. When the oppor-
tunity came to practise in Collarenebri, 500 miles north-west of
Sydney, I accepted it with relief. A neighbour who had nursed
there many years before warned me to expect a life of hardship.
'And there are plenty of Aborigines there too,' she continued.
'With them expect nothing but trouble, work and no pay.' In a
way she was right. What she didn't say was that I was about to
come face to face with a completely different pattern of disease,
that I was about to begin a sixteen year-long nightmare.
Collarenebri is a township of 700 people, which is small even by
Australian standards. Crossing it, in good times, is a thin trickle of
life—the Barwon River. The country that surrounds it is flat—
mostly the thick black soil of the north-west plains. Here and there
are 'ridges'—low collections of gravel or sand, the most famous of
which is Lightning Ridge (50 miles north), home of the exquisite
black opal. In 1957 the roads were all bad. The entire area was in
THE GRAVES AT COLLARENEBRI 9
the grip of drought. Not a blade of green grass could be seen, cattle
and sheep lay dead everywhere, dust covered everything. The
river was dry, birds were dying, trees were dying, on stations
graziers were desperate. In a way all this did not concern me. My
task was to care for the town's population, for about a thousand
other inhabitants of the district, and two hundred or so Aborigines
living on the reserve just upstream from the town.
The Collarenebri District Hospital, next door to where I lived,
was considered by most to be adequate. It was made of painted
timber with an iron roof. There was an operating theatre, a labour
ward, a private section and an outpatient's department. At the time
there was no air conditioning. In a place where summer tempera-
tures reach extreme heights and cases of heat collapse are common,
this was a serious disadvantage. The daily inpatient average was
about ten. Nearly fifty babies were born each year and half of these
were Aborigines.
The nearest other doctor was fifty miles away. At odd times,
when rain came, he may as well have been a thousand miles away.
In any case, I was soon informed that I would have to manage alone.
There was virtually no contact with doctors elsewhere. Health
officials were only concerned with breaches of regulations. Nobody
bothered to question my ability. No advice was given, no attempt
was made to list problems systematically and solve even the most
serious ones. One's professional standing was judged largely on the
ability or willingness to operate alone with a nurse administering
an old-fashioned open ether anaesthetic. That this was foolish and
dangerous, even in most emergencies, was a fact that few local
people could understand.
What was most disquieting was the fact that the greatest problem
was not even recognised, namely that the infant death rate in the
district was the highest in the State. Nobody pointed this out to me
even though council officials were fully aware of it. I was left to
discover it for myself under circumstances that were far from ideal.
Five months had passed since my arrival in Collarenebri and most
things seemed to be under control. The experience that I had gained
in England stood me in good stead. Several real emergencies had
undergone surgery with good results. Babies had been delivered,
complications dealt with, diabetics were 'sugar free', 'cardiacs'
able to resume a more or less normal life, and problems of trans-
10 EVERY SECOND CHILD
port, communication and the like were gradually being solved. It
was nearly Christmas—a time for thanksgiving—when, like a bolt
from the blue, three infant deaths occurred in a row. These were
all European infants, well fed, well cared for, and not considered
seriously ill by their parents or myself until a few minutes before
death.
The first was dead on arrival—sudden collapse and death before
the parents could even get to the hospital. The second died as the
parents carried him across the hospital doorstep. Neither of these
infants had been previously seen by me. The third one had been
admitted to hospital a few days before suffering from mild vomiting
and diarrhoea. He did not appear to be seriously ill; he was certainly
not dehydrated and there could be no possibility of rare complica-
tions such as salt retention in the tissues, because a careful fluid
balance chart had been kept and the amount of vomiting and
diarrhoea was trivial. Without any warning, he suddenly col-
lapsed, and became shocked, failed to respond to measures such
as the administration of cortisone and intravenous fluids, and died.
An autopsy was performed by myself on each infant. Naturally I
was worried in case something had been missed. Was I negligent ?
Could something have been done to save these infants? Was I
dealing with a strange and vicious organism ? Did I have an epidemic
on my hands? Many of the townspeople thought so. They
hurriedly left with their infants in order to avoid the 'plague'. The
local undertaker, confident that business would boom, ordered
extra infant coffins. This order became known and panic quickly
spread.
Fortunately for my peace of mind, each autopsy was virtually
negative. There was no peculiar infection, no missed diagnosis as
far as established pathology was concerned. I was, as my colleagues
would say, 'off the hook', that is, I was free from blame. But why
did these infants die ?
Although microscopic studies and other reports by the State
pathologist were 'normal', I did observe macroscopically (that is,
with the naked eye) changes in the liver of each infant. Yellow
patches, several inches in diameter, were visible on the surface and
extending into the depth. These changes were too mild to be seen
in microscope sections but they corresponded with similar changes
that I had seen in two children from one family in Lismore in 1951.
THE GRAVES AT COLLARENEBRI 11
My recollection of those children was still vivid. Both suffered mild
diarrhoea, then suddenly collapsed and died. When nothing but
these liver changes was found during the autopsies I suggested the
possibility of poisoning. There was a tremendous stir, the possibility
of poisoning was eliminated, and I was warned to be careful before
making further suggestions. At the time I decided in my own mind
that these children had died from a very acute form of hepatitis.
After considering the three Collarenebri infants I more or less came
to the same conclusion.
Pursuing the matter further was difficult. Senior colleagues
showed no interest. One pathologist agreed with me in that he con-
sidered the most likely cause to be an acute viral infection. My own
brother, a practitioner of considerable experience, simply said,
'What are you worried about ? We all experience the same problem.
Nobody knows what it is'. The trouble, unfortunately, was that
experts did not agree that other doctors experienced similar cases.
I was told quite firmly that the liver changes were 'imagination',
that I may have missed something such as a serious degree of
dehydration.
This incredible state of affairs was the first of many shocks I had
to suffer in the years that followed. There were, I was told, thousands
upon thousands of observant doctors practising medicine in the
world. If what I said was true, it would have been noted and checked
years before. The logic of this argument seemed irrefutable.
Experience had already proved to me that there were great gaps in
my medical knowledge, that there were many doctors who were
obviously superior and far more observant. Viewed in this light, my
own observations must have been incorrect. Yet deep down, I knew
that I was right. There were changes in the liver. Something very
strange was going on, something unknown.
A resolution concerning careful studies of future cases was tem-
pered by a little calculation. According to statistics I had had my
'fill'. The chances of seeing similar cases in the years ahead were
remote, and it seemed that the undertaker in Collarenebri would
never use his stock of infant coffins. Time, of course, disproved
these calculations. The undertaker was to use many infant coffins
—too many.

3 Aboriginal Life
A few months at Collarenebri convinced me that the local Abo-
rigines were mostly dirty, careless, ignorant, lazy and unhealthy.
Their living conditions were, to say the least, bad. A few lived in
reasonable town houses, some of them in reasonable station
cottages, but most of them lived in humpies on the reserve. And
what a place that was! Dirt floors, rubbish everywhere, no proper
water supply, no sanitation, no electricity, no refrigeration, and
when it rained—mud everywhere. For some, there was no alterna-
tive to reserve living, but others earned good wages as shearers and
station workers, and there seemed no reason for them to live there.
But instead, their wages were spent on alcohol and gambling.
At the time, only 'licensed' Aborigines were granted the luxury
of alcohol. On the reserve, alcohol was totally banned, but these
laws did not function in practice—they couldn't. Aborigines pur-
chased methylated spirits from local stores together with alcohol
containing flavouring essences. These materials were far worse
than the alcoholic drinks used by Europeans. Furthermore, there
was a considerable amount of illegal 'supplying'—that is, of illegal
selling of alcoholic drinks to Aborigines.
Being drunk on a reserve was a special crime and carried a special
penalty. The local police rarely found it difficult to fill the goal with
drunken Aborigines. Some of these men had just come to town with
big pay packets. Much of this was quickly spent on illegal alcohol
or gambled away. Some was 'distributed' amongst other Aborigines
in line with an age-old tribal custom of sharing, and the rest (if there
was any left) spent on stiff fines handed down by a local magistrate.
If there was no money left to pay a fine, a gaol sentence would be
imposed; work could not be done and no more money was available
for the family.
This illogical system was widespread. Nobody seemed to see its
12
ABORIGINAL LIFE 13
futility. Few questioned it. The entire blame was placed on the
Aborigines themselves 'who did not have to drink'.
The direct effect of alcohol on the local Aborigines was dangerous,
vicious, and predictable in that it was almost always bad. Many
drunken Aborigines became homicidal. Night after night I would
hear the sounds of fighting—screaming women and children,
barking dogs, then the shouts of the policeman. Later there would
be wounds to repair and hangover headaches. Men who a few hours
before were dangerously violent became meek and gentle as lambs.
To me there was little doubt that most Aborigines did not have the
enzyme system that quickly detoxified alcohol, and I was amazed
no specific research had been done in this field.
The opinion of 'authorities' at the time was that alcohol affected
Aborigines more than Europeans because the former have 'weak
brains', were people of 'low calibre', 'one stage removed from
animals', and 'willed themselves into such a state'. No-one realised
that alcohol to Aborigines was a poison because it could not be
detoxified. At the time there was no laboratory proof, but this was
obvious by mere observation of drunken Aborigines. Unfortunately,
courts gave little thought to this physiological fact. When a local
Aborigine, during a drunken spree, cut his wife up into little
pieces, he was dealt with according to European standards. No-one
bothered to consider the chemical aspects of alcohol detoxification
and, anyway, the victim was an Aborigine, so why bother ?
The worst aspect of the problem, however, did not involve the
Aborigines but the white men who supplied the alcohol. According
to my way of thinking, there should have been a white supplier
gaoled with every drunken Aborigine. Needless to say, this was
not done. The authorities continually declared that Aborigines
would not 'squeal' or give the police information about suppliers.
This, in a way, was correct. However, on at least one occasion, I
personally witnessed acts of supplying, informed the police and
was told that nothing could be done. The fact was that the police
preferred to ignore the major suppliers who were some of the so-
called leading citizens of the town. If a stranger came to
Collarenebri and supplied Aborigines with alcohol, he was very
quickly arrested and charged. Records in the local courts will bear
out that these facts are true.
The effect of this state of affairs on the minds of Aboriginal
 14 EVERY SECOND CHILD
children could only be bad. I called it 'a fundamental moral fault'.
As soon as a child could think, it realised that there was a difference
between white and black people, and that black people were
inferior. This destroyed pride in a way that led to continual debase-
ment. The law was never meant to do this. In fact it didn't do it.
The fault lay with the administration of the law.
A harsh aspect of the administration of the law could be seen
almost every night on the reserve. Police had the authority to enter
humpies, awake sleeping Aborigines and charge them with drunken-
ness—and they did just that. At first I found this difficult to believe.
Surely, I thought, someone complained, or there had been acts of
violence. But often this was not so. Whenever the lockup keeper
wanted a full gaol, the police would raid the reserve.
From this situation I learned about one peculiar aspect of
Aboriginal thinking. Rarely would they complain officially. They
accepted discrimination without murmuring. There was one law
for the whites and another one for the blacks. This, fate had
decreed. Now, the situation has altered. Aborigines are becoming
belligerent and demanding their rights.
A few years ago in most parts of Australia laws were altered to
allow Aborigines equal drinking rights with whites. The initial
impact of this law was apparently disastrous. Many times I was
called to the Collarenebri gaol to examine groups of drunken
Aborigines. Some were very near the danger-point of toxicity. I
expected the worst each time a call came from the local police, but
Collarenebri was fortunate—not one Aborigine died from alcohol
intoxication. Other areas experienced the worst. Aborigines in their
youth, just twenty years old, were 'dead on arrival'; the alcohol
had done its worst. Added to this was the problem of diabetes, a
disease particularly common amongst Aborigines. Some were
known diabetics, some suffered but were undiagnosed, others were
approaching the diabetic state. When these Aborigines drank, the
effects were sometimes fatal—sudden diabetic coma mistaken for
alcoholic coma, and death. Furthermore, cardiovascular disease
was also common amongst Aborigines. Alcohol made it worse and
many Aborigines, including one from Collarenebri, died in a cell
from a heart attack.
When an Aborigine had money, his first thought was for
alcohol, not for food. On an empty stomach alcohol had an
enhanced effect. Some Aborigines never reached the relative security
ABORIGINAL LIFE 15
of their humpies. Two from Collarenebri fell into the river and
drowned. Others fell into fires, one lay down on a road and was
killed by a passing car. All of this happened amongst just a few
hundred Aborigines—a very high death rate indeed from the
direct effects of alcohol. I wondered if those concerned ever stopped
to study the statistics. A killer was in their midst, and instead of
casting it out they encouraged it in their ignorance.
After a few years of equal drinking rights the situation in
Collarenebri improved considerably. It seems that the fundamental
moral fault of discrimination had a far worse effect than anything
else. Its removal gave most Aborigines the self-respect they
needed. This enabled them to control the amount of alcohol they
imbibed. In other districts the accomplishment of this ideal will
take much longer and the Aborigines will continue to demonstrate
the disastrous effects of a poison they were never meant to meet.
Gambling among women on reserves is a common problem all
over Australia. Collarenebri suffered its fair share, as I found for
myself in 1957. Long hours were spent at this pastime while
infants were seriously neglected. Try though I might, I was
unable to discover a reason for it. Time after time the signs of
neglect in a sick infant were obvious and equally obvious was the
cause: gambling. Superficially it is tempting to think that the vice
is an escape mechanism. If that is so, the need to escape must be
great indeed, for no time was left for the preparation of even
simple meals. A fly-covered, unwashed bottle was often partially
filled with dirty river water to which a spoonful or so of powdered
milk had been added. The mixture was then quickly shaken with a
dirty thumb placed over the bottle opening, and a dirty teat which
was then impatiently placed into a screaming infant's mouth
completed the insult.
Why ? Time and time again I asked this question and never got
an answer that satisfied or offered the possibility of a way out.
Sometimes I was told 'She is a bad woman', or 'She is stupid'. This
may have sometimes been so, but experience has since convinced
me that many Aboriginal and part-Aboriginal women live largely
in a strange dream world of their own. This is based on the original
tribal life but is twisted almost beyond recognition. During
gambling sessions there is constant talk about weird ideas. The
effect is like hypnosis. Reason is lost. Or one may consider that it
is like the taking of a drug. As a result, many infants have died.

4 First Observations
I cannot recall my first impressions of Aboriginal infants at
Collarenebri. I do remember trying to sort out some of the disease
patterns observed several months after my arrival. Heading these
were the so-called 'upper respiratory tract' infections. Next came
malnutrition, then 'gastroenteritis' and finally 'pneumonia'. Three
of these are placed in inverted commas because their natures were
uncertain. However, one thing was certain. A constant stream of
sick Aboriginal infants left no doubt that the incidence of disease
amongst them was very high—so high that I almost doubted the
accuracy of my observations.
Most Aboriginal infants suffered continuously from upper
respiratory tract infections. Their noses would run, their ears would
become inflamed, the drums would rupture, the ears 'run', and a
cough become apparent. European infants would suffer from upper
respiratory tract infections in bouts separated, usually, by long
intervals. The difference astonished me. The explanation seemed
obvious—malnutrition, poor general care and poor living con-
ditions.
Malnutrition was common. Often it was serious. Infants were
underweight. Growth rates were low. I knew that in most cases
feeding techniques were bad so this seemed to be the obvious
explanation. Milk mixtures were usually too weak. Sometimes
they were too strong and that was just as bad. During the weaning
stages, the use of vegetables and proper foods seemed not to exist.
Anaemia complicated malnutrition. When infants became ill, they
did not have the strength to resist—particularly in cases of
infection.
Gastroenteritis was a real problem. While attempting to sort
this out, I came across the first great deficiency in my training, my
knowledge and the knowledge of my colleagues. I had been taught,
and I was still told quite firmly, that gastroenteritis was caused
16
FIRST OBSERVATIONS 17
by a variety of bacteria that was infectious to a high degree. Poor
hygiene contributed largely to the spread of gastroenteritis. There-
fore, infants suffering from gastroenteritis had to be isolated,
treated with the appropriate antibiotic and hygiene taught as a
measure of prevention. However, cultures rarely revealed a
dangerous or 'pathogenic' organism even when diarrhoea was
extremely severe. This stunned me because my nice, neat, orderly
system of medicine could not function. Senior colleagues, when
consulted, more or less told me that I was crazy or said, 'The
organism is there. We just cannot grow it'. I was forced, therefore,
to use antibiotics indiscriminately. When they didn't work, I used
'bigger and better ones'. When these didn't work either, I blamed
malnutrition. In retrospect, our attitude to gastroenteritis at the
time was one of the greatest mistakes in the history of medicine.
We were so far from the truth. And so many infants died. There
was hardly one piece of logical thinking in the entire picture.
Mumbo Jumbo would have worked almost as well.
Another piece of Mumbo Jumbo with tragic consequences
exhibited itself in our attitude to the observed association between
gastroenteritis and upper respiratory tract infections. The simple
explanation seemed to be, 'Of course, these infants are weak.
They have malnutrition. They must get upper respiratory tract
infections as well as gastroenteritis'. This so-called 'straight line
thinking' permeated medicine in Australia at the time. It prevented
deep thinking and hid the ultimate truths.
Pneumonia was the next most common illness. It was also
another medical 'circus'. Often, of course, there was real pneu-
monia—the sort we had been taught about. More often the
picture was not so clear. There would be respiratory 'distress'.
Examination with a stethoscope would reveal noises suggestive of
pneumonia. An X-ray would be reported as 'pneumonia' or
'pneumonitis'. Throat and sputum cultures sometimes revealed
a so-called 'pathogenic' organism. In such cases the 'appropriate'
antibiotic would be used. If an organism was not found, it was
assumed to be there anyway, and an antibiotic was still used. If the
infant responded, then that was that. If it didn't, then the usual
'bigger and better' antibiotics would be used. If these didn't work
either, then the reason was obviously 'malnutrition'.
There were several serious faults in this apparently logical
medical regime. First, our fundamental knowledge was poor. That
18 EVERY SECOND CHILD
could be excused. Added to this, however, was our conviction of
accuracy of diagnosis. Because there was respiratory distress,
signs found with the stethoscope, and positive X-ray reports,
pneumonia 'must' be the correct diagnosis. That respiratory
distress could be caused by other factors did not occur to us. That
the signs heard with the stethoscope were primarily due to the
distress and not pneumonia did not occur to us either. And we
did not realise at the time that most X-ray reports of infants' chests
were incorrect. We did not know that the X-ray diagnosis of pneu-
monitis was mostly inaccurate. We did not know that the autopsy
confirmation of pneumonia was often due to terminal changes that
occurred just before death. Worse still, we did not know that true
pneumonia was often simply the end result of a whole series of
conditions and it was these conditions—not the terminal pneu-
monia—that really mattered.
Amongst the relatively minor paediatric problems was 'anaemia'.
Even with this our thinking and, therefore, our treatment was
distorted. Time after time reports on blood specimens would
state 'iron deficiency'. Therefore, we thought, the treatment was
iron administration. Up to a point, this was correct, but we did not
realise that recurrent infections in infants produced a picture of
iron deficiency. In other words, if the infants were not ill, they
would not have an iron deficiency. The same applied to the so-
called 'folic acid deficiencies'. Most Aboriginal infants with
anaemia showed deficiencies in almost everything. Admission to
hospital and good general care often resulted in a spontaneous cure.
If one was not careful, this cure would be attributed to specific
therapy.
Parasite infestations, better known as 'worms', was an aspect of
infant health that we investigated early in Collarenebri. My own
knowledge in this field was very small. I simply sent faeces to
laboratories and noted that reports were all negative. Furthermore,
I was led to believe that parasite infestations were not a problem in
inland areas. On this basis I ceased investigations. This was a
serious error. Not that parasites were serious, but they existed in a
way that gave a most important clue to infant diseases in general.
All this I was to discover many years later.
Vitamin deficiencies were also 'investigated' in 1957. It seemed
reasonable to assume that diets were lacking in most vitamins, so a
campaign of supplementation was commenced. Obvious signs of
FIRST OBSERVATIONS 19
vitamin deficiencies were never observed. If it was known that the
diet included, for example, 30 mg of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) a
day, then there seemed no reason for concern. There were serious
errors in these assumptions, but in 1957 we did not know this,
although the knowledge was available in the world of medicine.
Much had been written about this vital subject and an enormous
amount of research had been done. One leading research institute
after another had clearly demonstrated that under conditions of
stress, infections and injury there was an increased utilisation of
vitamin C and 30 mg a day may not be sufficient to cope with the
increased demand. No-one doubted the accuracy of this research.
It was simply ignored and placed in the category of the unproven or
'ratbag medicine'.
Malabsorption, or the failure to absorb certain foodstuffs due to
changes in the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, was just emerging,
in 1957, as an 'interesting possibility'. Stress was placed on the
malabsorption of fats and sugar. Although knowledge was available
concerning other malabsorption states, this had not yet filtered
through. We were unaware, in particular, of the potentially
dangerous effect of certain drugs, including antibiotics, when these
were introduced through the mouth and came in contact with a
damaged gastrointestinal tract lining. We were also unaware of the
fact that malnutrition could be caused by a failure to absorb food
from the gastrointestinal tract as well as by a failure to provide
enough food. At least we did not know that in marginal cases an
infant would thrive reasonably well if his gastrointestinal tract was
normal. If it wasn't, he couldn't.
Thus it can be seen how ill-equipped I was, in 1957, to handle the
problems of Aboriginal infant diseases. There were cultural prob-
lems, environmental problems, socio-economic problems, most of
which I was unaware of. There were serious deficiencies in my
medical knowledge and in my approach to problems en-
countered, and I was completely and blissfully fooled by assurances
from senior colleagues, welfare workers and health officials. The
entire cause of Aboriginal infant diseases, I was told over and over
again, was due to neglect, stupidity and ignorance on the part of
the mothers. Things looked that way, of course, and were largely
that way. Yet, if we had probed deeper, we could have found a
weapon that would have permitted us to cut the infant death rate
by at least half.

5 Billy
The shock of having three European infants die suddenly and
unexpectedly during my first few months at Collarenebri was
followed by a whole series of shocks and a period of complete
bewilderment. I had sat in some of the world's greatest paediatric
clinics and seen masters at work; I had been charged with the care
of infants in England and parts of civilised' Australia, and had seen
few problems that did not fit into patterns described so well in
dozens of standard text books on paediatrics. All that had to be
done, I thought, when I was faced with a sick infant, was to take a
history, perform an examination along lines already established, and
then prescribe treatment. At Collarenebri this didn't seem to work
—particularly amongst Aboriginal infants. The trouble was that I
was trying to diagnose and treat diseases as single entities whereas
in fact they were complex mixtures.
Billy* was a typical example. He was the fourth child in a family
living in a reasonable humpy on the reserve. His birth weight was
seven pounds—quite normal. He looked normal and behaved
normally. His blood level was normal and he ate normally from his
mother's breast. With a feeling of a job well done I discharged him
home with his mother when he was ten days old and had more than
regained his birth weight. One week later I saw him during a
routine check. He had gained weight, was eating and behaving
well. I had every reason to think that he was well. This thought,
however, was based on inadequate knowledge. Billy's mother had
been existing on a diet of bread, jam, sugar and sausage. This pro-
vided sufficient proteins and calories but not sufficient vitamins.
Her blood was therefore low in vitamins, particularly vitamin C.
These low levels were reflected by low levels in the breast milk and
even before birth Billy's tissues were dangerously deficient. The
* All names of Aboriginal infants are fictitious.
20
BILLY 21
degree of deficiency was not high enough to reveal obvious signs.
It did not prevent apparently normal growth or progress. It was
borderline.
Another, then unknown, factor existed. Because he was
Aboriginal, Billy did not have the immune responses of European
infants. His mother, through contact, had developed immune
responses of her own. Some of these were passed on to Billy but
they were of a type responsible for 'passive' immunity—that is,
they would be washed out of Billy's blood in a few months and he
would be left to develop his own responses—or die.
I was unaware of this when I saw Billy for the second time,
when he was one month old. According to his mother, he had a
'cold'. An examination revealed mild otitis media or the begin-
nings of mild abscess formation in both ears. This did not seem
serious. To 'watch and wait' seemed reasonable and that is what
was done. Billy appeared to recover spontaneously.
What happened was that Billy had lost much of his passive
immunity. He had come in contact with a virus infection (the cold
virus). This involved mainly the mucous membrane linings of his
nose and ears. His nose 'ran'. The mucous membrane linings of
the fine tubes that drain the ears into the back of the nose and throat
became swollen, blocked the tubes, prevented drainage, and abscess
formation began. Also unknown to me at the time was the fact that
the mucous membrane changes so obviously seen in the nose and
ears also involved the gastrointestinal tract. At this stage these
changes were very mild. An astute observer may have noticed
slight changes in the faeces, but in an infant this would be ignored.
In spite of this there was, in fact, some interference with the
absorption of food and vitamins.
On top of all this was another deadly cycle the existence of which
was unknown to me at the time. The virus infection suddenly
increased the utilisation of vitamin C. This, associated with an
already low body pool and the possibility of faulty absorption from
the food, placed Billy in a serious position.
By sending Billy back home without treatment I had com-
pounded the dangers considerably. Added to the factors already
discussed was another one—the danger of the dirt-floored humpy
environment. An infant living in a good house with a proper floor
and green grass surroundings may surfer, over a period, one virus
22 EVERY SECOND CHILD
infection. The same infant living in a humpy will probably get ten
viral infections. Each viral infection adds to the risk of serious
complications and death.
One week later I saw Billy again. This time he had otitis media,
a cough, and slightly loose bowel actions. His weight was not quite
up to standard. I wrote out a prescription for a penicillin mixture.
There were two faults with this line of action. First, I had not
checked to see if the mother had the money to buy the medicine
from the chemist. Second, I did not know that there was a poten-
tial danger of damaging an already damaged gastrointestinal
mucous membrane. In a way it was like playing Russian roulette.
The penicillin mixture can be used and it may be successful, but
there is a potential risk.
Perhaps I should add another danger to the treatment I pre-
scribed. Up to a point it would be true to say that there was more
risk involved with the treatment than without it. And even if the
mother did not buy the penicillin mixture I would still think that
recovery had occurred because of penicillin; the mother, in turn,
would be largely convinced that I was a pretty poor sort of a
doctor and that my opinion and advice were worth very little.
Anyway, Billy did recover—up to a point. His bowel actions
continued to be rather loose, he suffered further attacks of otitis
media with bronchitis, then failed to gain weight over a period of
several weeks. At that stage he was dirty and showed signs of
irritability. I admitted him to hospital 'for proper care and feeding'.
The response to this was dramatic. If ever I needed convincing that
all these infants needed was proper care and feeding, then this pro-
vided more than ample evidence. Billy was given vitamin enriched
milk from a sterile bottle, iron drops were given daily, and he was
well and truly spoilt as his personality grew with health.
It was a great day for Western medicine when Billy went home. I
carried him out personally to his smiling mother, gave careful
instructions concerning feeding, the addition of vitamins, and
added that 'I have given him his first immunisation shot against
diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough'. Another two errors had
been made; as usual I did not know it.
One of the main reasons for Billy's recovery in hospital was his
removal from the dirt-floored humpy environment. To send him
back to it just as he was making good progress was a mistake. Next,
BILLY 23
his immunisation shots had the same effect as a viral infection at
that critical stage of his life. This vital subject will be discussed in
detail later. At the moment I only want to say that we must be
extremely careful when and how we administer immunisation
shots to infants. I am not against immunisations. My own life was
saved by them and even as I type this manuscript there is a news-
flash concerning some Aboriginal infants in Sydney who have died
from diphtheria. Immunisations would have saved them.
When I saw Billy again after a few days I was stunned by his
deterioration. Weight loss had been precipitous, he was very dirty,
there was extreme irritability, slight vomiting and slight diarrhoea.
When I examined him I found otitis media and 'bronchitis'.
However, I was not unduly concerned. It seemed that all Billy
needed was a good feed, a bath, some proper attention, and
penicillin mixture. With great confidence I admitted him to hospital
for this regime.
The first shock came when the nurses told me that he was dif-
ficult to feed. 'We don't know what his mother has done to him,'
they said. 'It is disgraceful.' On the second day Billy seemed to
improve. On the third, his temperature went up. I changed the
antibiotic. The fourth day was characterised by irritability and a
temperature. He began to look ill. But I was still not concerned.
I could find nothing to be really concerned about.
It all ended on the fifth day—sudden shock and death before we
could even commence resuscitation. I was bewildered, hurt and
stunned. The memory of the three dead European infants was still
fresh in my mind. What had happened to Billy ?
The autopsy was performed within minutes of death—so soon
that I almost expected to find the heart still beating as I cut through
the still-warm chest wall. This time I had to have an answer. I had
to examine the tissues before post mortem changes hid what I
hoped to find. But there were only the liver changes visible macro-
scopically. The pathologist reported all tissues as normal.
On that day I felt as if I had lost a child of my own. I thought of
the wailing in the camp and the shadow of the old wilga tree beneath
which Billy would be laid to rest. There were so many graves there,
so many tiny graves.
The funeral was held without me, for I had no heart for such a
scene. Later, when it was over, I visited the cemetery alone and I
found that more than half of the graves belonged to infants. A few
short miles away was the European cemetery. An accurate count
there was impossible, for the graves of some were not clearly
marked; but one thing was clear: only a very small percentage
belonged to infants. I visited the police station and examined the
records of births and deaths. The Aboriginal infant mortality rate
for Collarenebri was over a hundred per 1 000; that is, out of every
1 000 babies born, over a hundred died in infancy, compared with
the European death rate in the area of about twenty per 1 000. A
little research gave me figures from overseas. The result of these
few simple hours of work convinced me that we had, amongst the
Aboriginal infants in Collarenebri, a problem that was bad even
compared with the worst one overseas. It was difficult to believe.
6 One Survived
Time has recorded what happened when I tried to make others
believe these awful facts. My senior colleagues, to whom I usually
turned for advice and aid, did not understand. They thought that
worry was sending me a little strange. Health officials aided and
abetted this with a callousness that was unbelievable then and even
more so now in retrospect, because they knew all the time that I was
right, that my figures were right. They already had figures from
other parts of Australia that proved the point beyond doubt.
Surveys had been undertaken. Reports had been written. The
knowledge was there. Why, then, was no action taken? I do not
know. Nobody seems to know. I was told by health officials that I
was mad, that I did not know my medicine, that I did not know
how to diagnose disease and how to treat infants. I was already
worried. Deeply embedded in my mind were details of diseases
and deaths, suffering and tribulation. It was a nightmare, and in
fact I suffered nightmares and wished I would never wake up,
because when I did there was no relief, just awful reality. I did not
know, then, that the worst was yet to come.
Two more Aboriginal infants died soon after Billy. Then, in
1959, another European infant died. She was to be the last Euro-
pean infant to die from illness in Collarenebri. I will not forget
her. From the age of two weeks she had not been really well. At
six weeks she suffered from mild otitis media. Her mother was
very concerned. But even a careful examination revealed no reason
for concern. I gave an injection of penicillin and walked to the
door. The baby was dead before I reached it. Once again the
autopsy revealed only those vague liver changes. I began to wonder
about the possibility of an unknown virus and looked desperately
for someone to turn to for aid and advice. But there was nobody.
Almost daily I reviewed the situation. Every time I saw a sick
25
26 EVERY SECOND CHILD
infant I tried to review it. Special investigations, pathology tests,
and the most careful observations with follow-ups did not help for
a long time. The first real breakthrough came when I realised the
potential dangers of the uses of orally administered antibiotics.
The danger was recognised before the real reason.
Only a disappointingly small proportion of infants with tem-
peratures seemed to respond to orally administered antibiotics.
When I changed to the routine use of intramuscular injections of
antibiotics, there was an obvious and immediate improvement. At
the time, I assumed that this was due to problems of absorption of
the antibiotics. Now I know that it was also a direct mechanical
or chemical effect on a tender gastrointestinal mucous membrane.
The stomach would be upset so there would be loss of appetite and
vomiting. Further down, changes would result in diarrhoea. Often
these changes were serious and long lasting.
Later I was to learn through organised medical channels that the
use of orally administered antibiotics was contraindicated in most
cases of infantile gastroenteritis. Strangely, it was found that anti-
biotics that normally would be expected to destroy bacteria causing
gastroenteritis actually potentiated their action and prolonged the
period of infection. Added to this was the fact that most cases of
gastroenteritis in Aboriginal infants were not due to bacterial
infections but to viruses. Trying to cure these viral infections with
available antibiotics was useless. Later still, another important fact
was discovered—the transferable resistance or 'R' factor which will
be described in another section.
In spite of this there were and are certain bacterial forms of
infantile gastroenteritis that need orally administered antibiotics of
the correct type—and need them urgently. The need for almost
immediate bacteriological tests is therefore obvious. If these few
cases can be found and properly treated, death rates will fall.
The next step that I took and that appeared to influence illness
patterns was involved with early diagnosis and treatment. In
common with most doctors attending Aborigines, I found that
often infants were only taken to me when an illness was well estab-
lished. Trying to alter this situation by education did not succeed.
Therefore we developed a 'spy' system where trusted Aborigines
reported sick infants and more or less forced their mothers to seek
early attention. We were fortunate at Collarenebri in that the
ONE SURVIVED 27
system did work—that is, as far as early diagnosis and treatment
were concerned. After some time, however, I was forced to admit
that the eventual result was not as good as one would expect.
Infant deaths continued to pile up throughout 1959 and 1960.
The pattern was always the same. An infant would be ill. There
would be mild concern so hospital admission would be arranged.
Then death would occur suddenly and unexpectedly before we
could even attempt resuscitation or in spite of resuscitation.
Through all this, another pattern emerged. A first or second illness
never resulted in death. There would be a series of apparently
minor illnesses followed by sudden collapse, shock and death with
the same autopsy findings: liver changes only. I tried desperately
to overcome the problem with what seemed to be the only weapon
left: long periods of hospitalisation. Surely, I thought, this must
work.
It didn't. Infants who had been in hospital for months and were
certainly well fed and well cared for, became ill and died. They
died like all the others, suddenly, unexpectedly, before anything
could be done, before I could even become concerned, before I
could seek specialist advice.
The shock of this situation was considerable. How could it be
explained ? We had blamed the mothers, socio-economic conditions,
ignorance. We had blamed poor feeding, poor care, late diagnosis.
How, then, were we to explain these deaths ? Of course we couldn't.
We were stunned.
Through these experiences I gradually realised that the Abo-
rigines were not all bad. In a small way I began to consider some of
the problems they had to contend with. One of these, at the time,
was the compulsory shifting of camps.
Usually at Collarenebri the Aborigines camped just upstream of
the town. Health officials suddenly realised that this was a potential
health hazard—to the white community, of course. They visualised
Aborigines washing in the river, urinating in it and so on. Therefore
they had to be shifted—downstream—so that they could enjoy the
pollution resulting from the white man's excretions.
Downstream, on the town's side, there was a reserve for a golf
course. At times it was flooded. That left the far side of the river.
Unfortunately, this was taboo by tradition. Why, I never dis-
covered. Rather than camp there, many Aborigines left the district.
28 EVERY SECOND CHILD
The others erected humpies on relatively high ground just up from
the river bank.
After some time, a group of genuine white folk became con-
cerned with the lack of proper water supply and washing facilities
on the camp site. To overcome this situation they constructed
tanks, pumps, showers and washing facilities. However, when they
tried to pump water from the river, health authorities stepped in
and stopped them. The river water had been tested and it was
polluted. Therefore it could not be used. The idea was to run a line
from the town water supply, a distance of about one mile. This
took years. In the meantime the Aborigines pulled water from the
river in buckets and bathed in the river when the weather allowed.
Apparently, the camp site was not an official reserve but a stock
route, a road for travelling stock. Therefore, the local authorities
could not interfere officially. They could not build facilities, inspect,
arrange garbage disposal or build roads. The distance of the site
from the hospital was well over a mile. If an infant was ill, the
mother would either hire a taxi at considerable expense or walk all
the way to the hospital. This was bad enough in fine weather.
When the temperature rose, or during periods of rain, it was so
much worse. Taxi fares would amount to more than the medical
expenses. Worse still, Aboriginal infants became ill frequently and
when they did, it was usually necessary to seek immediate medical
care. In other words, the new 'reserve' produced a whole series of
new problems that were difficult to overcome.
Eventually some sort of commonsense prevailed. A gravel road
was built into the site, water was laid on and a telephone installed.
The Aborigines still had their own community leaders and I
found it easier to discuss problems with them than with others.
One of them, Mick Flick, became my first adviser. Brought up in
a traditional spirit by the last of the tradition-orientated Aborigines
in Collarenebri, he later learned the white man's ways and served
as a private in the battle-fields of France during World War I. He
was able to live and communicate in two worlds—the Aboriginal
and the European. Of these, his preference went to the first one,
with its love of nature, purity and respect for all forms of life, yet
he was realistic enough to realise that the old days had gone for
ever. 'We have to live as we are now,' he once said to me. 'We
cannot go back even though we know that the old ways were better
ONE SURVIVED 29
for us all.' When we discussed the illnesses of the infants, Mick
was certain about one thing: 'I don't know why our children get
sick. They never did before the white men came.'
There was an unspoken request in our conversations—a request
for help. What could be done? I did what I had done before.
Carefully, in detail, I reviewed the case histories.
One clue was already known to me. Another came after that
particular revision. It was mentioned time after time in the
detailed nurse's notes: irritability.
'O.K.,' I thought. 'Next time I get a case with recurrent infec-
tions and irritability I will send it to a specialist for advice.' That
time soon came. The specialist I chose was Dr Douglas Harbison,
from Tamworth in New South Wales, 220 miles from Collarenebri.
It proved to be a fortunate choice. Without it there would have
been no future.
Douglas diagnosed 'scurvy'. He administered vitamin C by
injection and the result was a dramatic cure. For the first time an
infant suffering from the syndrome just described had gone on to
recovery instead of death. It seemed unrealistic; I could not
believe it. Something was wrong.
In fact a great deal was wrong. The infant had been in the
Collarenebri District Hospital for a long period before transfer to
Tamworth and his diet had contained more than 'adequate'
vitamin C. Furthermore, he did not exhibit even one sign of
classical infantile scurvy, except, perhaps, the irritability and that,
in infantile scurvy, was due (so I was taught) to haemorrhages and
this infant did not exhibit haemorrhages. Probably, I concluded,
the infant would have got better anyway. I had just happened to
select the wrong one for investigation.
The episode would have been forgotten at this stage had it not
been for a series of strange events that followed during the next
few years. It was December 1964. The stress and strain of medical
practice had proved too much for me. The thought of giving up
medicine for ever flashed across my mind. I bought some picks
and shovels, an air compressor, gelignite, a truck and allied equip-
ment, and together with three others, I went to Coober Pedy in
central Australia and became an opal miner.

7 Coober Pedy
One may be excused for thinking that there is no connection between
opal mining, Aborigines and medicine. But there is. It is venereal
disease for one thing, and also the fact that we were really tres-
passing on the edge of sacred tribal land. Scattered through the
opal fields were groups of nomadic Aborigines. They camped almost
anywhere and lived with their dogs in the worst of filth. Miners
had sexual relationships with Aboriginal girls. Sometimes these
resulted in the birth of children. Almost always Aborigines
'noodled' or fossicked on mine dumps for missed pieces of opal
and thus the contact between Aborigines and miners was very close.
For me this was a unique experience, an insight into human nature
and an opportunity to study the Aborigines who still lived largely
by tribal traditions.
Gonorrhoea was soon presented to me as an immediate problem,
even though I was not officially practising medicine. White pros-
titutes brought the disease from the South, gave it to white miners
who in turn gave it to Aboriginal girls. The disease was so common
that I estimated at one stage that every Aboriginal adult in the area
was infected. Every night when my mining activities were finished,
I would deal with droves of miners complaining of infection. The
method of spread was interesting in that authorities seemed loath
to interfere.
One particular white prostitute created a great problem. I tired of
treating her contacts and personally requested her to seek treat-
ment. She refused. I reported her, but no action was taken.
Eventually the problem solved itself.
Tim*, a white miner, found black opal in Coober Pedy—a rare
sight in that area. Mystified, he brought it to me asking, 'What is
it? Is it matrix?' A quick examination revealed about $30 000
* The name is fictitious.
30
COOBER PEDY 31
worth of good quality black opal. I gave the details to Tim and
advised him to keep his find quiet because others would try to rat
his claim.
But Tim couldn't keep quiet. The prostitute discovered the
details and immediately made a pass at Tim who swallowed it
hook, line, sinker and all. At this stage she also made a pass at
another miner. Tim became jealous and violent. There was a dread-
ful fight, much to the prostitute's pleasure, because it gave her a
chance to steal the opal and run away (with her gonorrhoea too,
fortunately).
Miners did not seem to take gonorrhoea seriously. One came to
me nine times within a month with fresh infections. The sources
of contact were so numerous that I eventually gave up trying to
track them down. The situation, without a doubt, was out of
control. But I learned two things of considerable importance.
The first concerned the incidence of the disease and its compli-
cations. At medical school I had been led to believe that untreated
gonorrhoea led to all sorts of complications and sterility. In Coober
Pedy I found that that was not so. Most untreated cases did not go
on to serious complications and sterility. Infants born to mothers
who had untreated gonorrhoea rarely suffered as a result. This
observation may give heart to the Aborigines who fear that some
tribes may be wiped out by gonorrhoea.
The second fact concerned response to treatment. On one occasion
about fifteen miners contacted gonorrhoea in one night from an
Aboriginal girl. This represented only about one-third of those who
had unprotected contact. All were treated immediately with penicillin
administered by the intramuscular route; fourteen responded
immediately. The last one did not—he never responded. Tests
showed that the particular type of gonorrhoea from which he suffered
was different. Different ? How ? After all, the source was the same as
in the case of the other fourteen. At the time I thought that I had
made a great discovery. Later I found out that the reason for this
phenomenon was already known. Organisms can change in particular
individuals and become resistant to antibiotics. This discovery made
me realise that the same phenomenon could apply to Aboriginal
infants and other organisms, that it could explain why some
Aboriginal infants failed to respond to treatment. At the time I was
excitedly digging out great chunks of beautiful opal. My partners

32 EVERY SECOND CHILD
used to tease me with questions like, 'Are you sorry now that you gave
up medicine, Doc ?' and I would answer, 'No'; but deep down in my
mind I thought of all those little dark faces and wondered.
One tragic feature of the local Aborigines was their eyes. The
men who noodled on our dumps continuously suffered from irri-
tated, sore and running eyes. They were filled with pus, flies and
filth. The men used one hand to scratch for opal and the other to
hold a rag with which they constantly dabbed their eyes. When I
clumsily tried to help, they regarded me with suspicion and fled.
Children suffered even more. Their eyes ran. Pus poured from
their ears and noses on to their chests and shoulders where it dried
into a fly covered mess. There were maggots, too, in the eyes, nose
and ears.
One day my partner, John Mavropoulos, and I were prospecting
a quiet corner of the country. On a low hill we came across two
small mounds of earth. John stopped, thought for a while and said,
'Aborigines, Doc. Twins have been killed and buried here.' Just
the possibility of this being true was enough to fill me with sadness.
We all knew about twins. Aborigines regarded them as evil. One or
both had to be killed in accordance with a tradition that was
designed to protect the tribe from infants too weak to survive.
There was a soft wind blowing on that day. I thought once again
of those tiny black faces and wondered.
I also wondered whenever I heard the children laughing. How
could they laugh when they were so afflicted by diseases? How
could they laugh when they lived in dust, heat, cold, and when they
were always half-starved ? And yet they did. They laughed in a way
that would put European infants to shame—with peals of joy and
pleasure. It sounds incredible, but they were happy.
On the other hand, adults rarely laughed, smiled or expressed
pleasure. There was nothing for me to do but regard them as
apathetic, almost moronic, and hopeless. How wrong this was
became obvious as the sequence of events unfurled.
Two men, one white, the other Aboriginal, were key figures in
these events. The Aborigine was Billy Pepper, known to the out-
side world as an actor in Jedda and in several other films, including
one with Robert Mitchum. He was a fine, handsome youth, well
built, an excellent stockman, a top rider, an unusual tracker. He
was also a tribal leader, entrusted with the most sacred secrets.
COOBER PEDY 33
For various reasons, the identity of the white man must remain
unknown. I will call him Frank. Originally he came from New
South Wales and I think that it was the opal that brought him to
Coober Pedy. There he became closely associated with the Abo-
rigines. This association was so close and intimate that the
Aborigines grew afraid of his knowledge of tribal affairs and decided
that he should be initiated and thus made liable to Aboriginal law.
This meant that if he revealed any secrets he could be dealt with
accordingly.
When Frank realised that the initiation was going to take place
he ran away. He knew that to survive such a ceremony would be a
lucky event. But Billy chased him, threw a spear through his leg
and brought him down. The initiation was as complete as any that I
know of. In fact, Frank is the only white man, to the best of my
knowledge, who has been so highly initiated. His penis was fully
subincised longitudinally.
By surviving his initiation, Frank became a unique man. He
married an Aboriginal girl, sired some of the most beautiful half-
caste children imaginable, wore a red tribal band around his head
and took a pride in living with the people of his choice. To admire
such a man was only natural. To wonder about Billy Pepper and
the reasons for Frank's initiation was also natural. At the time I
could do nothing but make a mental note to check on the matter
further.
The next connecting link in this story had been forged before I
came to Coober Pedy. The details were given to me by Keith
Hamilton, a chemist turned opal miner. Keith was an observant
and good man. He and his wife would care for the Aboriginal
mission when the manager was away. His store of knowledge was
enormous. His experience would fill many books. Unfortunately,
he is now dead.
 8 Trouble
January 1963 came with a wave of heat. There was a water bag
outside Keith's camp and, from this, precious drops of water
dripped, giving new life to little waxbills that came in perishing
from the desert. No normal man would wander about in such
weather, and Keith was astonished to see five Aborigines drive up
in a battered old Vauxhall and inform him that they were going to
Anna Creek. These men were strangers in Coober Pedy. Two came
from Western Australia. None seemed to be familiar with the
desert. The Vauxhall had seen better days. Its tyres were so bad
that Keith suggested the fitting of some better ones from the
rubbish dump. He checked on water supplies—apparently
adequate—and advised the men to send a wire forward to Anna
Creek and another one back to Coober Pedy when they arrived
in Anna Creek. One man was known as Maynard. Keith's wife
noticed an infected wound on his arm which she dressed with a
square of plaster. Another of the party was Jack-a-Boy, the third,
Billy Barebush, the fourth and fifth were never named.
In the heat of the next few days Keith almost forgot about those
men. Then suddenly he realised that no message had come through.
A search party was organised and, of course, it included several
Aboriginal trackers, one of whom was Roy Smith.
Fifty miles out across the desert the Vauxhall was found. Its
radiator had leaked. Precious water had been poured into it in an
endeavour to keep going, but when this had dwindled to one
gallon in a can, the desperate men decided to walk. There were
many footprints up and down a dry sandy creek. Roy decided to
follow one set that were alone. Five miles away they led to the body
of Maynard. Keith recognised him by the patch on his arm. Before
he died, Maynard had crawled around a dead-finish tree, scratch-
ing at it in a last effort to find water. The next set of tracks led to a

34
 TROUBLE 35

place known locally as 'The Ship's Tank'. Jack-a-Boy was there—

dead under a mulga tree.
Roy then followed the next set of tracks up the creek, knowing
that somewhere in that direction was the Baggadina Creek water-
hole—a ray of hope. But that was soon shattered when he observed
the tracks of a dingo crossing the creek. If the men had gone that
way, the dingo would have smelt the tracks and followed them for
a short distance. That was not the case. It was evening when the
last bodies were found together under a bush—and so close to the
waterhole.
During the night the search party camped under the stars—the
whites a little apart from the Aborigines. Keith was almost asleep
when one of the Aborigines came across and said, 'Don't sleep
here, Keith. Big snakes live here.' Keith replied, 'Go and chase
yourself. I'm not moving.' For a while, the Aborigine just stood
still. Then he asked whether he could have some sugar and tea.
Keith told him to help himself, then tried to go to sleep. But the
Aborigine was soon back with a request for food which was
impatiently granted. Within a few minutes there was a third request
and this made Keith realise that something was wrong. The search
party was camped close to the bodies. The Aborigines were afraid
of the spirits ('mummals') of the dead that are thought to leave the
bodies after dark. If an Aborigine is close by, they will 'tap him on
the shoulder' and take him with them to the spirit land. If a white
man is close by, the spirits will not come near, so it seemed obvious
that the Aborigines wanted to camp near Keith for protection.
Yet, even when this was arranged, the Aborigines were restless.
Finally, in desperation, Keith demanded to know what the prob-
lem was. After some discussion, and a promise by Keith that the
secret would be kept, the Aborigines revealed that the five dead
men had been the custodians of sacred tribal initiation tokens.
These, they explained, were the keys of the ceremonies. They had
been taken all over Australia and had to be at Maree on a certain
day—hence the endeavour to cross the country at such a dangerous
time. Before the five men died, the tokens had been carefully
hidden. Signs had been left as clues to searching Aborigines, and
those in the search party were anxious to recover the tokens in case
the policeman who was on his way from William Creek found
them and refused to hand them over. Keith agreed to assist. A
36 EVERY SECOND CHILD
night search was organised, and soon afterwards a signal came
across the desert announcing that all was well. The tokens had
been found and then rehidden.
Several features of this story were most peculiar. The five dead
men were definitely not from central Australia, otherwise they
would have recognised the existence of the waterhole and survived.
Yet, according to Keith's story, they were the custodians of such
sacred tokens. If this were true, it meant that there was an inter-
relationship between tribes that had not been previously
recognised or had just developed. The whole idea was too fantastic
and contrary to accepted knowledge. On the other hand, there
could be little doubt that these tokens were something very
special.
Just how special they were became clearer when Big Chimney
was murdered. This man was an Aborigine of tremendous
strength. Twice his tribal brothers tried to kill him. The first
attempt was very subtle but still failed.
The Miner's Progress Association in Coober Pedy had arranged
a barbecue. A road-making machine was sent out during the day
to clear a patch of suitable land. The operator told me that he
observed a strange arrangement of sticks and stones but did not
think this was significant. During the barbecue some of the
Aborigines were given alcoholic drinks. It seems that Big Chimney
was encouraged by his tribal brothers to drink more than his fair
share. When they thought he was drunk and helpless they tried to
kill him.
The attempt failed. Big Chimney was still sober, and strong.
With an iron bar he played havoc with his people, inflicting
injuries that only by some miracle fell short of death. So the
Aborigines waited for two more years. In a group they knocked
their quarry semiconscious, tied him to a truck and dragged him
along the ground. Even this did not kill Big Chimney. Somehow
he managed to crawl away quite a distance before he finally passed
away.
My real interest in this story began when I was told that Big
Chimney had been killed because he tried to sell the sacred tokens
to a white man. What then were these tokens ? What did they mean ?
I was determined to find this out. I never succeeded, although I
was able to get a little closer to the final truth.
TROUBLE 37
To the north-west of Coober Pedy is an area of land that can
only be described as incredible. It is of a haunting beauty with its
reds and greys, whites and browns in a desert of saltbush and gibbers.
There are hills there—we call them 'ranges'. From these there are
sandstone outcrops—the sign of opal country—the drawcard to
riches. Anyone who loves the inland will love this country. In
spring, when it rains, the wild flowers give it splendour. In summer,
the heat returns it to the devil. I worked for a while in a place where
I could look across the plain to the hills of this distant country. Its
loveliness was inspiring and I wondered why more men did not
prospect for its riches.
Keith Hamilton told me about one successful prospector who
discovered a large quantity of precious opal forty years ago. He
had come across it by chance because the ground was sterile even
a few short feet away. It was in a wilderness of desert ranges,
difficult to get into and just as difficult to get out of. Worse still, to
find a particular area again was nearly impossible. Before returning
to Coober Pedy for water and supplies, the smart prospector
marked two of the more prominent hills with sticks, like surveyor's
guides. His intention was to return, to mine the remainder of the
opal and live in comfort ever after.
A freak accident thwarted those intentions. The prospector was
killed. The location of the opal was a secret that went with him.
But he had talked a little—just enough to tempt one experienced
bushman-cum-prospector into looking for the opal. This man was
determined, but the country beat him, for a while at least, with the
summer heat. Before he could try again, he too was killed. Then,
for many years, the country was left at peace. The opal was not
forgotten. Men talked about it and they talked about it in a way that
created a legend—the legend of Pussy Cat Creek.
The first prospector had coined that name, inspired by the masses
of flowers known as Pussy Cat Tails growing in the dried-up creek
beds between the hills. As miners in Coober Pedy dreamed about
the opal and talked about the terrors of the country in which it was
hidden, this name provided a suitable prop for discussions.
After World War II, when conditions in Australia improved a
little, a few more determined prospectors found their way into the
area surrounding Pussy Cat Creek. Nobody found the place. One
man thought he did. On top of a hill he saw a stick—surely the one
38 EVERY SECOND CHILD
left by the original prospector? A quick search on surrounding
hills revealed a second stick, then a third, and a fourth—there
were many. Someone was playing a practical joke.
All these stories interested me. The presence of opal anywhere
would interest me. Yet it was not until Keith Hamilton hinted at a
possible link that my interest became vital. We had talked about
Billy Pepper, Frank, Roy Smith, the five dead Aborigines, Big
Chimney and Pussy Cat Creek. I asked why Big Chimney was
killed. Keith's answer was vague and he mumbled, for it was really
hot at the time, and Keith was ill, 'I don't know. I believe he stole
the sacred tribal tokens and tried to sell them.' This much I already
knew. 'But why? What are these tokens and where are they?'
Keith mumbled again, 'It has something to do with Pussy Cat
Creek. That area is apparently the holy of holies to the Aborigines.
The tokens are taken there at certain times and only a few of the
Aborigines really know what they are all about.'
At this stage it was difficult for me to distinguish between fact
and fancy, to keep my mind free from prejudice. There was at
least some evidence to suggest that Pussy Cat Creek was the most
sacred tribal land in Australia. The secret of Aboriginal life could
be found there—with the opal. Needless to say, I went looking for
both. I never found them. In a way, I was glad, because I found
something else.
Those were turbulent times in Coober Pedy. Some claims
produced millions of dollars worth of opal. The rest were sterile.
It is easy to imagine the atmosphere of the place with all those
characters that came there in search of riches. Trouble was
inevitable. I happened to be there when it finally came.
In 1964, in a 'virgin' area known as the New Ten Mile, a Greek
prospector had commenced to sink a shaft. At a depth of twenty
feet, forced by financial and family problems, he abandoned it and
returned to civilisation. One year later he dreamt that the shaft
was over a fortune of opal. He was so impressed by his dream that
he wrote to an old friend in Coober Pedy and advised him to finish
the shaft. The old friend was unable to do this, but he told my
company about it. Together one hot summer day we strolled
across the hill to inspect the site. Vaguely we each expressed an
opinion. To us the place was not worth working.
We walked away from millions of dollars worth of opal!
TROUBLE 39
A few months later, another Greek miner, nicknamed 'Mad
Mick', heard about the shaft and together with his partners
decided to complete it. The reward was immediate and rich.
Other miners, shocked into action, rushed to peg adjoining
claims.
It so happened that the two claims on one side of Mad Mick's
carried most of the opal. The ownership of the richest of these came
under dispute, and while lengthy court cases dragged on, three
separate robberies of its contents were carried out. The second
of these involved at least nine men who drove a long tunnel under-
ground into the disputed claim.
It could have been 'a perfect crime', but things went wrong.
First, the opal was not where the 'ratters' expected it to be. A
second drive had to be made. When the opal was reached, working
space was seriously limited because too great a proportion of opal
bearing rock hauled to the surface (to clear the drive) would have
alerted observers and given the game away. Furthermore, time
was running out. It seemed that the court in Adelaide would soon
decide ownership of the claim. Whoever won would immediately
inspect the entire area.
As the opal was removed from its bed, it was sewn into pillow
cases (thieves don't trust thieves). When the time came to pull out,
the drives were charged with gelignite and the entire area blown in.
Or so the ratters thought. But while they all helped to drill the
holes and set the charges, only one man could ignite them.
Conveniently, he forgot to light certain charges. His partners
thought that the drives were filled with rubble but this one man
knew otherwise. He had cleverly placed rocks in the pillow cases
instead of opal, and hidden the opal in the dirt under his feet.
That night, in the darkened confines of a hut, the pillow cases
were opened and the 'opal' spread on to a table for snaring. The
scene can easily be imagined—a bearded band of thieves, like
pirates, poring 'joyfully' over their treasure. The joy, of course, was
shortlived. There was fighting and shooting. Later, when the hue
and cry settled, the one who had outsmarted all the others climbed
down the shaft and recovered the hidden opal.
In the midst of all this there was an amateur James Bond
(myself)—or should I say, 'a bungling Dr Watson' ? Armed with
hidden tape-recorders, cameras, note books and a sharp pair of
40 EVERY SECOND CHILD TROUBLE 41

eyes I recorded every phase of the crime from its conception to its of uselessness. On many occasions I tried to photograph him but
bitter end. I recorded on tape the voice of the man who proposed he seemed to be ashamed and would attack me. Five years ago his
the first move, the confession of a 'robbed robber', the arguments degeneracy was complete. When he was no longer able to find
of thieves who had fallen out, and the heated voice of the man who money for alcohol, he stole the sacred tokens and sold them to a
considered that the opal was his. In the end my confidence (or white woman in Coober Pedy. That a fine man like him should have
fascination) became too great. I was caught. been able to commit such a sacrilege only demonstrated the tragic
When the crisis came, there was an awful fight. I almost killed a changes he had gone through.
man and was almost killed myself. Bitterly disillusioned by all this, His crime could not go unpunished. He was sentenced to death
I crawled into my little truck and drove to the place where I hoped and the execution was carried out according to the Aboriginal
to find some peace—Pussy Cat Creek. At that time of year it was a tradition. First, he was taken on a tour of the sacred tribal land.
crazy thing to do. I could have perished of thirst, like so many Each feature, its significance, its legends and myths were pointed
others. out to him. The whole of Aboriginal society, its structure, its
I loved it out there that night, under the stars. The silence meaning, its past and future were detailed with the reminder that
could be felt with sometimes just the whisper of a wind. In the soon he would be dead. The spirits of his ancestors were called
morning the sun came up and everything was red. I thought I upon to punish him. Finally, a miner's pick was thrust through his
could hear music. The silence was the wood-winds. The violins skull. It did not kill him immediately. For Billy death was to be long
came from all around. Then, suddenly, I felt I knew what this and slow—from pneumonia.
country was all about. Its beauty and vastness, its peace, its dangers
and even the opal that was in it were nature's last great effort to
preserve the mind of man. The Aborigines valued this greatly.
Pussy Cat Creek had become their symbol of love for nature, respect
for life, traditions and peace within one's self. Little wonder that it
had to be preserved. The opal was sacred and had to be preserved
too. Those sticks on the hills had obviously been the work of
Aborigines who wished to mislead the white men.
My future was more or less decided for me during those few days
in Pussy Cat Creek. I could not return to Coober Pedy unless I
desired the full blast of a stick of gelignite. The only alternative
was to return to medicine. I thought about the Aborigines, par-
ticularly about the children. Maybe some new ideas would help.
It was worth a try.
The final episodes in this story occurred after I left Coober Pedy.
One involved the killing of an Aborigine near Alice Springs.
According to an ABC newsflash, the motive of the murder was
connected with some sacred tribal tokens hidden in a cave out in
the desert. I have some reason to believe that these are the same
tokens involved in the Coober Pedy troubles, but I am far from
certain. The next episode involved the killing of Billy Pepper.
Billy became an alcoholic. This fine man degenerated into a heap

9 About a Dog
During the three years that I spent in Coober Pedy I was only once
able to provide medical care for an Aborigine and this happened
only a few weeks before I left the area forever. It had been my wish
to become medically involved with the Aborigines. One could not
observe their needs and suffering without compassion. But the
Aborigines resisted every effort that I made to help them. It
seemed that they regarded me with fear, awe, and something
resembling distrust. The same atmosphere existed amongst the
Europeans who provided medical services for the area through the
Bush Church Aid Society and Flying Doctor Service. I was never
requested by these organisations to see a patient. My medical work
only involved those who came to me of their own volition.
Attempts that I made to become friendly with Aborigines
ended in more feelings of distrust. For some reason or other this
applied especially when I tried to speak with children. The
episode that I am about to describe illustrates this clearly.
Amongst the Aborigines 'noodling' on our opal dump one day
was a little boy of about three years. For a while I took little notice of
him because I was busy operating the winch and unloading buckets
of dirt. Then the boy came closer, and when he turned to face me I
almost dropped the bucket I was holding. His ears were running
vile green pus. Maggots crawled from them, and from his nose.
His eyes were almost closed with the same awful mess. Pus dripped
down on to his chest and shoulders. Flies were everywhere.
Involuntarily, I stopped working and moved over to examine the
boy more closely, but his mother noticed what I was about to do,
grabbed the boy, hid him in her skirt and threatened me with an
iron bar. Some of the men nearby murmured obvious threats.
Shaken by my lack of tact I tried to explain my intentions but this
only made things worse. With considerable concern I was forced
42
ABOUT A DOG 43
to witness the boy being led away by his mother and some of the
other Aborigines.
For a long time I pondered over the event. What could I do?
There was a welfare officer in the town. Perhaps he would help.
But this might force the Aborigines into a 'walkabout' into the
desert and what they regarded as safety. Eventually I resolved to
discuss the problem with my partners. I continued hauling buckets
to the surface but my mind was busy looking for a solution.
Shortly afterwards an Australian miner arrived on the scene with
an injured dog. This lovable creature was well known to us all. Her
owner often stopped at our camp for a can of beer and a friendly
chat. Topsey would perform simple tricks for titbits or just a
comfortable pat. She had endeared herself to all of us. Now
Topsey had a compound fracture of her left hind leg. A truck had
backed over her while she lay sleeping outside her owner's shanty.
I operated on Topsey on the back of a truck, under an anaes-
thetic that I injected into a vein on one of her front legs. The pro-
cedure worked well. I repaired the damaged muscles, sewed up the
skin, applied a plaster cast, gave an antibiotic and antitetanus
injection, then spoke to Topsey as she woke up, first with her eyes,
then her ears, her tail and finally her legs, as she stood gingerly but
painlessly on her plastered leg. We were all happy. The coffee we
sampled soon afterwards tasted so much better than usual. The
look on Topsey's face rewarded us more than the opal we had just
recovered from the rocks a hundred feet below. For a while I forgot
about the little Aboriginal boy. That was another world.
Yet, next morning, it wasn't, for there was the little boy—still
covered in pus, maggots and flies. And there was his mother. But
something was different. The fear had gone, so had the distrust.
With only a little hesitation the boy was pushed gently towards
me. I reached out to touch his matted hair, then his face, and
suddenly I knew. The operation on Topsey the day before had
been noticed by some Aborigines. Since I could perform a miracle
with a dog I might do the same with a little boy.
I did. Or should I say the medicines I used did ? I cleaned away
the maggots and flies, I washed the ears, the eyes, the nose. As
gently as I could, I instilled antibiotic drops. Nature did the rest.
Sometimes in my mind I can still see that dirty little face. I like to
think that it is happy out there in the desert with the sun and the air,
44 EVERY SECOND CHILD

the clouds and the stars, and all the beauty of the seasons as they
change. But is it ? Is he even there ? That boy's father was a Greek
miner. The boy, therefore, was a half-caste. Was he taken away,
like so many half-castes, to institutions in cities in the south and
never taken back to the people and land to which he belonged ?
Authorities did this to so many infants 'because their mothers can-
not provide proper care'. The manner in which such decisions were
made would make a decent man's soul go cold. I like to think that it 10 First Discoveries
doesn't happen now.
Returning to medicine at Collarenebri after an absence of three
years was like going to another world, so different it seemed. In
reality, nothing had altered except my own attitude. The events
experienced in Coober Pedy had left an impression that would
remain with me forever. My patients noticed it, particularly the
Aborigines.
Foremost in my mind was the little patient so dramatically cured
by Dr Douglas Harbison several years before. This infant had been
on a diet that contained more than supposedly adequate amounts
of vitamin C. Yet Douglas Harbison had cured him with a single
injection of that compound. Could it be that the supposedly
adequate amounts in the diet were not adequate after all ? Could it
be that there was a fault in the gastrointestinal tract that partially
inhibited the absorption of vitamin C? The irritability so con-
stantly displayed by these infants intrigued me too. Authorities
thought that irritability with vitamin C deficiency in infants was
due to haemorrhages. These infants did not always exhibit
haemorrhages. Could it be that the irritability was some-
times due to a biochemical disorder in the brain? Theoretically,
because the vitamin was involved in cerebral biochemical pathways,
this could be so. One method to test this possibility would be
properly to perform vitamin C assays on blood samples and
various tissues, but these assays involved enormous and compli-
cated techniques that were obviously impossible for me to perform.
But there was a clinical test. If I did the same as Douglas Harbison
and gave an injection of the vitamin and it worked . . . what then ?
At the time, although I did not know it, I was playing with
dynamite. To me the idea was simple and logical. But I did not
realise that for some mysterious reason the problem of vitamin C
was a sore point with Australian medical authorities, indeed that
the whole subject of vitamins was so bound with prejudice that

45
46 EVERY SECOND CHILD
they were to legislate against their advertisement. I did not realise
that otherwise sensible people could become unreasonable when
faced with the question of vitamin C. So, in my ignorance, I
prepared myself to test an idea.
The opportunity came sooner than I expected. A few days after
my arrival in Collarenebri a worried grazier brought an Aboriginal
baby to hospital. She was a beautiful baby but obviously ill.
Screaming and irritability were the most obvious symptoms. Her
head was thrown back as in typical cases of cerebral irritability.
Her general state of nutrition was good. Her weight for her age was
well above average. An examination revealed otitis media. The
gums were red and swollen to a point but hardly typical of scurvy.
The matron, a conscientious woman of considerable ability,
agreed with the grazier's diagnosis—encephalitis—with one
addition: the strong possibility of dreaded meningitis. My instruc-
tions astonished her. 'Give Mary an injection of vitamin C,' I said.
'I will wait for twenty minutes and see what happens.' The matron
was obviously concerned. 'Surely,' she said, 'you will do a spinal
tap.' I felt that we could afford to wait twenty minutes. The matron
did not agree. According to her way of thinking, if Mary had
meningitis, even twenty minutes could mean the difference between
life and death—between a total cure and life of invalidism. In the
end I had to force the issue. Matron made it quite clear that I would
be held responsible for any complication.
Mary recovered dramatically in less than twenty minutes. I tried
to record her screams on tape, but by the time the recorder was set
up, the screaming had ceased and she only cried if pinched. Her
head was no longer thrown back. The arching of her spine gave
way to normal relaxation. It was difficult to believe. I checked the
ears: the drums were still inflamed, of course, but one could not
expect a change in only twenty minutes.
Next morning Mary's body was covered in bruises, a typical
sign of classical infantile scurvy. I reflected on the almost certain
possibility that, had we waited for bruising to appear before
making the diagnosis, Mary would have died. Furthermore, if
bruises within the brain were responsible for the irritability, one
would not expect a cure within twenty minutes. The possibility
of a biochemical disturbance was much more likely.
The implications of this case were obvious. It was soon established
that Mary had been on a diet that contained only small amounts
FIRST DISCOVERIES 47
of vitamin C. A viral infection, indicated by the otitis media,
caused a sudden increased utilisation of the vitamin, thus precipi-
tating an acute deficiency. This was mainly manifest in biochemical
disturbances within the brain—hence the irritability.
The possibility existed that many cases of encephalitis, particu-
larly those complicating acute viral infections, were not due
directly to the virus but to an acute vitamin C deficiency that
could occur even if the diet contained the supposedly adequate
amounts of the vitamin. The importance of this hypothesis was
enormous. With considerable excitement, I contacted a few
senior colleagues, full of expectations as to the interest my theory
would arouse.
It was all a waste of time. 'An increased utilisation of vitamin C ?
Rubbish!' 'A need for more than 30 mg a day? Rubbish!' 'A
biochemical disturbance? Rubbish!' 'But it is true,' I persisted.
'What ? One case ? You can't be serious.'
That was in December 1967. In retrospect I had made a dis-
covery. Not an original discovery, except for the possibility of a
cerebral biochemical disturbance. The medical literature was
crammed with references proving beyond doubt that during viral
infections there was an increased utilisation of vitamin C. The
literature was also crammed with references illustrating the need for
more than 30 mg of vitamin C a day under a wide variety of
conditions. Why were the authorities so ignorant ? Worse still, why
were they so hostile ? I simply cannot understand. Maybe the reason
was associated with the fact that I was just an ordinary country
practitioner. I was regarded as 'rather strange'. No authority in
Australia had problems with vitamin C. A country practitioner
who thought he did had to be out of his mind.
On the other hand I was ignorant too. Because authorities denied
what to me seemed an obvious possibility, I thought that I had
made a great discovery. Automatically, I assumed that the authorities
had at their fingertips all available knowledge. This error was soon
to be corrected.
One further aspect of Mary's case must be mentioned. When
bruising appeared over her body during her second day in hospital,
her mother accused the staff of beating her. At the time I thought
that was rather funny. A few years later I was given reason to recall
this detail in an endeavour to help a woman who was to suffer to a
pitiful extent.

11 Teething
Cerebral irritability was the first new symptom of infantile scurvy
recognised at Collarenebri. There were variations from mild (a
'whinging' infant) to severe (like encephalitis). The worst cases
exhibited head retraction, back arching, semiflexed limbs (the so-
called 'frog legs') and limb tenderness. Sometimes these signs
could be attributed to haemorrhages, but more often they were
simply due to a biochemical disturbance within the nervous
system.
Irritability was often seen during acute viral infections in
Aboriginal and white infants. Both responded dramatically to the
intramuscular administration of vitamin C, while response to
orally administered vitamins was only poor or negative. The
drama of response was so great that many mothers thought I had
administered a sedative. An irritable infant would suddenly lie
down and go to sleep. Usually the injection was in a dose of up to
200 mg. Within a few hours this was often utilised and it was
necessary to repeat the injection. Giving a larger dose did not seem
to help, for reasons that I discovered later—the poor ability of the
body to store vitamin C. Twice daily injections for a few days
would be followed by daily injections for a few more, and usually
that was sufficient. In the early days at Collarenebri there were
some cases close to death because I did not realise the necessity
for repeating injections.
So familiar did I become with dramatic cures that, in a way, I
began to expect them, and this worried me in case I missed a true
case of meningitis or something similar. Precautions, of course,
were taken. The simplest of these involved observation for twenty
to thirty minutes. Sometimes a cure was too dramatic, as the case
of a white infant clearly demonstrated.
His mother brought him from a distant place because 'the
mixture given by the local doctor has not made him better and he
48
TEETHING 49
will not stop screaming'. Even when the mother phoned me the
diagnosis seemed obvious. I prepared for another demonstration.
The boy was certainly irritable. He was screaming. A quick
history revealed that the mother had boiled the orange juice 'to
sterilise it'. By so doing she destroyed the vitamin C. I gave the
usual injection and asked the mother to wait outside for twenty
minutes 'by which time he will be perfectly well'. But this did not
happen. The screaming, if anything, became worse. The mother
thought that her baby was going to die. Then the penny dropped.
The boy was cured. He was screaming with hunger. I asked the
mother to produce a bottle. 'He won't eat.' 'Then try him,' I said.
Down it went—like water down a drain. The screaming ceased.
The boy went to sleep.
A feature associated with cerebral irritability was demonstrated
about this time. It concerned a potential danger with sedative-type
drugs and anaesthetics.
Ellen, an Aboriginal girl, had been admitted to hospital for obser-
vation. She had suffered a series of infections but appeared to be
reasonably well. At that stage I had not quite realised how wide-
spread vitamin deficiencies were and did not prescribe injections
for every infant. During the night she became irritable. The sister
gave her a gentle sedative (potassium bromide and chloral
mixture). One hour later Ellen was still irritable so the mixture
was repeated. Later still Ellen became worse. She was screaming.
When the sister rang me, the diagnosis seemed so obvious that I
did not even bother to go across to the hospital. 'Give her 100 mg
of vitamin C by injection,' I ordered, 'and let me know in twenty
minutes if she is not better.'
Only ten minutes passed before the phone rang again. The sister
was almost crying. 'Can you come over ? I think that I have killed
Ellen.'
Things almost looked that way. Ellen was totally unconscious, as
if deeply anaesthetised. All of a sudden, without any previous
knowledge, I realised what had happened. Ellen had scurvy. The
irritability from the vitamin C deficiency was responsible for her
screaming. It was also why the sedative doses had not worked.
Furthermore, the vitamin deficiency had prevented the metabolism
of the sedative which remained unused in the tissues of the brain.
When the vitamin C was administered, some cerebral functions
returned to normal before others. This permitted the accumulated
50 EVERY SECOND CHILD

sedative to have an enhanced effect. In other words 10 ml of the

sedative was having the same effect as 20. I felt confident that within
twenty minutes or so Ellen would be normal. She was.
The excitement of this 'discovery' was enormous. To discover
anything in medicine is exciting, but this was so to the extreme
because it implied the possibility of life for hundreds or thousands
of infants who could otherwise die. If physicians did not realise
that irritability was a feature of infantile scurvy and prescribed
sedatives, what would happen? What would happen if these
infants were given an anaesthetic ?
Part of this dream world was soon shattered. Not because I was
wrong. I was, indeed, correct in every detail. But the literature was
crammed with references like 'The Interrelation between Sedatives
and Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) Deficiency'. Once again my dis-
covery was not original.
Yet one would have thought so when I wrote an article about this
subject and submitted it to the editor of the Medical Journal of
Australia. He called the subject 'irrelevant'. Since when, I asked
him, did infant deaths become irrelevant ?
The matter of cerebral irritability did not end here. For years
I had wondered, like many others, about the clinical syndrome of
'teething'. What was this syndrome? Nobody knew. Many denied
that it was an entity. Most mothers experienced it and believed in it,
and so did most family physicians.
Features of this condition included irritability, a tendency to
suffer otitis media, bronchitis, pneumonia and diarrhoea. The
gums around erupting teeth would be swollen, red and tender.
'Teething powders' of various types had been devised over the
centuries. Most physicians prescribed aspirin or allied compounds.
Strangely, the entity had been recognised, in a way, by the
Aborigines. While investigating initiations and tribal death sen-
tences, I came across the interesting fact that Aborigines do not
fully name an infant or accept it as a member of the family until
certain teeth have erupted. This event usually occurs at the age of
two years. The possible medical implication of this Aboriginal
tradition will be discussed later.
While I could not explain all the features of teething, a con-
sideration of the irritability in particular made the use of vitamin
C an attractive proposition. I had no trouble finding a white infant
to 'experiment' with. She was the daughter of a young trained
 TEETHING 51

nurse. There was every reason to believe the mother when she
said that the diet had been well and truly supplemented with more
than adequate amounts of vitamin C.
An injection worked miraculously. Within thirty minutes the
irritability ceased. There was a remarkable personality change.
What had been a whinging, crying infant, incapable of either
accepting or giving affection, became a normal, loving child.
This time there was no doubt that a major discovery had been
made. Once again I felt excited and thrilled at the thought that
much suffering could now be prevented. But further reflection
gave rise to grave concern.
Here was an infant whose diet contained what was supposed to
be the adequate amount of ascorbic acid. Here was a condition that
many authorities did not believe in anyway. And here was yet
another miraculous cure attributed to a vitamin. 'Everything'
appeared to revolve around this one vitamin. The story was too
'rich'. It was obvious that nobody would believe me.
In this last assumption I was right. Physicians have not accepted
the use of vitamin C for the problems of teething.
There is little doubt that for some reason or other some infants
utilise increased amounts of vitamin C while teething. This could
be associated with a tendency to infections or just simple stress and
strain. Partial failure of the absorption of vitamin C from the food
is a definite associated possibility although this is not essential. Thus,
normally adequate amounts of the vitamin in the diet do not neces-
sarily provide sufficiently for requirements. I would hesitate before
declaring that the gum changes seen during teething are directly
due to a vitamin C deficiency although the association is there.
There is still a great deal to be learned about the features of teething
and its causes. My guess is that there is a fundamental fault in
immune or stress systems. The vitamin C deficiency is secondary.
A word of warning, therefore, to anyone who assumes that I
believe that all the features of teething can be cured by a single
injection of 100 or 200 mg of vitamin C. Firstly, repeated injections
are necessary—the first within a few hours. Secondly, associated
conditions such as otitis media and bronchitis tend to persist.
Vitamin C therapy may help these to some extent but that is as far
as it goes. Nevertheless, experience with dozens of cases has con-
vinced me that a major breakthrough has been achieved.

12 Sudden Unexpected
Infant Deaths
The results of the use of vitamin C in Collarenebri were so out-
standing that the entire practice of paediatrics altered. In most
cases a deficiency of the vitamin was precipitated by an infection
and I found through trial and error that even in cases of viral
infections the use of an antibiotic was necessary. This, as explained
earlier, was administered almost always by the intramuscular route.
To save multiple injections I simply used vitamin C in the liquid
form to dissolve the antibiotic. Since penicillin was the antibiotic
most commonly used, the routine was to dissolve one million
units of penicillin in 2 ml of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Two years
passed without a single infant death. Serious illness seemed to be a
thing that was historical only. I wondered, therefore, about the
sudden unexpected deaths experienced previously. Could there be
an association between these and acute vitamin C deficiency ?
Two clues appeared to provide positive answers. First, the only
difference between my treatment now and years before was the
administration of vitamin C. Second was the observation of liver
tenderness.
Sick infants displayed this symptom with remarkable frequency.
When they became well, the tenderness disappeared. In fact I
realised that I could use the finding as an indication of progress.
While the liver was tender, the infant was not well even if he
looked well. The chances were that, within a day or so, obvious
signs of illness would appear. If a nurse told me that a particular
child was not well, the chances were that I would find some sign of
illness. If I did not, then I would find liver tenderness. Since liver
changes had been found during autopsies on infants who died sud-
denly during the pre-vitamin C era, there seemed some ground
for assuming that the vitamin could prevent sudden unexpected
death.
52
SUDDEN UNEXPECTED INFANT DEATHS 53
The evidence that I needed came unexpectedly. During the early
phases of the work I had not fully realised the necessity of repeated
injections. One particular infant had received one injection a few
days before and he looked well. Without warning he deteriorated,
became shocked and collapsed. An injection of vitamin C reversed
the situation just as quickly. It was the only treatment given.
The impact of these experiences on my thinking was enormous.
Once again I experienced the excitement, the thrill of discovery.
There was concern, too, as I thought of thousands of infants dying
all over the world. The sudden, unexpected death of infants was
one of the greatest problems faced by paediatricians. Many
theories had been advanced in endeavours to explain the phenom-
enon. They all failed. Now I had the answer to at least the major
proportion.
The deaths are more common in poor areas—obviously because
of poor vitamin intakes. They are often associated with known
viral infections that cause an increased utilisation of vitamin C.
There are other aspects that I was to discover later.
Some sudden unexpected deaths occur in infants who appear to
be perfectly well, do not suffer from illnesses of any sort, are placed
in a cot to rest or sleep and are later found dead. Autopsies may
reveal a reason for death such as cerebral haemorrhage. Mostly,
no cause is found and these are typical cases. I hesitate before
stating that all these typical cases are due to acute vitamin C
deficiency. Some definitely are. It is possible that they all are.
Other sudden unexpected deaths occur in infants who have not
been perfectly well. There may have been signs of an obvious viral
infection, such as a cold. Or the infant may have been recovering
from an illness. Some have had diarrhoea. Others have just been
immunised. A mother may notice that a baby is not well and seek
medical advice. The examining physician may or may not confirm
the mother's opinion. These cases are the ones where I feel that
death is due to acute vitamin C deficiency precipitated by an
increased utilisation.
Often, death is not really sudden. An infant may appear to be
mildly ill, then suddenly collapse, become shocked and die. The
time interval between collapse and death can vary. Furthermore, it
is possible that recovery can occur after collapse even if vitamin C
is not administered. Where the deficiency is marginal, it is possible
54 EVERY SECOND CHILD SUDDEN UNEXPECTED INFANT DEATHS 55

that after a burst of increased utilisation the need for ascorbic acid from dramatic because some of the shock, if not all, may be due to
decreases. Ordinary antishock treatment and the use of antibiotics true toxaemia. Fortunately, the vitamin is harmless. To give it,
if an infection is present may sometimes be sufficient to save an even if there is considerable doubt as to its value, seems a logical
infant. step.
Such infants are, of course, seriously at risk. Unless the deficiency Acute vitamin B deficiencies can also cause shock. Usually this
is corrected, the possibility of further collapse is great. There are occurs when glucose is administered intravenously to combat
also other risks. Hardly any system in the body can function without dehydration. The glucose requires vitamin B for metabolism. If
adequate amounts of vitamin C. During periods of deficiency, there is a deficiency which is marginal, the glucose can result in a
serious biochemical and immunological problems may become sudden more serious deficiency, shock and death. This has been
manifest; then the reason for an infection that usually precipitates known for some time.
a deficiency through increased utilisation must be considered. An
infant may have a primary immunological fault which is indepen-
dent of that caused by vitamin C deficiency. Administering vitamin
C does not overcome this problem.
The reason why sudden deaths of this nature do not occur in
older children or adults is simple biochemistry. The variations of
an infant's requirements of vitamin C are tremendous. Adults do
not exhibit this. Adult scurvy is therefore a slow process. Serious
signs of deficiency occur before death takes place.
A few months after I began my research into sudden infant deaths
I was able to demonstrate to a colleague the reversal of the shock
stage with vitamin C. Once a little boy walked into my consulting
room with his mother. He came from a distant town because, as his
mother explained, 'The local doctor does not treat the children as
you do'. An examination revealed an acute upper respiratory tract
infection and swollen, red gums typical of infantile scurvy. There
was no doubt that the boy was seriously at risk—even though he
seemed perfectly happy. I admitted him to hospital, but because
my colleague was anxious to measure the amount of vitamin C in
the urine before treatment was commenced, I gave instructions
that the injection was to be withheld until a specimen was collected.
The boy was slow in obliging. Two hours went by and a speci-
men had not been collected. Then, without further warning, there
was collapse and shock. Of course I did not wait any longer for a
specimen. The vitamin was injected quickly. The effect was
excellent. Within half an hour the boy was well.
Sometimes the shock is so severe that it is necessary to administer
intravenous fluids as well as the vitamin. In cases of collapse with
an obviously serious infection, the effect of the vitamin may be far

13 Disease Patterns
If a medical problem apart from vitamin C deficiency existed in
Collarenebri amongst infants, it was otitis media or abscess forma-
tion in one or both ears. In fact it was the viral infections respon-
sible for otitis media that precipitated most cases of vitamin
deficiency. The incidence of otitis media amongst white infants was
alarming; amongst Aboriginal infants it was unbelievable. Repeated
bouts resulted in a degree of permanent hearing loss. The number
of 'ruptured' ear drums caused considerable concern. The
frequency of treatment necessary to control complications caused
even more concern.
Associated with the ear problems were the 'running' noses of the
Aboriginal infants. Authorities once said that these were due to
faulty hygiene. Any nurse who has cared for Aboriginal infants will
refute that. No doubt faulty hygiene makes the condition worse,
but the very best of hygiene will not cure it. Other authorities state
that malnutrition is the cause; they quote cases in pre-war English
industrial towns or in wartime Japan. Improved nutrition removed
all of that. On the other hand, even the best nutrition in many
Aborigines will not prevent a running nose, and it will not cure it.
Only one explanation fits the clinical picture observed. The nose
runs because of a faulty immune reaction in the mucous membrane
lining. This is most probably due to an infection; it could be asso-
ciated with an allergy.
This statement is made with the full realisation of its implica-
tions. Immunology is a most complex field. In spite of a vast array
of knowledge, many clinical facts cannot be demonstrated in the
laboratory. Here the fact is that the nose runs. If the immuno-
logical mechanisms involved were normal, or if the insults to the
system were less, the nose would not run.
As already stated, most Aboriginal infants will suffer from run-
56
DISEASE PATTERNS 57
ning noses even under the best conditions. Several factors involved
have already been discussed. In addition to hygiene and nutrition
there are a few more. The most important one is the geographical
environment. For reasons that are not clear, certain areas seem to
predispose to running noses. These happen to be mainly inland
areas, although some coastal areas are just as bad. A local environ-
mental factor is also involved. An infant living in a good home
with a proper floor and green grass surroundings will suffer less
than an infant living in a dirt-floor environment. However, it
must be remembered that the main factor is racial.
If we accept this thesis we will find more implications. Running
noses are apparently just as bad in half- and quarter-caste Abo-
rigines as they are in full bloods. There may be a difference but I
have been unable to find it. If this is so, the causal factor must be
dominant. Of course, this line of argument may be incorrect, but it
is one that requires investigation.
Running noses become worse during acute upper respiratory
tract infections. Mucous membranes that were previously already
disturbed become much more so. These changes are not limited
to the nose. They extend into the ears—hence otitis media; they
extend to the lungs—hence the bronchitis and pneumonia; and
they extend to the gastrointestinal tract—hence the diarrhoea.
This is a formidable list for what may seem like a simple cold.
Nevertheless, it happens.
The fundamental cause of the mucous membrane changes, in all
areas, could therefore be an immunological fault. If immunity was
normal, there would be no viral infections—and no mucous mem-
brane changes.
The virus does the initial damage. Once the mucous membranes
suffer, the path is open for more serious bacterial infections. The ear
drums may rupture, bacterial pneumonia may occur, and if any
stray 'gastric' bacteria are about, they will invade the intestine.
The damaging effect of orally administered antibiotics that act as
chemical irritants to an already damaged gastrointestinal mucous
membrane can now be understood.
Original work done in Collarenebri in 1957 appeared to suggest
that parasite infestations of the intestine were uncommon. Later,
more careful work revealed that this was incorrect. Parasite infes-
tations were common indeed, and heavy. It was found that white
58 EVERY SECOND CHILD
infants hospitalised for long periods did not suffer heavy parasite
loadings. Aboriginal infants always did. A possible explanation
involves intestinal immunity. Aboriginal infants could have a faulty
immunological response in the gastrointestinal mucous membranes
that permits the parasites to thrive. White infants, through good
immunological responses, throw the parasites out. This, to me,
seems a much more logical explanation than malnutrition, which
no doubt plays a part, but the best-nourished Aboriginal infants
in Collarenebri still suffer heavy parasite loadings. At a certain age,
perhaps five to ten years, immunological responses become normal
and the parasites are thrown out. And to think that this interesting
observation was almost missed because I was told that parasites
were not a problem in Collarenebri.
The mucous membrane changes in the intestine, precipitated by
a viral infection, vary in degree, extent and type. There may be
transient loose bowel actions or there may be severe diarrhoea.
Often the changes persist to a degree, as does the running nose.
In such cases—and they are many—partially loose bowel actions
continue and these smell vile. The smell is due to partly undigested
food, 'unhealthy' bacteria, parasites and chemical changes resulting
from the general upset. It is a characteristic smell, obvious wherever
there are Aboriginal infants. Many people, even nurses, think that it
is a smell of filth. It isn't. The infants are fundamentally ill.
The mucous membrane changes in the intestine interfere with
the absorption of food. This may be a general malabsorption or it
may affect only one foodstuff, such as lactose, in such cases a
lactose-free diet is recommended. The malabsorption may lead to
malnutrition, particularly if the diet is marginal to begin with.
Furthermore, the infant has been or is ill and this in itself tends to
precipitate malnutrition.
In other words, there are three types of malnutrition—that due
purely to food deficiency, that due to illness, and that due to mal-
absorption. All are interrelated. With Aboriginal infants, to speak
of 'malnutrition' and not to qualify it, is an absurdity that leads to
an unnecessary waste of life and untold suffering. Many Aboriginal
infants would thrive on their poor diets if they were not ill. A sick
infant may not thrive on a perfect diet.
Sometimes the gastrointestinal mucous membrane changes can
be extremely severe with ulceration and haemorrhage that goes on
DISEASE PATTERNS 59
and on. Only one such case, a little girl, has been seen at
Collarenebri. She was saved in the Royal Alexandra Hospital in
Sydney by first class attention and cortisone.
The absurdity of diagnosing all cases of infantile diarrhoea as
'infectious' or bacterial in cause can now be realised. What is seen
in practice can also be understood.
An infant with a viral infection may present with upper res-
piratory signs, gastrointestinal signs, or signs of vitamin C
deficiency. There may be only one sign or a combination of signs.
Almost always there is otitis media which acts as an indicator. For
example, diarrhoea may be the presenting sign. The chances are
that an examination will reveal otitis media. The frequency of
otitis media is probably explained by the narrowness of the tubes
that drain the ears into the back of the nose and throat. Even the
slightest inflammation may be sufficient to block them, prevent
drainage and permit abscess formation. Understanding these facts
and patterns makes the diagnosis and understanding of infant
diseases simple—in the initial stages at any rate.
In later stages chronic changes in mucous membranes, immuno-
logical problems and some possibly deadly associations between
viruses and bacteria that lead to generations of wildly invasive and
resistant strains can take place. Added to these problems, also
during later stages of diseases, may be the effects of malnutrition
which can be one of the three types mentioned or, more likely, a
combination of these.
One other condition emerged as I was able to understand better
the patterns of diseases amongst Aboriginal infants. The frequency
of bronchitis and pneumonia, initially of viral origin and then
complicated by secondary bacterial invasion, has been mentioned.
Often, for reasons that I do not understand, these infections are
associated with spasm of the fine breathing tubes—a condition
similar to asthma. In very small infants, the problem is that the
tubes are very fine. When spasm begins, there is no wheeze—just
expiratory distress. This is the clue to diagnosis. Spasm prevents
normal lung drainage. Fluid accumulates in a way that misleads
the examining physician into thinking that true pneumonia is
present. X-rays can mislead for similar reasons. Secondary infec-
tion does, of course, occur. The fundamental cause of this, how-
ever, means that it tends not to respond to the administration of
60 EVERY SECOND CHILD
antibiotics alone. Unless the cause is recognised and treated, an
infant will most likely remain ill, deteriorate and eventually die.
The treatment is simple—antibiotics to help control the secon-
dary infection and 'bronchodilators' that are used to treat true
asthmatics. Response to this combination is often dramatic.
Depending on the amount and type of secondary infection it is
possible to 'cure' an infant who has been ill for weeks with
'pneumonia' in a few minutes. Sometimes, diagnosis is difficult. In
such cases a trial with bronchodilators can act as a diagnostic aid.
If they work, so much the better. If they don't, the possibility of
bronchospasm is more or less excluded.
This aspect of Aboriginal paediatrics is mentioned because of its
frequency and the undoubted fact that it is responsible for a percent-
age of infant deaths. Statistics constantly produce figures demon-
strating deaths from diseases such as 'pneumonia'. The absurdity
of these statistics, unless fundamental causes are known, is obvious.
Small wonder that the problem of Aboriginal infant health has
remained so vast. 'Pneumonia' makes one think of early diagnosis
and treatment with nutritional interrelationships. There are various
reasons why infants suffering from pneumonia fail to respond to
treatment. Apart from immunological and transferable drug
resistance factors, bronchospasm, that is unrecognised heads the list.
An infant suffering from pneumonia, particularly when there is
associated bronchospasm, suffers greatly. In a way it is like having
a tightening noose around one's neck. There is fear, apprehension,
even a knowledge of death. Strange though it may seem, these tiny
infants have feelings—and so have their mothers. The suffering
can be felt and it can be seen. When death eventually comes, it is a
merciful release for all concerned.
14 They Refused to Listen
By the end of 1968, after one year of vitamin C therapy and disease
pattern observation, it was obvious that a major advance had been
made. Most of my colleagues did not share my enthusiasm and
made it quite clear to me that I was 'wrong' and would need
'proper' evidence before they would accept my hypothesis. One
man, however, was enthusaistic—my second brother, James, a
radiologist of some note and a brilliant diagnostician with wide
clinical experience. During one of his visits to Collarenebri, we
spoke of the Aboriginal infant problem and what I had observed.
James immediately became convinced of the importance of the
work and suggested that I should 'put something into print' even
if it was only a letter to the Medical Journal of Australia.
This worried me. In a way, I agreed with the sceptics. It seemed
that I needed more time for observation, more time to accumulate
laboratory data. But James was insistent. He knew that I would
talk about my work. It was possible that someone would be dis-
honest enough to claim credit for the discovery and leave me out of
the picture. So I sat down one day soon afterwards and wrote what
has become an historical letter. This stated that unrecognised
scurvy had been responsible for the high Aboriginal infant death
rate in Collarenebri. The editor of the journal published the letter
in full. It appeared in print on 25 January 1969.
The reaction of my colleagues to this publication was hostile.
Everyone 'knew' that the problems of Aboriginal infant health
were concerned mainly with nutrition, hygiene, and socio-
economic factors. To select from a vast array of causes one vitamin
deficiency was 'unreasonable', even 'stupid'. Too many simply
assumed that I had 'gone round the bend'. 'Proof of this was my
description of new forms of infantile scurvy. This was absurd
because infantile scurvy had been studied by physicians of known
61
62 EVERY SECOND CHILD THEY REFUSED TO LISTEN 63

calibre—all of them great men with tremendous powers of observa- end it was virtually his word against mine. The authorities accepted
tion. How could a simple family physician, practising in a remote Maxwell's views.
and tiny part of outback Australia, observe what these men had This left me in a desperate situation. It was not my pride, as
not? many claim. I was not looking for fame. All I could think about
One group of physicians from Alice Springs in central Australia was the fact that I had an answer to most of the Aboriginal infant
were particularly disturbed by my letter. To prove that I was deaths and many of those amongst white infants as well. This was a
wrong seemed an easy task to them and they set out with great moral issue. I had to fight, and fight hard. But how ?
confidence to do this. A quick look at analytical techniques made me shudder again.
Now, I had lived in central Australia amongst Aborigines. I Who would believe my figures anyway ? There had to be some other
knew what they ate and I knew that this was virtually vitamin C way. I found it in my camera. If others claimed that scurvy did not
free. They just had to be deficient. No other possibility existed. exist and I produced photographs of obvious cases, I should be
One did not need to be an analytical chemist. One did not need able, eventually, to prove that I was right and that others were
complex figures. All that was needed was a pair of eyes. Of course wrong. A serious hobby of mine was photographing gemstones. It
this did not prove that infant deaths were due to deficiencies. It so happened that the equipment used was ideal for photographing
only proved the existence of deficiencies. cases of scurvy. In a few months I collected sufficient proof to
It was with some surprise, therefore, that I read a letter by permit the establishment of a powerful case. If, in only a small
D. K. Kirk, E. A. Vorbach, and D. M. R. Newman, the group place like Collarenebri, I could find and photograph so many cases
from Alice Springs, that stated that 'florid cases of a single vitamin of scurvy, what was the situation elsewhere ?
deficiency are rare in this area'. The letter also stated that 'only But even photographs were not enough for my colleagues. They
three patients, all Aboriginal boys in their third year, failed to ignored them.
excrete normal amounts [of vitamin C] of the vitamin following a
loading dose'.
This astonished me. It was my turn to express disbelief and
amazement. How did these physicians arrive at such a conclusion ?
Something was obviously wrong. Could it be the techniques used
to estimate the amounts of vitamin C in the urinary specimens ?
The damage done by this letter by Kirk et al. was disastrous.
Sceptics were looking for proof of my ignorance. Here it was—or,
at least, seemed to be. Health authorities in particular were quick
to note the Alice Springs experiment. George Maxwell, Professor
of Paediatrics in Adelaide, a man who worked in the Alice Springs
area, was particularly definite. He had done surveys which,
according to him, revealed little sign of vitamin C deficiency. I felt
like laughing when I heard this, but when I thought of the suffer-
ing it could imply, I then felt like crying. Maxwell may have had a
case to doubt the seriousness of the effects of vitamin C deficiency,
but to deny its existence, to deny those obvious cases of scurvy that
I had seen in central Australia, was too much. He persisted in
making statements that contradicted my observations, and in the

15 The Trial of
Nancy Young
The trial of Nancy Young for the manslaughter, through neglect,
of her infant daughter, Evelyn, her conviction, sentence and
eventual pardon were the series of events that, as one writer
described,
'inspired two television documentaries, a large protest meeting,
two irreconcilable judgments of the Queensland Supreme Court,
and a lively medical controversy which is yet unresolved. The
written and cinematic material produced in the fight to free
Nancy Young has exposed the black tragedy of the Aboriginal
fringe-dweller, played out in this instance against a background
of legal and medical inadequacy and small town racism'.*
Cunnamulla, in the south-west of Queensland, where Nancy
lived, could be regarded as one of the 'better' towns. Ironically, its
name is Aboriginal. But whites have taken over most of everything
in their haste to develop beef, cattle and sheep and a way of life
that suits their desire to live like European aristocrats. Pride of
place goes to the new Civic Centre and Bowling Club. In air-
conditioned comfort the local 'squattocracy' (but not the Aborigines
who are denied admission) can sit to discuss the price of wool,
rainfall, the Royal Show and the happy progress of their children.
In 1968, when this story began, the town's two hundred-odd
Aborigines lived on the 'reservation'. This consisted of eighteen
tin shanties situated next to the cemetery against the town's
sewerage outlet. Conditions were made even worse by a block of
unsewered earth closets that were used as lavatories. Stagnant
water lay in several places. Flies and mosquitoes thrived, but
infants died. One tap—and the water it produced was 'bad'—
provided the sole supply for the entire reserve. Little wonder that
respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases were common and that
* J. S. CARRICK and G. R. ROBERTSON, Australian Quarterly, XLii, 2 (1970), pp. 34-46.
64
THE TRIAL OF NANCY YOUNG 65
the infant death rate was high. The Council's Health Inspector
admitted that 'conditions here are in many respects worse than the
conditions which exist in refugee villages in Vietnam'. It is likely
that local whites raised money for Vietnam's refugees. There is no
record of money having been raised for the Cunnamulla reservation.
Nancy came to Cunnamulla when she was five with her mother,
a woman who was to die in gaol while serving a life sentence for the
murder of the man with whom she was living. Nancy never knew
her father—'an incorrigible if incompetent petty thief. At school
she struggled badly to reach a standard of education equivalent to
that of a nine-year-old. At the age of thirteen she left school and
worked for two years as a 'nurse' for white children. Her first baby
was born when she was fifteen. Nine more followed in twelve years.
Most of these came from a de facto relationship with Walter
Turnbull, an Aborigine who mostly squandered irregular pay
cheques and left Nancy to provide for herself and the children.
Nancy's average income during the years was six dollars per week.
This was the amount with which a court of law was later to insist
she 'adequately' feed herself and the children. When Evelyn died,
five children were in welfare institutions, one had died, and two were
living with Nancy in 'Mary McCarthy's'. This shanty measured
ten feet by twenty. Four adults and ten children slept in its one
room. Nancy was twenty-nine 'but looked forty'—a statement that
meant little to me at the time but later developed considerable
significance.
Evelyn was born on 23 February 1968. Superficially, like most
Aboriginal infants, she was 'healthy'. When discharged to the
reserve she weighed just over eight pounds. Nobody bothered to
check the environment to which Evelyn was going. Nobody bothered
to find out if Nancy could afford to feed her. Nobody bothered about
anything, and Evelyn was sent to suffer for a crime she had not
committed—being born into a world that would not care for her.
But the fact is that care could have been provided. The machinery
was there—health workers and officials; money was available for
welfare. The crime was that this was not provided. Of course, it
could be argued that this was Nancy's responsibility. But think of
her situation—developed over the years. Think of the entire
Aboriginal problem. Was Nancy responsible ?
In retrospect Evelyn, at birth, even though she appeared to be
66 EVERY SECOND CHILD

healthy, was not. Her vitamin C status must have been low. Her
immunological status must have been the same as that of most
other Aboriginal infants. Nancy may have looked older than her
years for a number of reasons, but it is almost certain that she
had been reared since birth on a diet that contained too much
sugar, too much refined flour, and too little by way of vitamins.
This diet will age anyone. It affects physical as well as mental
health. These facts were never revealed. Nobody bothered to ask.
It was simply assumed that Nancy was a drunkard, a useless, stupid,
lazy and depraved woman.
From the time of discharge from hospital as a new-born,
Evelyn was fed almost exclusively on a diet of 'Sunshine' milk.
This is a dried 'unmodified' cow's milk (no added vitamins) that
is not manufactured as an infant's food, but habit has given rise to
its widespread use, particularly in country areas. Its vitamin C
content is usually small, at any rate, it is insufficient to sustain life
over a long period.
At the age of six weeks Evelyn weighed ten pounds—very much
under weight for her age. She had 'gastroenteritis' for which she
was admitted to hospital for several days. Nobody seemed con-
cerned about her low weight gain. When she was discharged, her
mother was advised to feed her with 'vegetables, potato, and
pumpkin'. Questioned about this after her arrest, Nancy revealed
the first serious faults in the system of health care for Aboriginal
infants in Cunnamulla. A policeman said to her, 'It does not seem
likely that anyone would prescribe or advise that sort of diet for a
six week old child.' Nancy replied that Sister - had given her
that advice. In actual fact, even though Evelyn was so young, this
suggested diet may have suited her, but only if she was healthy.
Furthermore, Nancy did not have the money to buy vegetables.
At that stage nothing more was done to assist Evelyn or advise
Nancy as to how feedings should be prepared. No arrangements
were made for a follow-up. Nothing was said about the low weight
gain or the fact that even while Evelyn was in hospital her weight
gain had been almost nil.
Thus, for two months, Evelyn ran the gauntlet of reserve con-
ditions, poor diet and infections. It is a miracle that she survived
so long.
On Wednesday, 3 July 1968, Evelyn was ill. Nancy thought she
 THE TRIAL OF NANCY YOUNG 67

had a cold. On Thursday morning she looked 'better'. Nancy went

'out' and left her with Mary McCarthy. It appears that she did not
return until Friday afternoon. When questioned as to what she did
for Evelyn, Nancy replied, 'I gave her custard and bottles'. When
further questioned she said, 'She didn't have custard, she had a
bottle'.
The night of Saturday, 6 July, was bitterly cold in Cunnamulla.
At midnight Nancy wrapped Evelyn in a blanket and commenced
the long journey on foot to the hospital. The duty nurse admitted
Evelyn but did not think her condition serious enough to call the
local doctor. The only treatment given at that stage was a clean bed
and glucose water by mouth. Nine hours later, during routine
rounds, the local doctor examined Evelyn. His evidence, given at
the preliminary court hearing, makes very sad reading.
According to him, Evelyn was normal at birth—'a normal healthy
baby'. When he saw her on the morning of 7 July, 'she was in an
emaciated and dirty state. She was very thin and weak. The eyes
were sunken, the skin inelastic and dry. There were bruises over
the sacrum and lower back, bruises about the right side of her
chest and shoulders and both ankles and hands. The buttocks were
excoriated and scalded. There was marked head contraction. Her
temperature was normal. She was difficult to feed. That was her
condition on admission. During the period she was in hospital
she could not tolerate very much fluid by mouth; a stomach tube
was inserted and she was given fluids through this, but these were
not tolerated very well. It was then decided to insert a subcutaneous
drip in order to give her further fluids. She did not respond to this
and she died at 4 a.m. on 9 July. She was treated with antibiotics,
both penicillin and chloromycetin. Her temperature was elevated
for the 24 hours prior to death. About 4.30 p.m. on 9 July I con-
ducted a post-mortem examination on the deceased.
'On external examination there was extensive bruising over the
sacrum and lower back, about the ankles, wrists, shoulders, and on
the right side of the chest. There was a puncture mark on the right
side of the chest posteriorly where a subcutaneous drip was
inserted. On incising the bruised areas bruising was evident in the
subcutaneous tissues. Examination of the cranial cavity was
normal. On macroscopic examination there was patchy broncho-
pneumonia on both lower lobes of the lungs. Subsequent micro-
68 EVERY SECOND CHILD
scopic examination showed an acute interstitial pneumonitis. This
is an acute pneumonia. The pericardium, heart and blood vessels
were normal. The stomach was small and pale. It contained a small
amount of milky material. There was a marked absence of fat from
the meserteric and retro-peritoneal tissues. They are the tissues
behind the intestines and in front of the muscles of the back. The
liver appeared enlarged and pale. The remainder of the organs were
normal. The immediate cause of death was a broncho-pneumonia.
Contributing to her death was her state of malnutrition.'
When questioned, the doctor gave evidence concerning his
experiences in caring for Aboriginal infants. 'I am of the opinion
that they fear illness, and that in most instances they come for
medical attention early in the stage of their sickness.' He also
gave comparisons between progress amongst Aboriginal infants
and white infants. 'Under normal circumstances their develop-
ment compares favourably with that of a white child. And in many
instances Aboriginal and part-Aboriginal babies often look fatter
and brighter than white children.' He then provided specific
information concerning Evelyn's weight. The expected weight
at four and a half months (the time of death) would be 16 pounds.
Evelyn weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces. The doctor continued by
saying, 'It was obviously poorly nourished. It was very dehydrated
as well. And from my previous experience with children and babies
in particular I have not seen a baby lose so much weight over this
period of time . . . In my opinion the clinical condition was that of
insufficient food and water over a long period of time, especially
since I could find no evidence of disease when I examined her. I
estimate that this would have gone on over a period of weeks.'
A highlight of the evidence at this stage was a question con-
cerning the onset of bronchopneumonia. The local doctor, in answer
to a specific question, stated that when he first examined Evelyn
during her last admission to hospital he did not find evidence of
disease. The bronchopneumonia appeared on the night of 8 July.
The head retraction displayed by Evelyn was also highlighted.
The local doctor stated, 'Retraction of the head can be found in a
number of conditions in infancy, including those in which the
infant is wasted. This appears to be caused by a wasting in the
muscles around the neck.' He later added, 'The appearance is more
of the arching of the head backwards.'
THE TRIAL OF NANCY YOUNG 69
Following this, Evelyn's first admission to hospital with gastro-
enteritis was discussed. In answer to a question concerning this
and expected weight gain afterwards, the doctor said that he
would expect some weight gain during the following two months.
Detective Gustafson gave evidence which included statements
made to him by Nancy Young. 'There are a lot of bruises on the
body of the child,' the detective said to Nancy Young, 'which
indicate that she may have been belted by some person.' Nancy
Young replied, 'I didn't.' She then stated that she did not suspect
that Evelyn was ill until Wednesday morning. The first sign was a
running nose. By Friday Evelyn had sore eyes, a running nose, was
coughing and vomiting.
After Evelyn died the detective took Nancy Young to see her
body in the hospital morgue. The bruises on Evelyn's inert body
were pointed out by the detective. 'Watch closely while I point
out the bruises on the child's body . .. Would you agree that the
marks look like finger marks as if she had been grabbed hard or
jabbed with the fingers ?' Nancy agreed. She was then asked, 'Can
you tell me how they got there ?' She answered, 'No.'
There were more questions concerning the bruising. 'Can you
offer any explanation at all for the bruising which was present on
the body of the child when she was admitted to hospital ?' Then,
'Are you denying that you mishandled the child in any way to
cause the bruising on the body?' Nancy Young continued to say,
'I didn't do it.'
The line of questioning left no doubt that the detective believed
the bruises were due to maltreatment.
Following this came the most remarkable event of all. Nancy was
not charged. Four months elapsed and another of her children
was admitted to the Cunnamulla Hospital, apparently in a dirty and
neglected state. At 10.20 a.m. on Wednesday, 13 November 1968,
Nancy heard the dreaded words, 'I am arresting you for the unlaw-
ful killing of your child, Evelyn Patricia Young, on 9 July, 1968.'
During the preliminary court hearing evidence was given by
several associates of Nancy's that Evelyn was not 'belted'. The
bruising could not be explained. The deplorable financial state of
Nancy was made clear. So was her tendency to escape from reality
in to the comfort of alcoholic binges. Walter Turnbull, Evelyn's
father, admitted that he contributed little if anything to her welfare.

70 EVERY SECOND CHILD
When Nancy asked him for money he often assaulted her physically.
Nancy pleaded 'not guilty'. Bail was set at $1 000.
Much criticism has been levelled at the high bail figure. To find
so much money was impossible for Nancy. Her friends could never
raise this amount. Nancy had to pine away the months in gaol while
awaiting trial. Her children were denied what maternal care was
available for this period and, anyway, no special arrangements were
made for their welfare. On 14 April 1969 Nancy boarded a train, at
her own expense (an incredible fact), for her trial, 300 miles away
in Roma.
The Public Defender commissioned to defend her was a man of
rare calibre. At this stage 'guilty' was written over everything. A
more hopeless defence would be difficult to imagine. Nancy's
chances of freedom were very remote.
But the Defender did his homework well. Sometimes I think
that it was the hand of God that led him to a check on Aboriginal
infant health and death problems. The literature was full of
references concerning malnutrition, neglect, ignorance, socio-
economic problems and so forth. All these supported a verdict of
'guilty'. But there was one article in the Medical Journal of Australia,
the one that my brother James had more or less forced me to write,
that gave a glimmer of hope. According to this article, it was pos-
sible that Evelyn died from causes not directly associated with
criminal neglect on the part of her mother. Unrecognised scurvy
was more than likely. Realising this possibility, the Defender
phoned me. I asked for a copy of the original court hearings and
the medical findings including post mortem reports. When they
arrived I sat down to a session of horror, grief, fury, disbelief and
sorrow. I felt that Nancy was innocent. A moral crime of great
magnitude had been committed against her and against Aborigines
throughout Australia. Furthermore, I believed that many physicians
seriously lacked an understanding of Aboriginal infant illnesses.
As I read the reports I relived my experiences with the Abo-
rigines. I visualised the days when Europeans first came to
Australia and destroyed a culture so beautiful that they could not
understand it. I thought about the diseases that we introduced, the
terror of our killings, the way we took and violated the sanctity
of a land that was once so beautiful. And I thought about the chil-
dren, those who died in my arms at Collarenebri and those who
survived. I remembered Billy Pepper, the desert, the legends. I
THE TRIAL OF NANCY YOUNG 71
remembered how even today so many Aborigines seek to live just a
little in the dreamtime of their fathers. All this I read between the
lines of the reports of the original trial of Nancy Young.
She was, undoubtedly, Aboriginal in her thinking. Her asso-
ciates, like 'Ten Cent Jackson' the rainmaker and others, were the
last of the 'Aboriginal-thinking' Aborigines in that area. Her
desire to live in what she regarded as her 'tribal' home and not
move to more tolerable places was another demonstration of
Aboriginal background. This meant that Nancy was subjected to
all the influences that plague Aborigines who still think along
Aboriginal lines—the inability to fit into a European society, the
feeling of hopelessness, the loss of self-respect and dignity, the
desire to escape to the comfort of alcohol. There was enough in
this alone to make one weep and pray for forgiveness, not, as
actually happened, charge Nancy with manslaughter.
The medical reports were even more horrifying. The facts were
clear. Evelyn had been fed for months on a diet of 'Sunshine' milk
which contains very little vitamin C. Her recurrent colds (as shown
by a 'running' nose) and bouts of diarrhoea resulted in an increased
utilisation of the vitamin. Her mother's diet did not contain
adequate amounts, so even before her birth Evelyn was deficient.
Furthermore, Nancy's breast milk would have been deficient.
Failure to thrive under such circumstances was inevitable. If
Evelyn's mother had been given advice on proper feeding after
Evelyn's first admission—advice which was essential because of
her low weight gain—Evelyn might have recovered. During
Evelyn's last days no one apparently thought that bruising might
indicate scurvy instead of maltreatment and the use of intravenous
fluids instead of subcutaneous drip might, in my opinion, have
provided a last minute reprieve for Evelyn.
Bruising is 'classical' with scurvy. Only one fact was needed to
prove, in Evelyn's case, its truth, and that was the dietary history.
If that was insufficient, then the head retraction should have helped.
Death from 'pneumonia' complicating scurvy is also 'classical'—
and so is failure to thrive. I had in my collection of original colour
slides cases demonstrating all these features—bruising, head
retraction, and failure to thrive as well as death from pneumonia.
On these grounds there was every reason to believe that Nancy
should be acquitted.
However, experiences with medico-legal cases in England had
72 EVERY SECOND CHILD
shown me that evidence from a general practitioner was not looked
upon favourably. Nancy Young would have a far better chance if a
recognised authority gave evidence concerning Evelyn's diet and
the development of scurvy. On the surface this seemed to be an
easy thing to do. I contacted a leading authority in Sydney,
explained the facts, and asked for his assistance. He agreed with
me. On the strength of this I felt that Nancy was already free.
But that was not to be the case. The authority changed his mind.
Desperately I tried others, without success. I could not understand
their logic. At times I thought I was mad. Finally, with a heavy
feeling, I was forced to admit defeat and realised that during the
trial I would stand alone in defence of Nancy Young.
A letter that I wrote to a friend at the time described my feelings
in detail. There was not much doubt that this was the most import-
ant event in my life. Evelyn's death demonstrated ideally the
problems involved with Aboriginal infant deaths. It demonstrated
the problems of adult Aborigines. It showed how lives could be
saved, how suffering could be relieved or prevented. It was a giant
key to the greatest moral problem ever faced by white Australians.
If physicians were to learn a lesson, then this was the time to teach
it, otherwise Evelyn and many thousands of other infants would
have died in vain, my own work would be in vain, and the nightmare
that I personally suffered would never let me rest.
With these feelings I contacted the ABC television current
affairs programme 'This Day Tonight'. A television coverage of the
trial was arranged. Roma had suffered a poor reputation as a town
of justice ever since, many years before, a reputed cattle thief was
found 'not guilty' of a crime that according to most outback people
was definitely committed by the accused. I felt that the presence
of a television team would at least ensure 'justice'. It would also
ensure that physicians throughout Australia would be made aware
of the problems involved with Aboriginal infant deaths.
The night before the trial I was fortunate enough to meet the
Queensland Premier, the Queensland Minister of Health, and the
Queensland Minister of Aboriginal and Island Affairs. Over
informal cups of tea and sandwiches we discussed the case. I knew
that theoretically they could not interfere, but I asked them to take
a special interest, because the case demonstrated what could be
done to save so many Aboriginal infants. These men appeared to
be humane and I was hopeful that they would help if they could.
THE TRIAL OF NANCY YOUNG 73
But I did not know that I was standing on a hundred years or more
of racial hatred. I did not know that Queensland still lived in the
dark ages of extreme racial prejudice.
I learned this one day later in Roma. The Public Defender
greeted me with the words, 'We do not have a chance. Everyone is
prejudiced.' I stared at him with disbelief, 'Prejudiced ? In this day
and age?' In fact, I did not take him seriously. What he said
appeared impossible to believe.
Waiting in the town with a television crew was the late Frank
Bennett. As an interviewer this man was famous. His personality
was impressive, his sincerity undoubted. I knew that he would
help. Such a man had to help — but how ?
My first sight of the jury was reassuring. Twelve honest looking
average citizens, the sort of men one would play bowls with, drink
with, visit and even become friendly with. Surely, the Defender's
opinion was not correct. The Judge's car was parked next to the
courtroom. Behind the back seat were religious tokens. This man,
it seemed, would have to answer for his verdicts to a higher authority.
Surely, he had a conscience? I could see no reason why Nancy
should not go free. All I would have to do would be to explain that
'Sunshine' milk did not contain sufficient vitamin C, that bruises
were a sign of scurvy, and that would be that.
When I was finally admitted to the court to give my evidence I
saw Nancy for the first time. She sat alone in apparent apathy — a
woman of twenty-nine years who looked fifty. There was no need
for me to stare at her because I already knew how she had suffered
and was suffering now. I felt like screaming at the injustice that
had already been done. I looked around the room. The physician
from Cunnamulla was there. His evidence had damned Nancy as a
virtual murderer. The jury sat in silence like men with an un-
pleasant duty to perform. The Judge seemed ordinary enough.
There were no television cameras in the room—by order of the
Judge (and apparently a court rule). Frank Bennett sat near the
back. His quiet face did not reveal his feelings. I had no way of
knowing what he thought or how he thought. I did not know that
behind his quietness was a mind of compassion, of tremendous
experience and practical ability. I did not know that this was to be
his greatest triumph, that he would do more in just a few minutes
for Aboriginal infants than anyone had done before.
The evidence that I wanted to give was simple: an explanation
74 EVERY SECOND CHILD
of the vitamin content of 'Sunshine' milk and the signs of scurvy.
But the Judge was not satisfied with this. He asked involved
questions about my so-called 'theories' regarding Aboriginal
infant deaths. He asked if my colleagues agreed with these. I had to
answer 'No'. On the strength of this the Judge did not seem
impressed by my evidence. Nancy was not asked by the Defender
to speak on her own behalf, for the evidence she would have given
would have followed the pattern of all Aboriginal evidence—
statements made anyhow to suit whatever the accused thinks the
Judge would like to hear, not what is actually true. The Judge,
apparently, did not understand this.
Logical thinking about the trial at this stage would suggest that at
least the question of scurvy be seriously considered. The failure of
the Cunnamulla physician to examine the bones at autopsy denied
Nancy a possible defence. One would have thought that since two
physicians did not agree on the cause of death the prosecution would
have sought further medical opinion. It was not sought. Even the
failure to administer fluids intravenously was not questioned. It
was made to appear to the jury that Nancy had virtually killed her
daughter and for this crime she would have to pay.
The verdict of 'guilty' was inevitable. I heard it that night on
television. And I saw Nancy Young being escorted away to gaol,
and not just any gaol, but Boggo Road, where Nancy's mother had
died. This meant that her spirit was there. To Nancy, an Abo-
rigine, being locked up away from her tribal land was enough. To
be forced to stay with the spirit of her dead mother was the
ultimate agony. With horror I watched Frank Bennett unfolding
the tale to the citizens of Australia in just five minutes. It was the
most moving documentary I ever saw. It moved me to tears even
though I had lived with the subject for months. It moved the
whole of Australia and much of the outside world. Nancy was no
longer alone and Evelyn had not died in vain.
Legal authorities in particular were disturbed by features of this
trial. A large meeting at Sydney University Law School condemned
legal aspects of the high bail figure of the early hearing, the Judge's
comments on Nancy's failure to speak at her own trial, and the
failure to obtain specialist medical opinion to resolve the conflict
between two general practitioners.
An appeal against the decision was lodged. Various medical
THE TRIAL OF NANCY YOUNG 75
authorities were approached for assistance. Some refused (I
believe for 'political' reasons), but one of my old teachers in Sydney
stood fast and agreed to do whatever was possible. He placed the
case in the hands of Dr Felix Arden, senior physician and specialist
in paediatrics at the Royal Brisbane Children's Hospital. An
appeal was launched on the grounds of a statement later issued by
Dr Arden. This was, in my opinion, a thinly veiled admission of
the fact that Evelyn died from scurvy: 'It was reasonably possible
that Evelyn was born with an abnormality of body chemistry which
was responsible for her failure to thrive. Her treatment on arrival
at hospital on 7 July was unusual and incorrect. Had she been
treated in accordance with normal procedure (intravenous feedings
and antibiotics) there was a reasonable possibility that her life
would have been saved.'
One could hardly imagine such a statement from a man of the
calibre and reputation of Dr Arden being ignored. In fact one
would normally expect instant action—almost religious acceptance,
for, after all, Dr Arden was the most respected paediatrician in
Queensland. But the establishment was bitter and determined.
Two months passed and the Court of Appeal rejected the evidence
completely.
There could be no legal grounds for this decision. The greatest
medical authority in Queensland had given his opinion. There
were others now who were prepared to support him. Not one
supported the actions and evidence of the local doctor from
Cunnamulla. Apart from this, legal authorities throughout
Australia were voicing dismay and concern. The Aborigines them-
selves organised support for Nancy in a massive way. The
Australian public rallied with offers of financial assistance. It was
decided to appeal again, this time to the High Court in Sydney,
away from 'racist' Queensland. There were to be no holds barred.
Violence was more than just a possibility. Meantime Nancy
sweated in fear while she was forced to live with the spirit of her
dead mother. In actual fact she was already a broken woman.
The damage had been done. Psychologically, physically and morally
she was utterly destroyed. For her there was no road back. And she
was pregnant.
The outcome of the new appeal was awaited by most with confi-
dence. I did not share it. In a final desperate move to prove that
76 EVERY SECOND CHILD THE TRIAL OF NANCY YOUNG 77

Evelyn had died from scurvy I considered the possibility of her food did not contain sufficient vitamin C. The court decided
exhumation and an X-ray examination of Evelyn's bones. My that 'had this evidence been in the hands of the defence at the trial
brother, James, was one of Australia's foremost radiologists, so I the course of the trial including the line of cross-examination of
naturally turned to him for advice. He thought that the bones would the doctor called in the Crown case, the address to the jury and
be too deteriorated, but was unsure. To settle the question he asked the summing-up of the Judge would have been cast in a different
for the opinion of one of his former teachers, a world recognised vein'. On 5 November Nancy was released.
authority, an Englishman. This man considered the problem for a With the virtual acceptance of the diagnosis of scurvy I was
few days. His telegram 'Do not think you would obtain evidence confident that a great step forward had been taken. When the
of scurvy from exhumation' removed the last possibility of estab- 1969 report from Dr Jose was released, it contained recommenda-
lishing the diagnosis beyond doubt. tions that dehydrated Aboriginal infants should be given intra-
At the same time the second appeal was launched, a petition for venous fluids early and that sick Aboriginal infants be given
pardon was dispatched to the Governor. In a way I was against injections of vitamins. Stronger support for my work would be
this petition, because I considered that Nancy had done nothing difficult to imagine.
to be pardoned for. I still consider that it was a 'political' move.
The outcome of the appeal was made even more certain by another
ABC television documentary, Out of Sight, Out of Mind—a study
of Cunnamulla and Nancy's background. This highlighted the
failure of the local hospital to provide prompt treatment for
Evelyn, exposed the town's racism, depicted the squalor on the
reserve and concluded with a table of Aboriginal infant mortality
rates over a close-up of Evelyn's grave. The impression that this
gave was, indeed, ugly. The Australian public, already angry, were
now prepared for almost any action to get Nancy out of gaol. The
Government reacted with fear and banned the sale and rescreening
of documentaries concerning the trial of Nancy Young.
Before the High Court could hear the case, the Governor referred
the petition back to a Queensland Supreme Court consisting of
three different judges. This bench unanimously decided to quash
Nancy's conviction and sentence (which had only one month to
run) on the grounds of 'fresh evidence'.
Just how 'fresh' this evidence was is open to question. It con-
sisted of one further affidavit made by Dr Arden and Dr David
Jose, of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, a specialist
in Aboriginal infant health. The affidavit stated that Evelyn's
dehydration occurred suddenly, within forty-eight hours before
admission to hospital on 7 July. Prior to this the child would not
have appeared to be in urgent need of medical attention to a medical
practitioner, let alone an uneducated Aborigine. Her failure to
thrive was probably due to a disorder of body chemistry or because

16 Malnutrition
Tom died in 1971. He was 36 years old, an Aborigine of fine
physique, a little lean perhaps, exceptionally strong (his work as a
wool presser demanded that), and very active. He drank heavily.
One night, after a particularly heavy bout, his family heard him
moaning. This was not unusual, so they ignored it. In the morning
Tom was dead. At first it was thought that he had been poisoned.
Then someone suggested that he had been 'sung' to death and his
son vowed vengeance on the person thought responsible. The
shanty in which the death had occurred became the first target of
the ritual that had to follow—it was burned to the ground. In old
times there may have been a killing, or maybe several, but this
was the time of the white man's law and the white man's ways (up
to a point anyway), so I was called upon to determine the cause of
death.
I found it in the coronary arteries that were blocked by patches
of thickening. The lead was simple: small but definite haemorrhages
showing on the outside of the muscle of the heart. Tom had suffered
from a coronary occlusion. A few minutes later I was facing his
son. In his eyes was the question that was tearing at his soul. 'Who
killed my father?'
Most physicians would have thought the answer simple. In fact
I gave the simple answer but a thousand questions and a thousand
answers were plaguing me. The truth as I could see it was horrify-
ing in its implications, yet as clear as the sun that blazed at us from
a cloudless sky. I had killed Tom. And sharing the blame were
millions of other white people who had taken the Aborigines from
their land and forced them to eat foods that deposited cholesterol
in their tissues and arteries and eventually led to diseases such as
the one I had just uncovered in the autopsy room. Could I explain
this to the lad who was facing me now? I looked at his fine lithe
78
MALNUTRITION 79
body. Not so long ago I had seen him boxing in the ring. He was
quick, alert, proud and an obvious winner. His father had been like
that, as I remembered him in 1957. Then what was going to be the
fate of the son in 1984 ? We now have the knowledge to forecast
this with a considerable degree of accuracy.
Throughout Australia, an alarming proportion of Aborigines
live on diets consisting of sugar, white bread, jam and sausage.
There is very little vitamin C in this. The body changes some of
the sugar and bread into cholesterol that, particularly in the
absence of vitamin C, is deposited in the arteries and tissues. Thus,
often in early adult life, many Aborigines suffer from cardio-
vascular disease and maturity onset-type diabetes. The incidence
of complications from these conditions is understandably high.
Blindness is common. Early death is common. Smoking and heavy
drinking make things much worse.
The solution, naturally, is to change diets. Fresh fruits and vege-
tables, less sugar, less alcohol, less smoking. Almost certainly extra
vitamins, particularly vitamin C, should be taken routinely. To
achieve this is not easy. In some areas good food is not even avail-
able. Often Aborigines do not understand the benefits and do not
bother to buy good food. More often they cannot afford good food.
A full belly is mistaken for a 'good meal', when in fact the meal is
overloaded with poor quality sugars and carbohydrates.
The nutrition of Aborigines is disturbed even before they are
born. Their mothers exist on poor quality food and this is reflected
in the tissues of the babies who are deficient in vitamin C from the
moment of conception.
Aboriginal infants, generally, are of normal size and weight at
birth. Their vitamin C levels are low but this can only be deter-
mined by laboratory procedures. What happens to them during
their first few weeks or months of life depends to a large extent on
whether or not they are breast fed. The first supply of breast milk
expressed by the mother (known as colostrum) contains antibodies
that help protect the gastrointestinal tract of infants from gastro-
intestinal infections. The chances are, therefore, that a breast-fed
infant will obtain a greater degree of protection than an artificially-
fed one. However, if a mother's diet is vitamin C deficient, the breast
milk will also be deficient and the baby risks early scurvy. Further-
more, the vitamin deficiency will predispose to infections. If the
80 EVERY SECOND CHILD
mother's diet is doubtful, it can be supplemented with vitamins
(the ideal would be to improve it overall) or the baby's diet can be
supplemented. It is safer to supplement the baby's diet.
Every attempt should be made to breast feed a baby for a short
period at least. This will give the degree of antibody protection
described. Breast milk has the advantage of being sterile, available,
and, unless the vitamin C is deficient or the mother particularly
run down, the right mixture with just the right amounts of protein,
sugar and so forth that a baby needs. It has the disadvantage of
unknown volume. To determine the amount taken by a baby
requires test feedings and weighings—something that a mother
cannot usually do herself.
Bottle feeding has some advantages. The amount of milk taken
by a baby can be readily seen, a busy mother can delegate some-
one else to control feeding, a run-down mother is saved the extra
strain and this can benefit other children. Furthermore, vitamin
enriched milk is available to overcome the problem of vitamin C
deficiency; or vitamins can be added by the mother. Disadvantages
include problems of sterility (dirty bottles, teats and water) and
those associated with the mixing of the milk—incorrect amounts of
milk-powder or liquid, water, sugar and vitamins. On top of this,
some infants do not like or tolerate a milk that others would thrive
on. If a mother cannot judge this herself, she needs skilled advice
to help her.
With Aborigines, the greatest problem with artificial milk is the
use of a preparation that does not contain sufficient vitamin C. If
the vitamin was added then all would be well—but most mothers
do not know that it should be added and I estimate that several
hundred babies die in Australia each year simply because of this.
The problem is complicated by the fact that some babies need very
little vitamin C. They will thrive on such milks and mislead
mothers into thinking that the milk is good for all babies.
There are several possible solutions to this. The obvious one is
to educate the mothers. Certainly this should be done, but
experience suggests that success, through this alone, will be slow.
The alternative is to supplement all milks available to mothers
through stores and other sources of supply. This would be of
immediate benefit and save several hundred babies in Australia
each year.
MALNUTRITION 81
These figures, which are conservative, are calculated by
observing the number of babies at Collarenebri that are seen each
year in the dangerous stages of vitamin deficiencies because they
are existing on milk that is not fortified with vitamins. This number
(about two) is then multiplied by a figure that estimates the number
of Aboriginal and white babies in similar circumstances throughout
Australia.
Another solution is to supplement all infants' diets with vitamins
routinely. This has the advantage of being immediately available
and immediately applicable. I believe that all infants' diets should
be supplemented with vitamins irrespective of how they are being
fed—even if the milk is already fortified with extra vitamins. The
saving of life would be similar to that described in the previous
paragraph.
Obviously, if an infant is poorly fed during the first month of
life, weight gain will be low and complications will be likely.
However, most Aboriginal infants progress satisfactorily during
this period. At the age of six weeks or so, something happens that
begins to disturb their nutrition, and that is an upper respiratory
tract infection.
The infection occurs because immunity is low. The infants do
not have sufficient immunity to the viruses responsible for the
infections. Most white infants do.
What happens at this stage depends on the degree of immunity
and the nutritional status of the infant. If immunity is very low,
death from the viral infection can occur. More often the way is
paved for vicious bacteria that invade in the wake of the viruses
and finally cause death. In other words, it is not usually the virus
or bacteria that cause death. It is a chemical weakness in the infant's
body that permits the invasion of these organisms—an immuno-
logical fault. Two infants will come in contact with an organism.
One will survive because he is immune, the other may die because
he is not.
An infant whose nutritional status is good will be more likely to
defeat an infection than an infant whose nutritional status is poor.
If nutrition is good and immunity is poor the infection may affect
body chemistry and produce a state that is virtually indistinguish-
able from true malnutrition. At the same time the mucous mem-
brane linings of the gastrointestinal tract are disturbed and the
82 EVERY SECOND CHILD

absorption of food disturbed as a result. Added to this is the

increased use by the body of vitamin C and other foodstuffs as a
response to the infection.
Thus, if nutrition is marginal, even a mild infection may alter it
to a serious state and this applies particularly to vitamin C. If an
infant did not suffer from an immunological deficiency, it would
not suffer from infections and be more likely to thrive on a
marginal diet.
Once infections begin, an Aboriginal infant's life is in constant
peril. Careful and proper feeding may be sufficient to swing the
balance in favour of the infant, but if immunity is low, it may not.
Nutrition is thus secondary to immunity when prime causes of
death are concerned.
The more often infections occur, the greater is the risk of
nutritional complications. As one infection occurs after another,
changes in the gastrointestinal tract become worse, diarrhoea is
likely, secondary bacterial infection almost certain, and the prob-
lem goes around in a circle (a so-called 'vicious' cycle). Parasites
(worms) love the damaged gastrointestinal tract. They thrive and
add their bit to the overall state of apparent malnutrition.
If antibiotics are administered by mouth, they tend to irritate an
already damaged gastrointestinal tract, make an existing diarrhoea
worse and either precipitate a malnutrition or make an existing one
worse. Contrary to this is the fact that some (and only some) types
of bacterial gastroenteritis require specific antibiotics administered
by mouth. Otherwise, if antibiotics must be used, they should be
given by injection. In a similar way, preparations designed to eradi-
cate parasites must be very carefully administered.
An immunisation can have similar effects to an infection. It can
precipitate a malnutrition or make an existing one worse.
By the time an infant reaches the weaning stage, all the problems
compound. There are immunological problems, dietary problems
including vitamin deficiencies, infections and parasites as well
as problems introduced by the incorrect use of antibiotics and
immunisations. Little wonder that 'malnutrition' is so common.
The point is that it is not just true malnutrition, and attempts to
overcome the problem by improving diets alone will fail to a large
extent. (Not that diets should not be improved.)
If I was asked to list factors according to their relative importance
 MALNUTRITION 83

I would write immunity, vitamin C, and general nutrition in that

order. In other countries infants have different immunological
reactions and the list would be different. For example, mal-
nutrition is common amongst Australian Aborigines and African
Negroes. In Africa vitamin A deficiency is common (with eye
complications); in Australia it is not, because immunological
problems call upon reserves of vitamin C and most Australian
Aboriginal infants would die from vitamin C deficiency before
the stores of vitamin A depleted to an extent permitting eye
complications, or they would die from an infection.
The term 'protein-calorie malnutrition' (meaning malnutrition
due to a lack of protein and energy foods such as carbohydrates) is
to a large extent meaningless. If an infant is underweight for its
age it is said to have this condition. In Australia the root cause is
probably entirely different to that seen in Africa. To associate them
is an error.
Recently it has been shown that infants suffering from protein-
calorie malnutrition may exhibit a 'reversed immunological effect'
when immunised. Usually, an immunisation results in a rise in
antibody levels (that is how they work). However, in protein-
calorie malnutrition levels may fall; an infant is thus exposed to all
sorts of serious infections and possible death.
Once, when I examined an underweight Aboriginal infant, I
looked down upon the mother with bitterness and criticism. It
seemed obvious that she did not care for the infant. I would admit
such an infant and see it thrive with good food and attention. Then
after a few days at home the infant was again malnourished. The
picture seemed quite clear. The 'cure' seemed clear. Then a few
well-fed and well-cared-for infants became sick and died. A few
more who were in hospital for long periods became ill, apparently
malnourished and died in spite of the 'best' care. Now I am no
longer critical. I can see a different pattern. In the mothers I see
bewilderment instead of apathy, care instead of lack of care. I see
immunological problems, vitamin deficiencies, changes in the
gastrointestinal tract, parasites, antibiotics, a whole new picture.
How different it seems. Sometimes I wonder what it was like before.

17 The Twins
The birth of twins in any hospital is usually sufficient reason for a
celebration amongst hospital staff. At the Collarenebri District
Hospital the birth of fine, healthy twin Aboriginal boys was an
event that added pleasure to the daily problems of caring for sick
infants. The father reacted with apparent joy. He got drunk and
came to thank me personally for the little part I had played in their
safe delivery. The mother appeared proud, just as one would
normally expect.
During their first ten days of life the twins thrived under the
combined care of the mother and fussing nurses. They were to go
home to the Collarenebri Reserve—to a dirt-floored humpy where
conditions were not even fit for pigs (local health regulations would
prohibit the raising of pigs under such conditions). There was no
refrigeration, no protection against flies, and no fresh water.
Furthermore, the family was a large one and income barely suf-
ficient to sustain life. Considerable efforts were made to rectify as
many of these problems as possible. Relatives were conscripted to
assist. Bottles, milk supplies, clothing, bedding, and most of the
items required by babies were supplied as gifts. On their tenth day
of life when the twins were discharged with their mother, the
entire hospital staff lined up for what seemed a happy farewell.
Arrangements had been made to check on the twins' progress. In
common with everyone else I felt that a good job had been done. I
oozed self-satisfaction. There appeared to be every reason for this.
But in fact the scales of decision had been weighed against the
twins. Their mother and the local Aborigines had already decided
that they should die. This is part of an old tribal custom that varies
slightly from place to place across Australia. Originally, under
tribal conditions in most places, to attempt to raise twins meant
the death of both and possibly other infants, because the efforts
84
THE TWINS 85
involved, food supplies and facilities for care, were extremely
limited. For the common good of all it was best that one or both in a
set of twins be allowed to die or be killed. Sometimes dirt or mud
was stuffed into their mouths and noses; sometimes they were
killed by bashing; sometimes they were simply left alone to die.
I knew about this, of course. I knew that it was still practised in
remote areas. I had seen it in central Australia. But Collarenebri!
Here the Aborigines went to school. Tribal life had ended a hundred
years ago. There were some vestiges such as the fear of spirits, but
twin infanticide ? Surely not. I didn't even think about it. When I
asked the mother if she wanted to have the twins circumcised it
was, to me, a simple routine question. The answer was, 'No'. Yet
the penny did not drop. Had I been in Coober Pedy, my reaction
would have been different, but once again, I did not even suspect
that infanticide could happen in Collarenebri.
Amongst Aboriginal-thinking Aborigines circumcision is a sign
of initiation, of acceptance into the tribe and family. All this I
knew—in central Australia. My experiences with Frank, the white
man who had been initiated, taught me the principles involved
with tribal acceptance of individuals. I had lectured about it. I had
written about it. But once again I thought that this was now limited
to remote areas. That it could still exist in Collarenebri never
entered my mind.
A few days after the twins went home I visited the reserve with a
nutritional expert from the University of Sydney. Rather than
intrude on the family privacy I did not enter the humpy in which
they lived. I spoke to many people. Everything seemed normal. I
did not know that the twins were lying on the ground dying from
starvation. I did not know that the whole reservation knew this. I
did not know that all lips had been sealed, that the twins had been
literally sentenced to death. Not one voice was raised in protest.
There wasn't even a quiet hint of concern.
On the day that had been set down for a check on the progress of
the twins nothing happened. The twins did not arrive. I thought
little of this and expected them to come next day. But they didn't—
until the day after that.
And what a shock it was. Two babies very close to death, grossly
dehydrated, almost unconscious and without the strength to cry.
Obviously the mother thought they were so close to death that
86 EVERY SECOND CHILD
not even 'the great' Dr Kalokerinos could save them. My first
reaction was one of anger against myself for not forecasting the
possibility of such a thing happening and not taking greater pre-
cautions. I was worried too. The babies had little chance of
survival.
Then a most peculiar fact emerged. The more seriously ill of the
two babies had been admitted to hospital during the night, several
hours before, and I was not informed. A fluid balance chart had
been kept and according to this, fluid intake and urinary output
were adequate. Yet this did not match the clinical state of the baby.
These facts added to my concern. They seemed illogical and made
the turbulance within my mind difficult to tolerate. What was going
on ? I found out a few hours later, when it was obvious that intra-
venous fluids would have to be administered. When I asked for
assistance to do this, the trained nurse in charge said, 'Why bother ?
He has cerebral damage already. Leave him alone.' My answer was
simple enough. 'I cannot be certain of that. According to chance,
the cerebral condition is just dehydration. I must set up a drip and
we will soon see what happens.' The nurse was more than angered
by this. She stormed out of the ward with 'O.K. Do the bloody
thing yourself. I'm not going to be a part of it.' Needless to say this
shook me considerably. But there wasn't time to consider it further.
I found what I needed, cut down on a vein and soon had the
precious fluid running. For four hours I stayed there, watching
every breath the baby made and controlling the rate of the infusion
according to necessity. I doubt that I have ever passed through a
period of so much stress. That the mother could do what she did
seemed impossible enough. The reactions of the trained nurse
were even more difficult to follow. At one stage the mother
appeared. I looked up from my task in anger and said, 'We will see
who has the most powerful medicine—you or I.' Later I learned
that this was the worst thing I could have said. If the baby died,
the mother would certainly accept it as a victory for her actions.
At the end of four hours I knew that the baby would live and
that he did not have cerebral damage. With some relief I checked
on the second twin who was not so desperately ill and turned my
mind to the actions of the trained nurse. The fluid balance chart
was incorrect. This was a deliberate attempt to mislead me. I had
not been informed when the twins were admitted because, it seemed,
THE TWINS 87
the nurse had already decided that they were not fit to live. I men-
tion this as an example of the sort of stress and strain that confronts
physicians at times. It can influence judgement. It can be the cause
of death.
The next task was to enquire as to why the twins could be
allowed by Aborigines on the reserve to suffer as they did. One by
one I questioned neighbours and relatives. They all pretended they
were ignorant, that the mother was 'a tough woman' and would
not allow anyone near her humpy. I did not believe one word.
Within a few days the details of this event had filtered through
to the news media. One paper gave the story front page, headline
treatment, and the attempt at tribal killing at Collarenebri became
common knowledge. The local Aborigines were upset. A deputa-
tion consisting of about thirty women and one lone man came to
see me.
'We don't do that sort of thing,' they declared, 'Not in
Collarenebri. We know places where they do do it, but we don't.'
I made it clear that I did not believe them. I asked why nobody
told me what was happening. The plea was one of ignorance—
impossible under reserve conditions. So I quietly asked one question.
'Why did the mother not want those babies circumcised?' For a
long time nobody answered. Then the deputation left with an
excuse. I had hit the nail right on the head, and everyone knew it.
In a way I took no pride in it. Had the event occurred in a remote
area under true tribal conditions, I would not have interfered. But
in Collarenebri, the actions of the local Aborigines tasted more
like white witchcraft. In fairness to everyone, including the Abo-
rigines, the matter had to be properly aired. I had grown to like
these people. I wonder even now what they will say when they
read this account. They will remember, I hope, that the respon-
sibility for their care is mine, that I, too, have suffered and con-
tinue to suffer as I look and fight for ways to save their children
and better their lot—not just in Collarenebri but throughout
Australia. The nightmare of those infant deaths has been mine to
face alone for many years. If now I cannot tell the story as a whole,
a giant weapon that will benefit us all will be denied to me. I look
also into the future and the certain knowledge that somewhere
in Australia there will be many twins like the ones at Collarenebri.
What is to be their lot ?
88 EVERY SECOND CHILD
A few months later a special court hearing in Collarenebri
considered the future of the twins. Peter Baldwin, a clever young
man of law from Walgett, was delegated to defend the mother. I
knew that there would be a fight. This feeling was reinforced when
I heard on the grapevine that the mother would get custody of
the twins for political reasons. I hastily rang some people in
Canberra and made it clear that if this was done and one or both of
the twins died, I would plaster the news across every television
screen and newspaper in the world. I wanted the twins made
wards of the State. There must have been some hasty meetings in
Canberra and elsewhere before the commencement of the pro-
ceedings.
During the court hearing, Peter Baldwin asked me about my
experiences with the Aborigines, about circumcision rites, and the
laws concerned with the destruction of twins. I answered all this
simply, virtually declaring myself as an authority. Then Peter
asked me who was ultimately responsible for what happened to the
twins. My reply shook him. I said it was myself. I had all the
knowledge and experience and I should have forecast what could
happen and prevented it.
Peter could not ask another question. He had obviously expected
me to blame the mother.
My turn to be shocked came next. The magistrate considered all
the aspects of the case. He dared not give the twins back to their
mother. He could not make them wards of State for political
reasons (such a decision would have to apply to thousands of
Aboriginal mothers who were not in a financial position to care for
their children properly). So he made me their guardian for a
period of two years or more if I later considered it necessary. The
question was left for me to decide.
What does a bachelor physician do with two active Aboriginal
babies? There were obvious problems involved, and I turned to
some of my Aboriginal friends from central Australia for advice.
First, they confirmed that my opinion regarding the tribal death
sentence was correct. The solution, according to them, was simple.
I would have to keep them until they reached the age of two. After
that the mother would have to accept them by tribal law.
It was explained to me that Aborigines do not fully recognise
the existence of an infant until it reaches the age of two—or, more
THE TWINS 89
correctly, until the two-year-old teeth have erupted. This was of
considerable interest to me and my Aboriginal friends, because I
regarded the age of two as the 'age of release'. If an infant survived
until then, his immunity was established and the vicious cycle of
upper respiratory tract infections, diarrhoea, and vitamin deficien-
cies came to an end. My friends had heard me speak about the age
of release, and together we considered the wisdom of tribal
traditions, the experience that made them, and the necessity to
consider them further.
It was decided that the twins should be raised in the hospital at
Collarenebri in as normal a manner as possible. They were beauti-
ful boys who easily endeared themselves to nurses and lay staff.
Needless to say, I saw to it that their diets were correct, that
vitamins were added, and that nothing was missing as far as general
care was concerned.
Yet in spite of this, they went through the horror of Aboriginal
infant illnesses just like their undernourished and poorly cared for
relations on the reserve. If ever I needed an example of the fact that
it is an immune fault rather than a nutritional one that is primarily
responsible for Aboriginal infant illnesses, then there it was. The
twins developed one upper respiratory tract infection after another.
They developed diarrhoea, sometimes seriously, pneumonia, and
at times failed to thrive. Some might say that it was 'cross infection'
within the hospital that caused this. If this was so (in the full sense),
then why did European infants in hospital not suffer as well ?
Another medical problem specifically applicable to Aboriginal
infants was revealed when one of the twins was sent to a city
hospital for investigations into recurrent diarrhoea. He recovered
there and was routinely given B.C.G. vaccine (against T.B.). The
use of this vaccine is strongly recommended by health authorities
who consider that Aborigines are at special risk. This may be so, up
to a point, but the effects of B.C.G. vaccine are long lasting. I have
already described the possible dangers involved with immunisa-
tions. Their effects last only a few weeks. B.C.G. lasts for months
and months—a continuous immunological insult that paves the
way for all sorts of other infections, nutritional problems and
vitamin deficiencies. One twin suffered in exactly this way. He was
lucky to survive. There can be no doubt that the routine use of
B.C.G. in Aboriginal infants under the age of two should be
90 EVERY SECOND CHILD

stopped except where there is a definite case of T.B. living in the

family home.
There was a great birthday party when the twins were two. A
few days later, in the midst of sobs and tears, they went home. Now
they are four and very much like all the other children playing in
the streets of Collarenebri. They have a new home, a baby brother
who is rarely ill, and face a future that is perhaps a little better
than that faced by their parents at the same age. 18 Teddy
Teddy, a 15-month-old Aboriginal boy living on the reserve at
Collarenebri, was the best cared for infant in the district, in spite
of the fact that he slept in a dirt-floored humpy. His mother kept
him spotlessly clean. His diet was absolutely correct, with added
vitamins. The humpy, in spite of obvious disadvantages, was as
clean as one could make it. A series of upper respiratory tract
infections had plagued Teddy since he was six weeks old. These
necessitated frequent doses of antibiotics, but hospitalisation was
never necessary. Thus, when I went away for two weeks on a
lecture tour, I felt that this was one infant I would not have to
worry about.
When Teddy got another 'cold', he was seen by another
physician. It was noted that a booster injection against diphtheria,
tetanus, and pertussis was due. Immunisations are not usually given
to infants with infections of any sort but this was given. Needless
to say the cold progressed rapidly to pneumonia. The physician
still insisted that antibiotics were not necessary.
Within a few days Teddy was seriously ill. His abdomen was
very distended. The physician examined his chest, could not find
signs of pneumonia, and thus concluded that Teddy had peritonitis
or intestinal obstruction. He rang a surgeon in Tamworth and
arranged to transfer Teddy for operation.
Perhaps it is not fair to comment at this stage, but I must.
Teddy suffered a series of infections that utilised his stores of
vitamin C. Because of the infections, he was unable to absorb as
much as was necessary from his diet to prevent a deficiency. When
the physician immunised him, the immunising agent used up what
little vitamin C remained, and an acute deficiency resulted. One
sign of this was the distended abdomen, mistaken for peritonitis
or intestinal obstruction. Added to this was the insult to Teddy's

91
92 EVERY SECOND CHILD
immune system resulting from the immunisation. His defences
became weak. He was wide open to serious infections.
And that is what happened. In Tamworth he quickly developed
pneumonia, failed to respond to antibiotics, and died.
The shock to the Aboriginal people in Collarenebri was
enormous. They had been told so many times that their babies
became sick and died because they did not care for them properly
or feed them properly. Yet here was the best-fed and best-cared-for
infant in the district—dead.
They buried Teddy in a quiet corner of the cemetery—a new
tiny grave amongst so many old ones. There was compassion for
Teddy as they laid his toys on the grave—and there was anger.
It has been said that the fault was mine because I gave Teddy too
many antibiotics. There was a little truth in this as I will explain
later, but most of the Aborigines knew that I opposed immunisa-
tions during infections and they knew that early treatment
prevented, in most cases, more serious infections. So the anger
was against the relieving physician.
Unfortunately, there was more to come. Jenny was very much
like Teddy, well fed, but not quite so well cared for. She also
developed a cold; her immunisation was also ill-timed and she also
developed a distended abdomen and serious pneumonia.
I found her like that when I arrived back in Collarenebri. Anti-
biotics had only just been commenced. It was very late. Then
someone told me about Teddy.
It seemed as if my little world had suddenly fallen to pieces. For
two long hard years I had kept the infant mortality rate at zero.
Why had fate chosen Teddy ? So clean, so fine, so beautiful. Jenny
would die too. I could see that in her big brown eyes that pleaded
silently for some relief to her suffering. We fought, of course—a
team from Tamworth and literally dozens of nurses—but it was all
in vain.
Thus there came to be two new tiny graves in the cemetery—by
the river, where river-gums and ti-trees blended as if in worship
with the coloured glass and toys that decorated the last resting
place so many times visited by sadness.
Later I sat alone to consider what had happened. It seemed that
the last insults (immunisations and failure to provide antibiotic
cover early), were only part of a chain of events that began when
TEDDY 93
each infant was born. Each infant suffered an immune deficiency
that resulted in frequent infections because they were Aborigines,
and because, I now considered, they lived in a dirt-floored
environment. It seemed possible that, had I removed them earlier
from that environment, they may not have suffered so many infec-
tions, the immunisations may not have had such a fatal effect,
and each infant may have been alive. The more I considered this
possibility, the more likely it seemed. If I was to prevent further
deaths I would have to prevent frequent infections by removing
infants from their dirt-floored environments. There were several
ways to do this. One was to keep them in hospital.
The intended programme was aided considerably at this stage
by a massive Commonwealth and State Government rehousing
programme in Collarenebri. With almost dramatic suddenness, a
dozen or more families from the reserve were housed in new and
quite reasonable town houses. There was a marked and immediate
improvement in health. Aboriginal infants living under the new
conditions still became ill more often than European infants, but
the improvement in their health was obvious.
During the next few years, three more Aboriginal infants from
Collarenebri were to die. Each one demonstrated an important point
in medicine—vital points that need serious consideration.
I was in the United States when the first one died. He suffered
from mild vomiting and diarrhoea—quite a common complaint
and usually no reason for concern. However, a small proportion
of such infants retain salt in their tissues and their kidneys do not
function properly. To determine by ordinary examination that this
is happening, is impossible. The sodium, potassium and urea
content of the blood must be determined before a diagnosis can
be made. Worse still, one must suspect the possibility before the
diagnosis can be made. The apparently trivial nature of the vomiting
and diarrhoea dulls the examining physician into not suspecting
the possibility. When the little boy under consideration developed
this complication, the physician did not recognise it. Death
occurred quickly.
Strangely, in America I was discussing ways and means of
diagnosing this complication without the aid of expensive,
elaborate equipment and highly trained personnel. The problem
had worried me for years. The Americans recognised the need and
94 EVERY SECOND CHILD
TEDDY 95

showed more than general interest by employing teams of research harmless bacteria (that do not invade the body) and teaches them
workers to devise a simple instrument. They succeeded. Instead to become invasive and resist the action of antibiotics. This is
of requiring a large amount of blood like the standard instruments, particularly likely to happen in newborn infants whose immune
this one needs only one or two drops from a finger or heel prick. mechanisms are not developed. Usually the bacteria involved are
Two tiny electrodes in the instrument are placed in the blood and those in the intestine {bacteria coli). Thus bacterium coli
a reading for the levels of sodium and potassium is obtained meningitis and septicaemia is usually a disease of the newborn.
instantly. There is no doubt that this is a major advance for remote However, any condition that lowers immunity can predispose to
areas. these infections. Known as the 'R' or transferable drug resistance
The other two infants died in an unexpected manner. The first factor, this killer is at the moment unbeatable. I suspect that
had suffered a series of upper respiratory tract infections. I was organisms apart from bacterium coli can be involved; the infamous
able to control the vitamin C loss by administering the vitamin but staphylococcus is one.
the immunological fault that led to the infections became obviously
worse as the months went by. Finally, I decided to transfer her to
a city hospital where arrangements were made for special
investigations.
These investigations revealed nothing particularly abnormal.
All known immunological factors were estimated as normal. The
little girl appeared relatively normal, she progressed fairly well,
and nobody was particularly concerned. Three weeks went by.
Then, all of a sudden, bacterium coli septicaemia set in. Antibiotics
did not affect this dreaded disease and our little girl died.
That this could happen in a modern city hospital where the best
of care was taken and all facilities are available, shocked many of
those who regarded Aboriginal infant deaths as entirely prevent-
able, provided that attention is available and utilised. At the time
I did not know that a special mechanism was responsible for this
death. It was not until another Aboriginal infant died under almost
similar circumstances that I realised that something peculiar but
definite was going on. A second trip to the United States and
discussions with authorities there eventually revealed the truth.
Some of the immunological responses of infants can be measured,
others can't. The greatest difficulty lies in the measuring of immune
responses from the mucous membrane linings of the ear, nose,
mouth, lungs and gastrointestinal tract. That these cannot be
adequately measured does not indicate the absence of an abnormal-
ity. Running noses, previously discussed, demonstrate this vividly.
When immune levels fall, the tissues and the mucous membranes
are open to infections. But this is not all that happens. A particular
virus or related organism comes into actual physical contact with

19 The First Evidence
Why my observations concerning vitamin deficiencies amongst
Aborigines became so controversial I will never know. The
situation was obvious. One could see what they ate—sugar, bread,
jam and sausage—and one did not need to be an expert, or to employ
teams of dieticians and chemists to perform intricate assays, in
order to know what these consisted of. Yet, whenever I spoke
about deficiencies, there was an uproar and I was labelled as a
'ratbag'. In itself this did not worry me, but I knew beyond any
doubt that if infants were supplemented with vitamins as an
emergency measure until diets could be improved, the Aboriginal
infant death rate throughout Australia would drop by half.
So-called 'authorities' who spoke against me, pointed out my
lack of 'scientific' data—the lack of assays or figures demonstrating
actual vitamin levels. They did not bother to point out the com-
plexity of these assays. They did not discuss the fact that there
was only one laboratory in the whole of Australia that was properly
equipped to do them and that this was a private laboratory that
normally worked under tremendous financial costs. In other
words, while I was pressing for facilities to perform vitamin
assays, I was being denied them because I did not have them—an
illogical situation of course, but a real one and a killer. Finally, a
group of medical and paramedical personnel based in Melbourne—
the Australasian College of Biomedical Scientists—rescued me
from this dilemma. This group was seeking a subject for research
by their various experts. Several suggestions had been made and
rejected, until the question of Aboriginal infant health was raised.
It was felt that my claims should at least be investigated; without
delay, a team of four headed by a scientist named Glen Dettmann
came to Collarenebri.
96
THE FIRST EVIDENCE 97
Their initial studies involved the measuring of the amount of
vitamin C in the urine of Aboriginal infants and various 'control'
groups. Although it was realised that in an individual case the
urinary level was not necessarily significant, it was felt that over a
large series the results would be of value. With confidence I helped
in the collection of specimens and awaited the results. They were
outstanding. Dozens of specimens from Aboriginal infants were
examined and only a few revealed even the slightest trace of
vitamin C. Control groups showed quite good concentrations.
Glen Dettmann was so disturbed by this discovery that he could
not sleep. I remember how he was walking around in a semi-daze
during the early dark hours of the morning. The results were so
bad that he could not believe them. He spent the next few days
carefully checking controls and the technique used. But in the end
the facts were clear. The Aborigines were seriously deficient in
vitamin C. For the first time I had laboratory figures to confirm
what I already knew to be true. Glen's reaction to all this was not
entirely illogical: 'Who is going to believe us?'
The question then arose about the urinary estimations that had
been done in Alice Springs and seemed to suggest that deficiencies
were not serious. I knew what the Aborigines ate there and unless
they were supplemented with vitamins, the urinary levels had to be
low. Glen suggested, after some trials, that the techniques may
have been faulty. On such small things depended the lives of
thousands of infants.
The famous twins were in hospital during Glen's visit. One had
a cold. Both showed zero readings as far as vitamin C in the urine
was concerned. The one with a cold was given an injection of
200 mg of vitamin C. The other was given 100 mg by the same
route. Next day the second was excreting reasonable amounts in
his urine. The first one, with a cold, was still not excreting. This
suggested an increased utilisation—a fact already well established
in the literature.
Glen's initial research alerted him to the value of the work done
in Collarenebri. Since then he has amassed a wealth of figures from
population groups all over Australia. His efforts overseas resulted
in the development of several extremely valuable diagnostic tech-
niques.
 THE FIRST EVIDENCE 99
98 EVERY SECOND CHILD
anaphylaxis. My answer was, Yes. It can be proved with a simple
First he wrote letters to groups that he considered as possible
experiment.
activators in the field of diagnosis. Most of these did not respond. The answer may have seemed casual but it was not. If the
One did—in a big way. experiment was carried out, that is, if half of a group of immu-
The company concerned were one of the largest manufacturers nised animals were supplemented with vitamin C and the others
of diagnostic aids in the United States. Glen suggested that they not, and the supplemented group died at a rate significantly lower
should develop a simple field test for the estimation of vitamin C than the other group, then a major advance has been made—one
levels in the urine. The company wrote back almost immediately that would revolutionise medicine and provide a method of saving
and informed him that work on the project had already begun. thousands of infant lives each year.
Several months later Glen and I visited the company in the
United States. By that time a preliminary test had been developed.
A piece of plastic, coated with special chemicals was simply dipped
in a specimen of urine and the colour changes compared with a
standard chart. There was no doubt that this test was a winner.
First, it gave us a reliable field test for vitamin C levels. Second, it
meant that the problem of not knowing if the vitamin C levels in
the urine disturbed the readings for sugar (for diabetics) was simply
solved. For a long time it had been known that under certain cir-
cumstances the amount of vitamin C in the urine could influence
the reading for sugar because of the complex chemical processes
involved with the techniques. Unless one knew what the vitamin C
levels were, one could not be sure of the accuracy of the sugar
readings.
Needless to say, both Glen and myself were wildly excited about
this development, and so was the company. We were asked about
other diagnostic aids that we would like developed. I mentioned
one for blood sodium and potassium levels. Work was commenced
on this and I will discuss this later. Thus one company alone has
produced two extremely valuable aids that will undoubtedly be
life-saving in remote areas of Australia.
One lecture that I gave in the United States during this trip
was to prove particularly valuable. I mentioned how immunisation
could be fatal to some infants because of an increased utilisation of
vitamin C and the effects of immunological insults paving the way
for serious infections. During question time, a research worker
who had found that a number of his experimental animals died
suddenly within 24 hours after being immunised, asked whether
this could be acute vitamin C deficiency instead of what has been
assumed to be acute allergic reaction or what is known as

20 Dangers of
Immunisations
Returning from the United States in August 1971 I threw myself
for a few weeks into a problem that had been presented to me
shortly before. Ralph Hunt, a grazier in the Collarenebri district,
had been appointed Minister of the Interior. As such he was
responsible for the administration of the Northern Territory and
partly responsible for the health of its Aborigines. A tour of the
area horrified him. The infant death rate had doubled in 1970,
gone even higher in the first six months of 1971, and looked as if it
would reach, in some areas, 500 per 1 000. Authorities in the
Territory claimed that the problem had no quick solution.
It happened that Ralph Hunt employed an Aboriginal girl from
Collarenebri to help in the care of his children. She was an aunt to
one of the infants who died in Collarenebri after being immunised
and she had talked to Ralph Hunt who apparently became con-
vinced that the work done in Collarenebri would help to reduce the
infant mortality rate all over Australia. Unfortunately, authorities
in the Territory would not agree. They declared that there was a
difference between Collarenebri and the Northern Territory.
'What works there', they said, 'will not work here.' Ralph Hunt
declared that he did not agree. When it became obvious that he
stood alone, he suggested that the worst area should be selected
and given to me for six months 'to see if the death rate can be
dropped'. Once again the authorities would not agree. They said
that there were no physicians in the bad areas and the mere presence
of a physician would make a difference. Ralph Hunt countered this
objection by suggesting controls, but it was to no avail.
When this information was given to me, I felt as if the entire
world had suddenly become part of a cruel conspiracy. Why would
the authorities not want me to work in the Territory? I heard
stories about 'dedication alone being the reason for his results—•
100
DANGERS OF IMMUNISATIONS 101
not particular methods'. This I was prepared to accept to a degree.
However, I felt that there was fear that I would succeed where
others had failed, that I would not tolerate social injustice and that
my strength was such that I could almost provoke a rebellion
amongst Aborigines in the Territory. Politically I was persona
ingrata.
In the midst of all this, one question that Ralph Hunt asked kept
going round and round in my mind. 'Why should the death rate
double in one year then go even higher?' For weeks and months I
thought about it, I talked about it, I even dreamed about it. But
the answer did not come. What had changed in the Territory?
In some areas, the Aborigines were not as well cared for as previously
because of the introduction of 'equal pay' and the cessation of the
practice of feeding an entire family instead of paying high wages.
But there were high death rates in other areas as well. I thought
about my experiences with Aborigines in Coober Pedy. How
grateful I was for all that now. At least it gave me a unique insight
into the possibilities of sociological changes. I knew beyond any
doubt that nothing had changed—except the death rate.
The answer to the problem had to lie in what I already knew.
In the end, desperate with frustration, I decided that I would have
to go back to the Territory and review the situation for myself.
This was not done with a great deal of confidence, but there was
no alternative.
Once again Ralph Hunt tried to assist. I wanted an official
appointment that would give me the authority to examine infants
and move into reserves. The authorities refused. Ralph Hunt
could not move them, even after trying to explain the seriousness
of the position. So I went to the Aborigines themselves—to the
Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres
Strait Islanders. One of their leaders, Faith Bandler, an Aboriginal
woman of considerable fame, aided by a white organiser, Jack
Horner, arranged for me to go to Alice Springs as a representative.
Somehow this gave me courage. I arranged bookings on a plane,
then went to say goodbye to my mother and younger brother who
was a medical student at the University of New South Wales.
Of course we talked—and we talked about the babies. In detail
I examined with my brother all the factors that I had studied for
so long. One by one I tore them to pieces then built them up
102 EVERY SECOND CHILD
again. We discussed facts. We discussed theories. We talked for
hours. We got nowhere.
It happened to be a beautiful night as I drove back to the hotel
in which I was staying. People who know Sydney will know Rose
Bay and the loveliness of the water front. I compared it with the
desert around Alice Springs where I would be in less than twenty-
four hours. I thought of Ralph Hunt and how he had tried to help.
I thought of what he had said. His words went round and round
my mind. Then suddenly it clicked. 'We have stepped up the
immunisation campaigns,' Ralph had said. My God! I had known
for years that they could be dangerous, but had I underestimated
this ? Of course I had. There was no need to go to Alice Springs.
I knew. A health team would sweep into an area, line up all the
Aboriginal babies and infants and immunise them. There would
be no examination, no taking of case histories, no checking on
dietary deficiencies. Most infants would have colds. No wonder
they died. Some would die within hours from acute vitamin C
deficiency precipitated by the immunisation. Others would suffer
immunological insults and die later from 'pneumonia', 'gastro-
enteritis' or 'malnutrition'. If some babies and infants survived,
they would be lined up again within a month for another
immunisation. If some managed to survive even this, they would
be lined up again. Then there would be booster shots, shots for
measles, polio and even T.B. Little wonder they died. The wonder
is that any survived.
The excitement of this realisation is difficult to describe. On
one hand, I was enthralled by the simplicity of it all, the 'beautiful'
way by which the pattern fitted everything I had been doing. On
the other hand, I almost shook in horror at the thought of what
had been, and still was going on. We were actually killing infants
through lack of understanding.
That night was a sleepless one. I decided that I would go to
Alice Springs, that I would talk to the physicians and authorities,
that I would explain what was going on. They had to listen. The
picture was too plain, the facts seemed obvious. In the morning I
was up early to catch the plane. There were to be two stops—one
in Melbourne and another in Adelaide.
For a while during the first leg of the journey I boiled with
excitement at the thought of what I was about to present. Then it
DANGERS OF IMMUNISATIONS 103
suddenly occurred to me that I had in my possession knowledge
that was unique, knowledge that was to save lives all over the world
—and I had this knowledge only to myself. Nobody else knew.
What would happen if the plane crashed ? Twenty years or more
might pass before someone else made a similar discovery. For a
while I considered asking the pilot to send a message to the one
man I knew I could trust—Glen Dettmann. But this seemed
absurd. I decided to ring Glen from the airport in Melbourne.
The only phone I found there was in the open. Passengers were
milling around and I knew that they could hear what I was saying.
Sometimes I wonder what their reaction was as I said to Glen 'I
know what is killing those kids in the Territory. It is the stepping
up of the immunisation campaigns'. There was hardly time to say
anything else before I was called to board the plane to Adelaide.
In Alice Springs my welcome was hardly overwhelming. The
superintendent of the hospital spoke to me for a few minutes but
declined to listen to my views on Aboriginal infant health. He was
more interested in a career as a surgeon and delegated the paedi-
atric registrar and his assistant to escort me around the hospital
and listen to what I had to say. Dr Kerry Kirk, Director of Rural
Health, and Dr Langsford, Commonwealth Director of Health in
the Northern Territory, declined to meet me.
The paediatric registrar had already published his opposition to
my views. I found him to be sincere, hard working, extremely
worried, apparently bewildered at the death rate, but unfortunately
poorly informed and unable to climb out of the rut of narrow
thinking. He denied that vitamin deficiencies were a problem. He
denied that scurvy was common. He refused to accept my views
on the dangers of immunisations. According to him, malnutrition
was the root cause of the problem, that is, general malnutrition, not
specific deficiencies. He claimed that Aborigines were ignorant,
dirty, hopeless. According to him, nobody could solve the problem.
Professor Maxwell, from Adelaide, was his chief adviser. By
chance, he was in the Alice Springs hospital at the time, but he also
declined to see me. I was not surprised, because he had denied
the truth of my observations and stated continuously that there
was no evidence of vitamin deficiencies. He had carried out surveys,
had X-rays taken, and had seen thousands of Aboriginal infants
and only a few with scurvy. He would not accept the possibility
104 EVERY SECOND CHILD
of missed cases, nor would he believe that the clinical pictures I
saw in Collarenebri were due to acute vitamin C deficiency.
I realised that nobody in Alice Springs was even slightly interested
in my work or observations. All I could do was to collect what data
I could and carry on working in the hope that one day someone
would listen. There were nearly a hundred infants in the hospital
at the time. I decided to photograph every one in the hope that the
pictures would help me demonstrate the problem to colleagues
elsewhere, and that something may become obvious through the
study of photographs that I would otherwise miss. I did not have
to wait to have the pictures developed. As I photographed one
infant after another, I recognised something that had been in the
back of my mind for years.
A surprising number of the infants were being tube fed. These
were not by any means 'sick' or small infants. Some looked par-
ticularly healthy. Some were over two years of age. They would
not eat or drink without a great fuss—hence the tube feeding. I
recalled similar problems in Collarenebri. The cause was not a
vitamin deficiency. All the vitamins in the world did not influence
the condition. However, seeing so many together made me
realise that whatever it was, it was a specific disease entity, some-
thing that had not been recognised as such in spite of its frequency.
Severity varied from mild, where refusal was for solids only
(creating a specific problem during weaning) to severe where both
solids and liquids were refused. Infants would lie in the cots
smiling—until one attempted to feed them; then they screamed
and fought against it.
Now there are various reasons why infants refuse to eat. In some
cases psychological factors play leading roles; during acute infec-
tions the appetite is decreased. But nothing that I could think about
explained the number of cases that I photographed in Alice
Springs. I asked the paediatric registrar. He thought for a moment
before declaring that it was the fault of the mothers 'who do not
teach their kids to eat'. When I argued about this, he thought again
before saying, 'maybe it is the witch doctor casting a spell'. I think
he really believed this.
The condition can develop quickly. If the mother is in the
desert she becomes desperate. A favourite 'trick' is to try bread
soaked in weak tea. Within twenty-four hours many babies are
DANGERS OF IMMUNISATIONS 105
really ill from dehydration. Weight loss, even over such a short
period, has to be seen to be believed. By the time the infant
reaches hospital it seems that he has been ill for weeks. The diet
of bread and weak tea is taken as the diet of choice. Nurses and
medical staff members are thus only too willing to criticise mothers
who mostly cannot understand English well, and even if they could,
nobody would be patient enough to listen to them. The result is
therefore shambles. Strangely, nurses and physicians do not con-
sider their own inability to force food into these infants.
Older infants and children who refuse solids are particularly
troublesome. They soon suffer from obvious malnutrition. To
differentiate the fundamental condition that I am trying to
describe from psychological or 'trained' lack of desire for good food
becomes difficult as time goes by and an infant's habits become
established.
Unfortunately, having recognised the condition did not help me
to offer a solution.
One further point of value resulted from my trip to Alice
Springs. A lady doctor in charge of school health services told me
how she had routinely examined 'healthy' infants and children who
did not display outward signs of illness and found that some had
quite severe ear infections in the nature of otitis media. This
matched some of my own observations in Collarenebri, but the
Alice Springs observations were backed by startling statistical data.
Usually, physicians associate acute otitis media with pain and
obvious signs of sickness. That the condition could occur without
sickness seemed to escape them. I regarded the fact as important.
It demonstrated that some infants and children could have infec-
tions that are more or less 'silent'. They may remain so until cured
spontaneously, but sometimes there can be a dramatic and sudden
deterioration. The mothers are then accused of leaving a sick
infant to suffer until it is too late. Furthermore, if infants with
silent infection are immunised, they run an increased risk of serious
illness and even death.

21 Research and
Conspiracy
Nothing more could be done in Alice Springs. I spent a few
happier days meeting some of the Aborigines and touring around
the magnificent countryside that I had grown to love so much.
The colours were magnificent—those reds, greys, blues and purples
so dramatically exhibited by Aboriginal artists. I could have stayed
there forever, living in the beauty of those ancient desert ranges,
with the Aborigines and the freedom of space and air so clean.
But there was work to do elsewhere. I returned to Collarenebri
desperately seeking some way to force an investigation into my
observations.
What can one do in such a situation? Vitamin deficiencies
existed, and they were serious. Supplementing infants would result,
in Alice Springs at any rate, in a halving of the death rate. If
immunisation campaigns were modified, the death rate would be
lowered further. I had no doubts about this. The evidence that I
had accumulated was abundantly clear—to me at any rate. Yet
authorities and physicians throughout Australia continued to
ignore me. I had to demand action in a manner that would leave
no alternative.
Two registered letters did the trick. One was sent to the
Commonwealth Director of Health in the Northern Territory, the
other to the Commonwealth Minister of Health in Canberra. I
asked for an immediate investigation and hinted that if my
requests were ignored and my observations later proved to be
accurate I would take legal action against those responsible for
ignoring me, in the same way that the manufacturers of the drug
Thalidamide were sued for manslaughter.
The authorities knew that this threat was serious. They also
knew that the legal machinery existed to carry out this threat.
Money could be easily raised. People in Australia were interested.
106
RESEARCH AND CONSPIRACY 107
They were concerned. They cared, and they cared actively. My
reputation amongst the Aborigines was enough. Once the wheels
were set in motion, there would be no end until somebody's blood
was shed.
So there was action—instant action. Some of the most important
health authorities paid an urgent visit to Collarenebri. I was given
ample time to state my case. It was agreed that a thorough investi-
gation would be carried out.
Strangely, the authorities still thought that I was wrong. I was
asked what I would do if the investigation proved that I was wrong.
My reaction was laughter. I could not be wrong—just as the world
was not flat.
Dr Eban Hipsley, a nutritionalist from the Commonwealth
Department of Health, was appointed to head the research. It was
a fortunate move, for I doubt that a better man could have been
found anywhere.
Dr Hipsley began by researching his subject thoroughly. There
were serious problems involved with vitamin assays. Only one
laboratory in the whole of Australia was properly equipped to do
them. An approach was made to its director, Dr Silvia Nobile, and
the parent company that employed her (Roche Products). When
the nature of the project was explained to them, they agreed to
provide their services and facilities free of charge. A dietitian was
appointed from the Commonwealth Department of Health and a
team of technicians were volunteered from the same department.
The levels of various vitamins in blood and urine specimens from
individuals in Collarenebri and Walgett would be estimated together
with the levels of vitamins in diets. An attempt would be made to
specifically investigate the utilisation and absorption of vitamin
C in sick infants. Finally, this would be repeated in Alice Springs.
I had every reason to be satisfied with this. Dr Hipsley was par-
ticularly impressive. Dr Nobile was outstanding. It seemed that at
long last I would have what I needed.
The team's only concern was the possibility of the lack of co-
operation from Aborigines. After all, it did seem that the infants
were regarded as 'guinea pigs'. Taking relatively large amounts
of blood, frightening older children with needles, and the scream-
ing of infants, is hardly conducive to co-operation. But Isobel Flick,
an Aboriginal woman of some importance in Collarenebri, made
108 EVERY SECOND CHILD RESEARCH AND CONSPIRACY 109

certain that there were no shirkers. She organised the population previous errors. Of course, we still had the figures from Colla-
ideally and the research went smoothly. renebri and Walgett, but these towns were a long way from Alice
Within a week, the first results from Collarenebri came through Springs and there would be no strong recommendation throughout
from Dr Nobile's laboratories. They were worse than I expected. Australia regarding vitamin supplements. Because of this, hundreds
Some serious deficiencies were found—even to the point of zero and possibly thousands of infants would die unnecessarily.
readings. When the Walgett Aborigines were examined, the During the months that followed I tried several times to obtain
figures were even more startling. Seventy per cent had serious the results from Alice Springs. Once, when I rang Dr Hipsley in
vitamin C deficiencies; not one person was sufficient in all vitamins. Canberra, I was told that 'the vitamin C question would die in the
Low levels of some vitamins were also found in the European limbo of time'. I worried more than ever; there seemed no doubt
groups used as controls. that the authorities would go to any extent to hide the truth. The
Of 62 Aborigines (34 children and 28 mothers) and 13 Europeans road ahead looked long and hard.
(5 children and 8 mothers) tested for seven vitamins, not one sub-
ject had satisfactory blood levels of all and not one had deficient
levels of all. However, in contrast to the European group, there
were among the Aborigines one child and one woman with deficient
levels of six of the seven vitamins and 3 children and 6 mothers
with five deficiencies. What startled me was the fact that in
Collarenebri 29 per cent of the Europeans examined were deficient
in vitamin C.
There were insufficient sick infants in Collarenebri and Walgett
to permit an investigation into my observations concerning the
utilisation and absorption of vitamin C.
Needless to say, I felt that these investigations more than sup-
ported my views. That anyone, even Professor Maxwell, could
deny the existence of vitamin deficiencies was now unthinkable. I
thought that facilities would now be provided for research into
other aspects of my work. I was certain that when Dr Hipsley went
to Alice Springs he would find so many serious deficiencies that an
immediate supplementation programme would be commenced. I
was wrong. I did not allow for an action that was, in my opinion,
nothing short of criminal.
Three months before Dr Hipsley arrived in Alice Springs, the
authorities began to supplement the infants. To make certain that
the infants received the vitamins, the welfare nurses actually placed
the spoon containing vitamins in each infant's mouth. Dr Hipsley
arrived to find an almost empty hospital, no sick infants (for the
first time in the history of Alice Springs), and a vitamin supple-
mented population. Thus the figures were nowhere near as bad as
they should have been. The authorities did not have to admit to

22 Another Death
Shortly afterwards I became involved in another Aboriginal infant
death in a small country outback town that I will leave unnamed.
The town and its district suffered an unenviable reputation as far
as the problem of its Aborigines was concerned. There was racism,
illness, death, alcoholism, crime, prostitution, venereal disease, an
alarming number of pregnancies among very young girls, and some
extremely bad living conditions. Authorities were genuinely con-
cerned. Rehousing programmes were in full swing. There was a
full-time Aboriginal welfare officer, a mission manager, a health
nurse and a clinic, a health inspector, and a preschool kindergarten.
Bad as they were, conditions had improved vastly when compared
with those existing just a few years before, but they were still bad
and the attitude of many white people remained unsatisfactory.
In this setting, a 15-year-old Aboriginal girl had a baby. She
lived in a rough shanty near the river bank. She was virtually
illiterate. Her income was nil. Life held no hope for her. From the
time she was a toddler she had seen Aboriginal girls being used as
cheap prostitutes, loaded with venereal disease, drunk, fighting,
thrown into gaol and treated with contempt. She had seen fine
young men lose their souls, their respect and everything that was
good as they lost the will to fight against odds that never seemed
to favour them. Little wonder that, when she was barely fifteen, she
sought comfort in the arms of a young Aboriginal lad and became
pregnant.
The baby was born in the local hospital. It weighed five pounds.
A few days later, when the baby was still only five pounds in weight,
the mother was discharged from the hospital, with the baby and
nothing else—no advice as to how to feed a baby, sterilise bottles,
mix milk, add vitamins or even wash nappies. Nobody bothered to
examine the 'house' in which the baby would live to see if it was
110
ANOTHER DEATH 111
satisfactory, nobody bothered to find out if the mother had money
to buy a bottle, let alone milk to put in it, nobody bothered to
guide the mother through the maze of welfare organisations and
facilities that were available. She was not advised to have routine
postnatal checks, to have the baby weighed and examined for
progress. Nothing was done, absolutely nothing, except that the
young Aboriginal boy who fathered the baby was arrested and
charged with carnal knowledge. I suppose that it was assumed
that the mother 'knew' about the many available facilities and that
nobody realised the girl's state of mind or how this had developed
over the years. And, of course, the baby was to suffer.
When the baby was six weeks old it suffered from diarrhoea and
vomiting. At that age it was only 6 pounds—one pound under its
expected weight for age when birth weight is considered. The
mother carried it in a dirty shawl to one of the local physicians who
simply listened to the mother's tale for a moment, wrote a script for
an anti-diarrhoeal mixture, and promptly dismissed both mother
and baby home.
No examination was made. The baby had not been touched.
Two hours later it was dead.
My involvement began soon afterwards. A telephone call from
one of the Aborigines in the town informed me that the mother
wanted me to perform an autopsy and determine the cause of
death. There was concern and there had probably been a meeting.
If one baby died, there could be more deaths. The request, I
thought, was reasonable.
Details given to me before the autopsy chilled my spine. The
whole system of care and welfare was wrong, and it was wrong not
because of incorrect administration, laws, rules, facilities or any-
thing that could be corrected by 'the appropriate action by the
appropriate department' but because human nature was wrong,
because subconsciously white folk had a hatred for the mother that
prevented them from caring for her or her baby.
The autopsy was brief. The 'cause' of death was obvious:
dehydration, and gastroenteritis associated with failure to thrive.
What would have happened if the baby had received instant
treatment in the nature of intravenous fluids and vitamin C ? The
chances are that it would have survived. But here it must be remem-
bered that administering intravenous fluids to such an infant is a
112 EVERY SECOND CHILD
difficult task requiring exceptional skill. Is it reasonable to assume
that the local physician should have this skill ? I think not, but he
could have tried or called upon someone who did have the skill
even if the delay meant an increased risk of death. Of course he did
not examine the infant and therefore did not know that intra-
venous fluids were so necessary.
Why? Why didn't he carry out an examination? Why didn't
he lift the shawl and look at the stark bareness of the ribs and
shallow, almost indiscernible breathing? The answer evaded me.
At first I thought it was a question of money. Almost certainly
there would be little or no financial reward for work done to help
either the mother or her baby. If a physician was cruel enough, he
might consider this and not bother. Then I thought of worry,
responsibility and tiredness. I knew all about this, every detail of it,
because I suffered so myself. When a physician is tired, when his
sleep has been disturbed night after night, when life depends on
almost every decision he makes (as it so often does in a country
town), the effect is adverse. A stage is reached when a subconscious
'couldn't care less' attitude prevails. Usually this lasts only for a
few minutes and the trigger that sets it off is something like what the
physician in this case faced when the mother told her tale. The
'natural' reaction is to blame the mother because she is dirty,
ignorant, and not caring for her baby. The mind becomes hostile,
for a moment—a fatal and dreadful moment—a proper decision
cannot be made, and a baby can die, a man may die, anyone can
die.
All these thoughts were in my mind as I wandered along the
river bank with a group of Aborigines and stood outside the shanty
that had been home to the dead baby. I had already talked to many
people. In the atmosphere that now existed, in view of what I had
seen, it seemed difficult to suggest a way by which more deaths
could be prevented. How could one change people's way of think-
ing ? Why is prejudice so deeply ingrained ? Once more, with the
Aborigines, I went through the factors concerned. One by one
we tore them to pieces, but answers were not there. Then we came
once more to the action of the physician and his failure to carry out
an examination. One of the Aborigines listened for a while, then
came forward with an astonishing remark. 'I'll tell you,' he said.
'It is because he was afraid of catching some terrible disease if he
ANOTHER DEATH 113
touched the baby. He is afraid of us. He does not like to touch us.'
He was right. I recalled what others had told me about the
physician. Pregnant women had not been examined, women in
labour had not been examined, sick adults and children had not
been examined. Of course—it was all so simple now. The
physician's fundamental knowledge of medicine was so bad that
he did not know the principles of infectious diseases existing in the
area. In some countries overseas one could partially understand a
'no touch attitude', but in Australia ? In this part of Australia ?
There was no leprosy, no cholera, no typhoid. At worst, one could
pick up something like syphilis, but the risk was extremely small
and one should recognise the disease which can be treated.
Since then, the situation in that town has improved. A visiting
paediatric service has been arranged. Once a month, a team of
specialists spend a day examining infants, advising, and if neces-
sary arranging investigations and treatment. There are some folk
in the area who will resent this team. They will ignore the rows of
tiny graves in the cemetery and regard the visits as an intrusion.
But I think that the overall result will be good. The team will observe
disease patterns, advise nurses, welfare and medical personnel, and
as problems unfold, they will no longer be pushed into unaware-
ness. I like to think that no more babies will die. I know that this
cannot be so but surely, over a period of time, there will be fewer
deaths and people will be taught compassion.

23 Overseas Support
In August 1972 Glen Dettmann and myself began a flight around
the world that was to take us to research and clinical centres
interested in the work we were doing in Australia. The first stop
was Honolulu, where Mitsuo Yokoyama and others were examining
an enzyme known as alpha antitripsin. The presence of this enzyme
in the tissues provides a degree of protection against infections in
the lungs and makes the onset of chronic bronchitis and emphy-
sema in late adult life unlikely. If the enzyme is missing, then
chronic bronchitis and emphysema are likely to develop. Genetic
factors determine whether the enzyme will be present. It is possible
to separate the proteins in the blood of individuals, including new
born babies, and observe the existence or otherwise of alpha
antitripsin. The techniques involved are complex and Yokoyama
has achieved outstanding results.
Australian authorities had been denying that genetic factors were
responsible for illness amongst Aboriginal infants. I was certain
that they were important. The problem was one of technology.
We didn't know what to look for or how to look for it. All known
technology had failed to reveal a factor, and this was the basis of the
opposition to my ideas that were derived purely from clinical
observations of infants. To me the facts were obvious. Even well-
fed and well-cared-for Aboriginal infants suffered from infections
more frequently and severely than white infants. There were, of
course, exceptions. Furthermore, half-castes and even eighth-
castes seemed to suffer more than whites. That a factor could not
be demonstrated merely illustrated our lack of knowledge and
suitable technology.
Alpha antitripsin provided protection to the mucous membrane
linings of the lungs and possibly, to an extent, to the gastro-
intestinal tract. Since these were the areas primarily involved in
114
OVERSEAS SUPPORT 115
Aboriginal infants it was possible that suitable techniques would
reveal a missing enzyme of genetic origin—like alpha antitripsin—
a so-called 'genetic marker'. The idea was exciting. Would it work ?
Yokoyama was not available (he was travelling abroad) but his co-
workers expressed considerable interest. Glen Dettmann and I
stared with fascination as one of them, Alden Foote, demon-
strated the separation of the blood proteins and marked, for our
benefit, the bands involved. There was little doubt that this was
virtually a major progress in the understanding of medicine. If we
selected Aboriginal infants who were obviously 'at risk' because of
histories of multiple infections, it was possible that even the
present techniques devised by Yokoyama would reveal a genetic
marker. Failing that, modification of the techniques already used
might solve the problem. We talked for hours. Sometimes when
the weight of technology depressed us, I reminded everyone of the
fact that the noses of Aboriginal infants 'ran' more than the noses
of white infants under similar conditions of nutrition and environ-
ment (with some exceptions, of course). This was the critical point.
A 'running' nose meant an immunological problem. It had to be
genetically determined. There had to be a genetic marker.
Glen Dettmann and myself left Honolulu with the impact of what
we had seen still deep in our minds. Our newly made friends were
anxious to help. We knew that we could only do the necessary work
if the Australian Commonwealth authorities approved and gave us
facilities to work amongst the Aborigines in the areas where full-
bloods lived. Previous experiences with Commonwealth authorities
were depressing. It was obvious that we would have to fight if
progress was to be made and the problem of Aboriginal infant
mortality overcome.
Immediately ahead of us was the next stage of our journey—the
International Congress of Nutrition in Mexico City where Glen
and I were to present papers. Two important things happened
there. I learned about an experiment that had been started to
demonstrate the possible role of vitamin C in the sudden and
unexpected infant death syndrome, and I learned about some-
thing else that was, to me, completely new and as exciting as any-
thing I had come across.
The first subject was a follow-up of the visit to Mexico one year
before. The problem of unexpected infant deaths is a serious one
 116 EVERY SECOND CHILD
in Mexico. In one district, 200 infants were born during one year
and 60 died unexpectedly. My suggestion was that vitamin C played
a key role and supplements would prevent many of the deaths.
This had been taken seriously. A particular area, with a bad history,
had been selected. Half of the infants were being supplemented
with vitamin C and the other half were not. At the end of a two
year period (Christmas 1973) the results will be analysed. To say
the least, I viewed this experiment with concern. If the results are
positive, an immediate breakthrough will be made. The conse-
quences are numerous and varied. Medicine will change overnight.
There will be instant recognition.
Could the reverse happen? Time will tell. In the meantime,
I'm sitting on a medical bomb! The fuse has been lit. There can
be only one result. It must be positive!
The next subject cropped up while I idled over a cup of coffee
between lectures in the Congress building. Sitting opposite was a
veterinary surgeon whose work on trace elements has earned him
international fame. We talked about cattle, then we talked about
Australia. In Collarenebri, where sheep and cattle are a part of
everyone, one also talks about 'feed'—and so did we. Then we
talked about something that I hadn't thought much about—-why
some cattle eat heartily and others do not. The expert sitting oppo-
site mentioned various things. I was half listening and half asleep.
Then through a haze I heard the words 'zinc deficiency reduces
appetite'.
Instantly I was wide awake. All those kids, those thousands who
did not like to eat or refused to e a t . . . of course . . . it was zinc
deficiency.
With an eagerness that surprised even myself, I explained the
symptoms to the expert. I told him about the fights I had seen as
nurses tried to feed infants who so obviously did not want to eat.
Many of them died, some survived after long periods of tube
feeding, others after equally long periods of intravenous feeding.
I described the infants I had seen in Alice Springs, my colleagues'
refusal to accept the condition as a clinical entity, and how they
blamed psychological factors, 'the mothers do not teach the kids
to eat', 'the witch doctor wills it', and so on. The expert listened.
'You may be right', he said, 'you are almost certainly right. The
matter should be investigated.'
OVERSEAS SUPPORT 117
'What more ?' I said to Glen as we left Mexico for Elkhart in the
USA. 'We already have enough work to last us a lifetime. How
can we do more ?' But there was more, and we had to do it, as we
discovered in Miles Laboratories in Elkhart.
This laboratory was manufacturing the 'dip stick' test for vitamin
C in the urine. Glen and I were anxious to know of its progress.
We also wanted to know if some aspects of the work we had
presented there one year before had been followed up. We were
not disappointed. One field that had been carefully studied involved
immunisations.
One research worker in the laboratory had been immunising
animals against diseases like tetanus and diphtheria. His experiences
showed that after being immunised, some of the animals died
suddenly within twenty-four hours. These deaths had been attributed
to anaphylaxis. Authorities the world over had decided that this
was so (it is a severe allergic reaction). I suggested that vitamin C
deficiency was the cause. The animals involved did not make their
own. Like primates they required it in their diets. To discover
the truth required only a simple experiment. In Ames Laboratories
this had been done.
The result was definite, unquestionable and final. Half of a group
of animals were supplemented with vitamin C before being
immunised. None died. The unsupplemented half continued to
die at rates equal to those found in previous experiments.
The importance of this discovery can hardly be stressed. In
Australia and all over the world, infants were being immunised.
Those whose vitamin C status was low were 'at risk'. Here, at last,
was experimental evidence that supported my claims that stepping
up immunisation campaigns amongst Aboriginal infants increased
the death rate. Many died from acute vitamin C deficiency precipi-
tated by the increased utilisation of vitamin C following the
immunisation. There was, of course, also the problem of immuno-
logical insults resulting from the immunisations in susceptible
infants that make them particularly prone to serious infections. The
Miles experiment did not involve this aspect.
Miles Laboratories were working on another problem that I had
placed before them during my previous visit—a simple instrument
for measuring the blood levels of sodium and potassium from one
or two drops of blood, an instrument that could be used in the
118 EVERY SECOND CHILD OVERSEAS SUPPORT 119

field. Some infants suffering from even mild diarrhoea and vomiting haemoglobin level and also permitted, as a side issue, the deter-
retain salt in their tissues. If this is not recognised, and the only mination of total blood protein (a useful guide to nutritional and
way to recognise it is to assay the level of sodium in the blood, other states). The only problem seemed to be that the technologists
death is likely. What is more, the diagnosis must be made early. At thought the method too cumbersome for field use. However, they
present, methods involved are cumbersome and cannot be used were determined to continue investigations and research.
easily in the field. A suitable instrument would save many lives. With all this going on around us, Glen Dettmann and myself
Technologists in Miles Laboratories had devised a prototype had every reason to be pleased. We envisaged a drop in infant
instrument that looked promising. The keenness exhibited by every- mortality throughout the world as new understanding and tech-
one made it obvious that success, within a year or two, would be nology became available. The future looked bright. On the way
certain. I thought of isolated areas in Australia and how infants back to Australia Glen checked through what had been achieved.
would benefit. Indeed, journeying around the world and speaking 'Surely,' he said, 'they must listen to us back home now.' I hoped
to experts was worthwhile! But I had not seen all. There was one that he was right. As later events showed, he was only a tiny bit
more item that the technologists wanted to show me. It concerned right.
haemoglobin estimations.
Haemoglobin is the iron-containing red portion of the blood. In
many conditions the level falls giving rise to anaemia. Infants are
particularly susceptible. Almost any illness will result in a degree
of anaemia. If a highly accurate method of haemoglobin estimation
could be devised and proved suitable for field use, the haemo-
globin level and rises or falls could be used as an index of health
and progress. Of course, obviously low levels need not be argued
about. I was after borderline cases where present methods of
determination were prone to errors.
Time after time in practice I had seen infants who were
chronically ill with infections. The result was a degree of anaemia.
Some physicians observed this and stated that 'anaemia is respon-
sible for the repeated infections'. I wanted to investigate if this
concept was correct, and to prove that it was the other way round,
namely that the infections were responsible for the anaemia. But it
was rises and falls in the haemoglobin level that interested me most
of all. It was possible that these could be a sensitive indicator of the
onset of disease, infections, parasite infestations, and nutrition.
They could be a guide to the success or otherwise of treatment.
The possibilities were seemingly endless. But, could a sensitive and
accurate method suitable for field use be found ?
Miles Laboratory technologists thought it could. They had
experimented with accurately measured drops of blood (a fairly
simple thing to do) that were allowed to fall through a column of
oil. The rate of drop was an extremely accurate indication of the

24 Fred Hollows
Sorting out what I had learned during this trip overseas proved to
be a difficult task. I sought the aid of Professor Fred Hollows, an
ophthalmologist from the University of New South Wales in
Sydney, known affectionately as 'Fred' or 'Prof. This man became
a story on his own.
A few years ago he was the usual fussy city medical authority
worrying more about the paint on his garage door than the hordes
of relatively uninteresting patients who swarmed to his clinics.
Then he made a quick trip into the Northern Territory in order to
study eye problems amongst Aborigines. What he saw horrified
him and altered his life overnight.
Aborigines were going blind by the thousands and nobody seemed
to care. Authorities even denied that a problem existed. Worse than
blindness itself was the suffering caused by the factors responsible
for it.
Trachoma, an infection involving mainly the inside of the upper
eye lid, was the essential problem. Over the years scarring occurred.
The upper eye lid was turned inwards, the eye lashes rubbed
continuously on the cornea. There was much pain, with no relief.
Aborigines carried a dirty piece of rag with which they dabbed
at their eyes. Flies loved to eat the pus that drained copiously.
Eventually, there was blindness. But the suffering continued until
death.
To cure trachoma completely is not easy, but that in itself does
not matter. It is the problem of the eyelashes that does. A very
simple plastic operation can be performed under local anaesthetic
in the bush in just a few minutes. The eye lid is correctly everted
and the suffering ends.
Fred decided to relieve the authorities of the problem by
recruiting volunteers from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and
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FRED HOLLOWS 121
Adelaide. On the surface, this seemed a simple thing, but when
attempts to carry it out were made, there was active opposition
from the authorities. As far as I know, it has not yet been sorted
out. The Aborigines are still suffering—unnecessarily.
Fred Hollows found something else in the Territory—Labrador
keratitis — an eye condition caused by excessive exposure to ultra-
violet light. Fifty per cent of Aboriginal males over the age of 40
were found to be suffering from this disease. It is difficult to under-
stand why a condition so common and obvious could be com-
pletely overlooked in Australia until then. I think that it is because
the Aborigines suffer from trachoma as well. They are dirty, their
eyes are full of pus, the flies are bad, they smell. To get up close
and examine their eyes properly is unpleasant. All previous
ophthalmologists did not. Fred, fortunately, was made of sterner
stuff. He got up close and really looked; and found Labrador
keratitis.
Following this work up Fred found an alarming incidence of
blindness resulting from cardiovascular disease and maturity
onset-type diabetes. Furthermore, in Aborigines, these conditions
occurred at a very early age. Nobody had thought much about it
before. Fred did.
From before birth, Aborigines live on that diet of sugar, white
bread, flour, jam, sausage and very little else. The suger, bread
and flour is converted to cholesterol that collects in the tissues and
eventually gives rise to cardiovascular disease and maturity onset-
type diabetes. The lack of vegetable fibre (cellulose) in the diet
means that the cholesterol in the diet and that excreted into the
gut by the bile is not bound and excreted in the faeces but re-
absorbed into the blood and then the tissues. The lack of vitamin C
aids in the deposition of cholesterol in the tissues.
It is a simple picture that can only be described as horrifying.
Coronary occlusions, strokes, blindness and diabetes. Premature
onset of old age. Illness and death, years before their time.
It can be seen, therefore, that vitamin deficiencies and diets are
important not just for infants but for Aborigines of all ages. How
anyone can continue to doubt these factors is difficult to under-
stand. How any physician can do anything but alter his own diet
and swallow extra vitamin pills is also difficult to understand.
Turning to other Aboriginal health problems, Fred Hollows
122 EVERY SECOND CHILD
came into contact with poor Aborigines living in Sydney. It was
obvious that nobody understood the disease patterns peculiar to
Aborigines. If anything was to be done, a special clinic would have
to be established. It was established, under the guidance of the
'Prof.
It is the Sydney Aboriginal Medical Service in Redfern, a Sydney
suburb. Aborigines from anywhere could go there, obtain free
medical advice, free medicine if necessary, and be admitted to a
suitable hospital. As far as I was concerned, the value lay in the
study of specific disease patterns such as the frequency of ear
infections that physicians previously ignored. In the clinic infants
were found to be suffering from all the conditions I had tried to
describe in Collarenebri.
Fred Hollows and other members of the staff carried their
services further than Sydney. Some of the worst areas in the
country were selected for special services. Teams of physicians,
dentists, dieticians, and welfare workers, all combined in an
attempt to rid New South Wales from one of its worst family
skeletons. So far, results have been encouraging. Physicians
generally have begun to take a greater interest in Aboriginal
problems. In fact, this interest has become fashionable.
25 Some Listened
In spite of the wealth of evidence that was now available, most
physicians and authorities in Australia continued to ignore the
work that was being done in Collarenebri. Some even resented it.
A few, forced by circumstances at least to consider the overall
picture, obtained dramatic results similar to those that I had
experienced. Unfortunately, much of the opposition was derived
through ignorance. Most physicians did not understand the
subject. Their basic knowledge was deficient. Instead of openly
reviewing the problem, they used their scanty and often incorrect
knowledge to criticise the so-called 'vitamin therapy'.
A small New South Wales town was the scene of a drama that
resulted, in a few short hours, in the death of one Aboriginal
infant and the survival of another. It would be difficult to think of
an episode that demonstrated better the value of vitamin therapy.
Two small Aboriginal infants were seen by a local physician
because their mothers had observed symptoms of 'a cold'. Examina-
tions revealed mild upper respiratory tract infections, and had this
occurred anywhere else, that may have been the end of the story.
But the physician had experienced trouble previously. He knew
that Aboriginal infants suffering from such apparently trivial
infections could suddenly collapse and die. So, instead of allowing
the infants home, he admitted them to hospital 'for observation'.
A few hours later the first infant, a little boy, suddenly collapsed,
became shocked, and in spite of attempts at resuscitation, died.
Shortly afterwards the second infant, a girl, began to follow suit.
She collapsed, became shocked, unconscious, was almost pulseless,
almost without a blood pressure, and resuscitation failed to elicit a
positive response. The veins in the legs and arms were 'cut down
upon', cannulas inserted for intravenous administration of fluid,
123
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but the drips would not run. Cortisone was given—there was no
response. It seemed certain that the girl would die.
Then someone suggested that vitamin C should be given by
injection. The trial of Nancy Young has received considerable
publicity. Mention had been made of the use of intramuscularly
administered vitamin C. There was nothing to lose. One infant
was already dead. The little girl was dying. Conventional methods
of treatment had been unsuccessful. Why not try an injection?
It was given. Twenty minutes later the little girl sat up in bed.
It was as quick as that. It was as dramatic as that. Evelyn Young
had not died in vain. A few weeks later the little girl was brought
to Collarenebri to see me. I photographed her and the scars on her
limbs to remind men and others of what can happen. I wonder, as
she grows into adulthood, if she will learn about Nancy Young and
Evelyn. Perhaps not. Perhaps it is better that she does not—so long
as physicians know and do not forget.
One month ago I attended another Aboriginal baby—four
months old and fed exclusively on 'Sunshine' milk. He had scurvy,
of course. But for the administration of vitamin C by injection,
death would have been only minutes away. Response to treatment
can easily be seen in the photographs—from near death to drinking
hungrily from a bottle in just twenty minutes. Is this, however,
progress ? Indirectly, ignorance and the misuse of 'Sunshine' milk
killed Evelyn Young. It nearly killed this boy many years later.
Why? Experts agree that Aborigines cannot be educated quickly
enough. Why then can't vitamins or warnings be added to
'Sunshine' milk by the manufacturers ?
Only yesterday I attended another baby—three months old. He
lives right next door to the Collarenebri Hospital—the 'home' of
vitamin therapy. Originally he was fed on vitamin fortified milk
(Lactogen). Then his mother changed to 'Sunshine', in spite of
previous warnings. Maybe the change was made because 'Sunshine'
is cheaper. Maybe someone convinced the mother that 'Sunshine'
was better. When I saw the baby he was almost dead—from
scurvy. Is this progress ?
All this, of course, is depressing. One success has already been
quoted. It balances, to an extent, the failures. Another success
came from a physician in Western Australia. I will quote some
parts of a letter that he sent me.
SOME LISTENED 125
' . . . Your obvious frustration is a feeling that I have experienced
in circumstances not dissimilar to your own and if this com-
munication will act by way of encouragement to you I feel that
it has been justified.
'When I took up my post in the East Kimberleys I was told
by my predecessors that I could expect a high mortality in the
Aboriginal children—this was despite the availability of all mod-
ern medication and a hospital that had reasonable facilities. My
first reaction was disbelief and it was only after losing six young
patients in three months that I realised the truth of this statement.
'The pattern was fairly typical. I would see an Aboriginal
child often as an outpatient, become mildly concerned and
arrange admission. The following day the child was worse but
still sitting up in the cot. Two days later, in spite of the appro-
priate antibiotic and all reasonable measures, deterioration
occurred and, finally, despite intensive care, death occurred.
Some delay resulted from the exhibition of steroids but the
outcome was the same.
'I remember well sitting with my Matron and some of the
nursing staff in a state of depression discussing where we had
failed and being totally unable to fault the treatment given.
Although the children were not well fed nutrition in some cases
was adequate and vitamin intake was not suspect.
'When I read your original article in 1969 I was prepared to
use Gorgonzola cheese intravenously if it would have any effect
and so I circulated your article, called a meeting of the nurses,
teachers and others in contact with Aboriginal children.
'Bottles of vitamin C tablets were circulated and given at every
opportunity. All inpatients below the age of five were given
vitamin C 100 mg B.D. regardless of diagnosis and this was
continued for a short period after discharge.
'The result was remarkable and over the ensuing nine months
there were no deaths that could not be satisfactorily explained.
Two babies survived staphylococcal empyema and one child
recovered quickly from meningococcal septicaemia.
'The nursing staff and maids were extremely impressed and
became enthusiastic proponents of the treatment. When I left
and my successor stopped vitamin C therapy the result was
an immediate return to the old mortality rate.
126 EVERY SECOND CHILD
'Unfortunately, it has been impossible to convince any paedia-
trician in Western Australia that the high dosage vitamin C
therapy was even worth investigating and nothing further was
done. At the time it did occur to me to run a controlled trial
but ethically this would have been indefensible. I have no
scientific proof of what happened but I have certainly found
that your experience can be repeated. . ..
'If I could be of any assistance to you other than as a convinced
supporter of your views please let me know. In the meantime
you have the satisfaction of knowing that a number of East
Kimberley Aboriginal children are alive today because of your
original research.'
Encouragement came not only from letters like this but from
other sources at the same time. What promised to be one of the
most valuable came in the form of a letter from Professor Hans
Freeman from the Department of Inorganic Chemistry, at the
University of Sydney. He had read about my interest in zinc
deficiencies and wanted to discuss the matter further. An appoint-
ment was arranged. I wondered how he could help.
Attending our first meeting were Dr Hao Hill from Oxford,
England, Dr Julie James from Sydney, and Dr Eckert also from
Sydney. All these 'academics' were inorganic chemists—quite
remote, I thought, from the practice of medicine. But a few short
sentences from Dr Hill made me realise the contrary.
He told me about Professor Vallie from Boston, USA. This man
had worked with cancer patients who exhibited appetite loss and
then a taste disorder that made all food taste like faeces. Rather
than eat, these patients starved to death. It had been found that
the cause was a zinc deficiency. The administration of one tablet of
zinc carbonate (250 mg) a day overcame the problem. The patients
immediately felt better, and began to eat but, of course, finally
died from cancer. Often there was sufficient zinc in the tissues, and
assays done on these would not reveal a 'deficiency'. The problem
was that the zinc did not always get to where it was needed—to
the taste buds on the tongue—and an 'overload' by way of zinc
carbonate tablets was sufficient to overcome it.
Here, then, was some evidence in favour of the possibility that
zinc deficiencies could be responsible for the appetite losses
SOME LISTENED 127
suffered by some Aboriginal infants. We discussed diets and water
supplies that could lead to zinc deficiencies. We discussed the
technical problems involved with zinc assays and the interpretation
of the results. Then we moved on to the role of zinc in the body
and the part it played in enzyme systems, particularly in the liver.
The liver tenderness that I had observed in Aboriginal infants
could be due to zinc deficiencies and disturbances in the liver
enzyme systems. Of course this was not a definite possibility, but it
was certainly worthy of serious consideration. What were the
enzyme systems and what did they do ? Dr Hill described some of
them to me.
The enzymes that detoxified alcohol were zinc-containing
enzymes. Originally it was thought that only one enzyme was
involved and assays of this in different groups of individuals failed
to reveal differences. However, recently it has been possible to
identify five separate enzymes that detoxified five different types of
alcohol. The one responsible for the detoxification of ethyl
alcohol has been found deficient in some races such as Eskimos.
The significance of this discovery hit me in a flash. Obviously,
Australian Aborigines lacked the enzyme. That is why alcohol
affects them so. It is not detoxified, the alcohol accumulates in the
blood and tissues, and the effects are like that of overdosage or
poisoning. Because there is no detoxification, the end products of
detoxification that are responsible for 'hangovers' are not formed
so Aborigines do not suffer in this regard. I had, like a few others,
assumed an enzyme deficiency. Here at last was possible proof.
But another thought excited me even more. If full-bloods
lacked the enzyme it was likely, from observations, that half-castes
and others also lacked it. If this was the case, a dominant genetic
'fault' could be demonstrated. The significance of this would be
enormous. It would encourage others to look for a dominant
genetic factor concerned with the immunological responses of
Aboriginal infants.
To determine the absence or otherwise of these enzyme systems
suddenly became a matter of urgency. I thought of the problems
involved with the Aborigines and alcohol, of the suffering that I
had seen. Often, in despair, I thought of leaving the work with the
infants for a while so I could study the problems of adults and
alcohol. Only a few days before I had discussed the subject with
128 EVERY SECOND CHILD
members of Alcoholics Anonymous. The possibility, then, of a
'breakthrough' seemed remote. It was depressing in view of the
suffering that I had seen. I recalled how insistent one Alcoholics
Anonymous member had been about one point. 'It is an allergy to
alcohol. I know that it is.'
And here it was—or the almost certain possibility of it was. If we
knew that the enzyme was missing, at least we had a start. But how
could that be done ?
Professor Freeman told me that his department could do the
analytical work if government authorities provided the facilities.
I could select subjects and with the aid of a special instrument
like a needle collect liver samples for analyses. It was all so simple.
But would the authorities provide facilities? That question
remained unanswered.
Before the meeting broke up, Professor Freeman arranged for
me to meet the American professor Linus Pauling during his visit
to Australia. This man, the winner of a Nobel prize in chemistry
and of a Nobel peace prize, was an authority on a wide range of
subjects. His particular 'pet' was vitamin C. His book, Vitamin C
and the Common Cold, has been acclaimed by the world's public but
severely criticised by medical authorities. A more controversial
man would be hard to find. What would he think of the work being
done at Collarenebri ?
Before we met, I attended some of his lectures. I listened with
astonishment as he said things like—'Many physicians no longer
talk about a particular virus or bacterium causing an infection.
They talk about a chemical upset in the body that permits the
organism to invade . . . The administration of vitamin C helps
in the control of diabetes'—and my excitement grew as I realised
that science and medicine were awakening to a new era, an era
that would also favour the little dark children who had become
my special concern.
Glen Dettmann also attended the meeting with Pauling. We
talked for two hours. At the end, I knew that some of the work that
I had been doing with vitamin C would be checked. I knew that I
would meet Pauling again in the United States and that I would be
given the opportunity to present my findings to men who would
almost certainly help. I couldn't ask for more.
26 Some Recognition
On Saturday 3 March 1973, under the sponsorship of the Queens-
land branch of the Otolaryngological Society of Australia, a
symposium was held in the Australian Medical Association's
building in Brisbane. The subject—'Ear Disease in Australian
Aborigines'. Most of those who were concerned with Aboriginal
health were there as well as the cream of Australia's ear, nose and
throat world. The speakers were impressive—Rory Willis, from
Melbourne, President of the Society; Gerard McCafferty, leader in
Queensland; the Honourable G. D. Tooth, M.L.A., Minister for
Health; the famous Tim O'Leary of the Royal Flying Doctor
Service, and sixteen others. In attendance were men like Dr
Langsford, Director of Health in the Northern Territory, and
Dr Doherty, Director of the Queensland Institute of Medical
Research. I sat in the middle of the lecture hall, astonished at the
powerful personalities that had suddenly become involved with
Aboriginal health. My astonishment increased to almost dis-
belief as the papers were presented. Each one in turn described
investigations and evidence that proved beyond any real doubt
that my observations and statements concerning otitis media and
ear diseases in Aboriginal infants were correct. How had this come
about? The answer to this question was in a meeting that I had
three years before in Brisbane with a timid-looking young
physician who had been appointed to study Aboriginal infant health.
Dr John Stuart had received the position that I wanted for my-
self. With it went facilities to research and actively take part in the
care of Aborigina infants in Queensland. It was a unique oppor-
tunity that opened all sorts of doors and guaranteed co-operation
from organisations like the University, the Department of Health,
and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. At the time of
129
130 EVERY SECOND CHILD
our first meeting John had been working for several months. He
was seriously depressed. There seemed no way out of the awful
maze of squalor, filth and ignorance. Progress seemed impossible.
To John the work appeared to be a waste of time. He was con-
sidering moving out to another field of medicine.
I like to think that I was the one who changed his mind. For a
long time I described what I had seen, how infants became ill,
what could be done, the importance and excitement of it all, and
the desperate need for research. John sat quietly for a while,
obviously considering what I had said, then asked one simple
question: 'What do you think I should study?' My reply was
equally simple: 'Otitis media. Find the answer to these ear infec-
tions and we will find the answer to everything. Last month in the
Collarenebri Hospital I saw 400 outpatients. Two hundred and
ninety-seven of them had otitis media. Everything seems to come
from that.' John said nothing. I left him, wondering what the out-
come would be.
Later that day I lectured at the Royal Hospital for Children and
then had informal discussions with the staff from the Queensland
Institute of Medical Research. Fundamentally, I do not think that
my observations or ideas were accepted. Apart from the vitamin C
aspects there was open criticism of statements that I made con-
cerning inherited immunological problems and the role of intestinal
parasites. It seemed that Queensland would remain a dark page in
Aboriginal health, that many babies would die and the lessons that
should have been learned from the death of Evelyn Young would
pass into nothing. Fortunately I was wrong.
A few months later a short note from John Stuart arrived in
Collarenebri: 'I thought that you might like to know that I'm
writing my M.D. thesis on otitis media.' It was a gross under-
statement. I was delighted, and relieved, because the burden of
responsibility suddenly seemed so much lighter.
John collected a team consisting of an ear, nose and throat surgeon,
an audologist, and someone who could assay vitamins. Within a few
months there was recognition of the seriousness and frequency of
otitis media, the hearing problems involved, the vitamin status of
infants and difficulties in treatment. As work went on, the interest
of the research workers grew and they became keen to follow up
all the aspects involved. An enormous amount of work was done
SOME RECOGNITION 131
in a way that compelled medical authorities to take notice of it.
John had made history.
Then someone from the Commonwealth Department of Health
(probably Dr Langsford acting on behalf of the then Federal
Minister, Sir Kenneth Anderson) commissioned Rory Willis to
examine the problem for himself. He visited the Northern
Territory and actually carried out proper examinations on suffering
infants. I think that this had never been done before by anyone so
capable and observant. At least it seems to be that way, because
the findings astonished everyone. Rory Willis was convinced that
the prime problem was an immunological one. Part of the battle,
and a very important one, was over.
At the same time Dr Dugdale, from the University of Queensland,
investigated factors responsible for the frequent bouts of otitis
media. With considerable care he excluded factors until only one
was left—and it was a genetic factor. He was convinced that
although other factors were involved, this one was primarily
responsible for otitis media. Another large part of the battle was
over.
I listened to the presentation of all this work on that famous
day in March 1973. I listened in surprise, for I had not been told
about it. I listened with excitement, for I knew what it would lead
to, and I listened with relief, as I felt some more of the great load of
responsibility shift to other shoulders. Only later did it occur to
me that not one speaker had mentioned the history of the work.
John Stuart was not given the credit due to him, nor was any
reference made to my name or work. Nobody bothered to say that
three years ago I was severely criticised for saying the very same
things that now lay proven and accepted by everybody.
In 1973 Queensland was the scene for further progress in the
field of Aboriginal infant health. In 1972, when my views concern-
ing the dangers of immunisations were published, the Queensland
authorities decided to hold a symposium on the subject and permit
me to discuss my observations. A date was chosen, a programme
sent to me, and all arrangements made. Then I received a note
informing me that the symposium was cancelled.
The reason for this cancellation slowly filtered through.
Apparently there was violent opposition to my views. One would-
be speaker refused to appear on the same platform because it would
132 EVERY SECOND CHILD
mean that I agree with Kalokerinos when I don't'. Another one
felt concerned 'for political reasons' and a third one considered
that I was a 'ratbag'. Thus, the seminar was cancelled. It was a
tragic error, as events proved, although it played its part in the final
recognition of my work.
The Cherbourg Aboriginal Mission in Queensland was the
scene of the event that eventually led to a consideration of immuni-
sation dangers. The health of infants on that mission was always
poor. Stuart and others had worked there for some time. It was
known that a significant proportion of infants suffered from
vitamin deficiencies. In spite of this, an immunisation campaign
against smallpox was carried out on the mission.
In Australia the risk of smallpox is small. Most authorities
consider that the risk of immunisation is considerable in com-
parison with the risk of infection—that is, the chances of serious
complications following immunisations against smallpox are
relatively great. Amongst Aborigines, if my observations were
correct, the risk of smallpox immunisations would far outweigh
the risk of infection. The authorities did not believe this and the
infants at Cherbourg were immunised.
Exactly what followed has not been made clear. Some infants
may have died, some must have become seriously ill. There was a
hasty reconsideration of the overall problem and it was decided
that a symposium should be held. I was asked to attend.
The meeting left little doubt that the entire subject of immuni-
sations would be reconsidered. Men like Dr Doherty, Simon
Latham, Deputy Medical Superintendent of the Royal Hospital
for Children, Dr A. Musgrave, Department of Health, and John
Stuart would at least consider my observations even if they did
not entirely agree with them. Over a period of time this would pro-
duce the desired result. While the battle had not yet been won, it
would be. I had every reason to feel satisfied. Queensland, the
scene of Nancy Young's ordeal, the state usually regarded as the
cooking pot of Australian racialism, would be responsible for some
of the greatest advances in Aboriginal medicine. John Stuart
became my 'number one pin-up boy'. His efforts were largely
responsible for the progress that had been made.
27 What Must Be Done
In spite of the problems that still exist, the solution to the problem
of Aboriginal health is within sight. Nothing can stop the progress
that is in the process of achievement. The only question is one of
time.
To obtain a correct viewpoint one must divide Australia into
areas. In some places the infant mortality rate is high (up to 500
per 1 000). Diets are extremely poor. Vitamin supplements will
result in a dramatic drop in the death rate. Improving diets overall
(a more prolonged process) will further improve health. Careful
control of immunisation campaigns will result in another dramatic
drop in the death rate. Infants who are suffering from infections,
even mild colds, should not be immunised. Infants who are under-
weight for age should be carefully examined. In fact all infants
should be examined in case asymptotic colds are found (as indi-
cated by asymptotic otitis media). Infants who have suffered
repeated infections should not be immunised. Ascorbic acid or
vitamin C status should be determined by a knowledge of dietary
intake or by measuring urinary levels of the vitamin. Infants who
are borderline or doubtful should not be immunised. Routine
B.C.G. vaccinations (for T.B.) should be abandoned. Only those
infants under special risk should receive this material. A lot of work ?
Yes. But remember that stepping up immunisation campaigns in
the Northern Territory, without proper controls, doubled the infant
death rate.
Improving environmental conditions by rehousing will also
drop the death rate. A dirt-floor environment predisposes to
repeated upper respiratory tract infections. These predispose to
serious bacterial infections and disturb nutrition. The importance
of rehousing can thus be estimated.
The geographical environment factors responsible for recurrent
133
134 EVERY SECOND CHILD
upper respiratory tract infections must be considered. Moving an
infant from one district to another (for example, from Collarenebri
to Sydney) may break the cycle of repeated infections and save a
life.
In districts where death rates are not so high (in the vicinity
of 40 per 1 000) measures to reduce the figures must be different.
Of course these measures must also be practised in the bad areas.
It is just that there is a difference between a drop from 500 per
1 000 to 100 per 1 000 and a drop from 40 per 1 000 to 20 per 1 000.
Dietary changes in 'good' districts will not be so dramatic in
effect. Nor will vitamin supplements (which should still be given).
A careful consideration of the advantages of intramuscularly
administered antibiotics instead of orally administered ones will
help. The recognition of the possibility of salt retention during
bouts of even mild diarrhoea will also help. The early recognition
of gastroenteritis cases that are caused by specific bacteria and
require specific antibiotics (even, maybe, orally administered ones)
will help further.
In all cases, in all areas, amongst whites as well as Aborigines,
the recognition of unusual patterns of vitamin C deficiencies and the
fact that these can occur even if diets are 'satisfactory' will result
in a dramatic drop in death rates. Furthermore, the routine use of
intramuscularly administered vitamin C will create a picture of
almost unbelievable drama.
As far as adults are concerned the urgency of dietary changes
(from the period before birth) must be recognised, because this is
one of the few factors that will prevent the onset of cardiovascular
disease and maturity onset diabetes. Vitamin supplements and the
use of fresh fruit and vegetables together with a reduction in the
use of sugar is all that is necessary.
Certain areas have specific problems. Outstanding are the eye
infections in parts of Queensland, South Australia, Western
Australia and the Northern Territory. It is possible to treat these
effectively. Chronic infections leading to inverted eyelids with eye
lashes rubbing on corneas can be dealt with by simple plastic
surgery performed under local anaesthetic and taking only a few
minutes of time.
Medical personnel must be educated to recognise disease patterns
found amongst Aborigines. The present 'European' approach does
WHAT MUST BE DONE 135
not function amongst Aborigines. The role of immunology, the
effects of repeated upper respiratory tract infections (causing, for
example, most cases of'gastroenteritis') and the patterns of vitamin
C deficiencies, must be taught.
In the immediate future it will be necessary to improve our
knowledge of immunology if we are to prevent infections rather
than treat established ones and run the risk of losing some infants
from antibiotic resistant infections. The Australian Aborigines
present ideal 'material' because we know that immunological
problems exist. We must find them.
Research into zinc deficiencies and appetite problems amongst
Aboriginal infants is a field that will almost certainly prove to be
fertile. The problem exists, even if most physicians do not recognise
it. Zinc deficiencies are almost certainly the cause. If they are not,
then research may reveal another.
The study of zinc-containing enzymes that detoxify alcohol is
another almost certainly fertile field whose importance is beyond
estimation. If the enzymes are found to be missing in Aborigines,
a major step forward will be made in the fight against alcoholism.
It is obvious that the enzymes should be studied in white
alcoholics as well.
In fact, the study of Aboriginal health problems is certain to
benefit people from all over the world. The face of medicine
throughout the world is changing. There are many overseas
authorities who want to help us solve some of our problems in
Australia. They know that it will help in the solution of some of
their own. Come hell or high water, the Aborigines can rest
assured that their health will not be neglected. The question is
only, when? I hope that it will be soon enough to allow the
traditions of Aboriginal life to survive, and the beauty of the culture
to take its rightful place in a world that is screaming for what the
Aborigines have practised for so long.
 APPENDIX

The following extract is from a letter written to Glen Dettmann, a

colleague of Dr Kalokerinos.
17 December 1973
Dear Dr Dettmann,
I read your very interesting letter in the August 18, 1973 issue
of Medical Journal of Australia. I would like to compliment
you on your 20-20 foresight on ascorbic acid. I can fully
sympathise with you in your meeting up with 'doubting
Thomases' who have mental blocks against the benefits of high
daily intakes of ascorbic acid (Megascorbic Prophylaxis and
Megascorbic Therapy). They just don't want to be confused
with the true facts. Your letter should have been entitled, 'The
Dangers of Too Little Ascorbic Acid'!
Since 1934 I have been researching ascorbic acid and you can
well imagine how often I have come up against this same
medical inertia you are experiencing. In 1965, I started the
publication of a continuing series of scientific papers giving the
results of my long term research and new genetic concepts.
I showed that scurvy was not the simple dietary disturbance
it has for so long been considered. Rather, frank clinical scurvy
is the pre-mortal sequelae of a genetic liver-enzyme disease which
I named Hypoascorbemia. This inborn error of carbohydrate
metabolism is caused by humans carrying a defective gene for
the liver-enzyme protein, L-gulonolactone oxidase. I have been
able to trace the origin of this defective gene, which occurs in all
the members of the Primate Sub-order, Anthropoidea, to a
conditional lethal mutation occurring in a primate ancestor of this
Sub-order during the Paleocene epoch about 60 million years
ago. So you see this defective gene and scurvy have been with
us for a long time and has killed more people, caused more
human misery and has changed the course of history more than
any other single factor.
Since we are dealing with an inborn, inherited malady,
ascorbic acid is not a true mammalian vitamin, but is rather a
liver metabolite. These new genetic concepts also provide the
basis for the rationale for large daily doses of ascorbic acid.
137
138 EVERY SECOND CHILD
Humans should be getting the daily amounts of ascorbic acid
their livers would be producing, if they did not carry this defec-
tive gene. Calculations indicate this to be many grams per day.
It is interesting to note that this is the only fatal genetic
disease wherein Medicine makes such a feeble attempt fully to
correct. Most physicians recommend daily doses possibly 1 per
cent or less of that required fully to correct this inborn error of
carbohydrate metabolism. In the past 40 years these feeble
subsistence levels have eliminated the threat of the classical
symptoms of frank clinical scurvy but have left a population
suffering from the more insidious chronic sub-clinical scurvy
throughout life. It is this uncorrected life-long sub-clinical scurvy
that is the basis for the high incidence and morbidity of heart
disease, cancer, the collagen diseases and many more.
These are the first radically new concepts in scurvy in 200
years and it is too bad that the bulk of Medicine has mostly
ignored my work and publications. To combat this disbelief, I
summarised these new concepts in a book published in Sep-
tember 1972, The Healing Factor: Vitamin C Against Disease.
This book not only outlines my genetic ideas on the role of
ascorbic acid in human physiology, but also has eighteen chapters
on the usefulness of megascorbic therapy in various assorted
disease conditions and pathology. It would be a gold mine of
information for you in your discussions and debates with your
colleagues. Nobel Laureate Albert Szent-Gyorgy, the discoverer
of ascorbic acid, and Linus Pauling wrote forewords for the
book. ..."
Sincerely yours
Irwin Stone*
California
• Dr Irwin Stone is a biochemist. He was in charge of the Enzyme and Fermentation Research
Laboratory of the Wallerstein Company, one of the world's largest manufacturers of industrial
enzymes, for thirty-eight years prior to his retirement in 1971.
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ABBASY, M. A., HARRIS, L. J. & ELLMAN, P. Lancet, 1937, p. 181.
ABBASY, M. A., HARRIS, L. J. & HILL, N. G. Lancet, 1937, p. 177.
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DAYTON, P. & WEINER, M. Annals of the New York Academy of
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DETTMANN, G. C. Medical Journal of Australia, 7 April 1973,p. 711;
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1974, p. 504.
DETTMANN, G. C. 'Results of a Mini Survey Conducted at
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DETTMANN, G. C. The Vitamin C Controversy, a simple Screen-
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Documenta Geigy, Scientific Tables, 1959, p. 324.
ECKER, E. E., PILLEMER, L., GRIFFITHS, J. J. & SCHWARTZ, W. P.
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Abdominal distension 91
Age of release 89
Alcohol 3, 5, 12, 14,-15, 79,
127-8, 135
Alice Springs 62, 97, 101, 108
Alpha antitripsin 114
Anaemia 18, 118
Anderson, Sir Kenneth 131
Animal experiments 98, 117
Antibiotics 26, 52, 60, 82
Arden, Dr Felix 75
Asthma 59
Australasian College of Medical
Bioscientists 96
Autopsy findings 10, 23, 25, 67,
111
Bacterial infections 57, 59, 81-2
Baldwin, Peter 88
Bandler, Faith 101
Banks, Sir Joseph 2
Bennett, Frank 73-4
Big Chimney 36
Billy 20-3
Billy Barebush 34
Boggo Road gaol 74
Bottle feeding 80
Breast feeding 80
Breast milk 71, 79
Bronchitis 59-60
Bronchodilation 60
Bronchospasm 59-60
Bruising 47, 69, 71, 73
Cardiovascular disease 14
Central Australia 62
Cherbourg Aboriginal Mission
Cholesterol 78
Circumcision 85, 87
Collarenebri 8, 45
Coober Pedy 30-4, 38-40
Cook, Captain James 2
Coronary occlusion 78
Cunnamulla 64-5, 76
INDEX
Dettmann, Dr Glen 96, 103, 114
Diabetes 14, 121, 134
Diet 4, 79, 121
Disease patterns 3, 10, 14, 16,
20, 25-9, 31, 47, 48, 56, 57, 58,
59, 61, 71, 78, 81, 83, 89, 92,
102, 104, 121, 134
Doherty, Dr Ralph 129, 132
Dugale, Dr 131
Echert, Dr 126
Ellen 49
Encephalitis 48
Eye diseases 32, 120
Federal Council for the
Advancement of Aborigines
and Torres Strait Islanders 101
Flick, Isobel 107
Flick, Mick 28
Foote, Alden 115
Frank 33
Freeman, Professor Hans 126
Gambling 15
Gastroenteritis 16, 57, 58, 59
Genetic factors 114, 131
Geographical environment 57
Glen Innes 6
Gonorrhoea 30
Hamilton, Keith 33-4
Harbison, Dr Douglas 29, 45
Head retraction 46, 68, 71
Hill, Dr Hao 126
132 Hipsley, Dr Eban 107-8
Hollows, Professor Fred 120-2
Honolulu 114
Hunt, Ralph 100
Immunisations 22, 53, 82, 83,
85, 91, 98, 100, 102, 105, 115,
131, 132, 133,
143
144 EVERY SECOND CHILD
Immunity 21, 54, 56, 57, 58,
59, 60, 66, 81, 82, 89, 92, 94,
98, 115, 127, 130, 135
Infant mortality 9, 19, 24, 65,
92, 96, 100, 125, 133, 134
Initiation 33
Initiation tokens 35-6, 38
Jack-a-Boy 34
James, Dr Julie 126
Jenny 92
Jose, Dr David 76
Kalokerinos, Dr James 61, 70, 76
Kirk, Dr D.K. 62, 103
Labrador keratitis 121
Langsford, Dr 103, 129, 131
Latham Dr Simon 132
Liver changes and tenderness
10-11, 52
McCafferty, Gerard 129
McCarthy, Mary 65, 67
Malabsorption 19, 58, 81
Malnutrition 16, 58, 59, 68, 71,
81
Mary 46
Mavropoulos, John 32
Maynard, Frank 34
Maxwell, Professor George 62,
103
Medical Journal of Australia 61,
70
Mexico 115
Miles Laboratories 117
Mucous membranes 57-8, 94, 114
Musgrave, Dr Anthony 132
Newman, Dr D.M.R. 62
Nobile, Dr Silvia 107
Northern Territory 100, 133
O'Leary, Dr Tim 129
O'Malley, King 3
Opal 37,40
INDEX 145
Opal robbery 39 Tribal destruction 3, 4, Vitamin deficiences 18-19, 20,
Otitis media 56, 59, 105, 129-30 Tribal discipline 2 29, 45-6, 49-51, 52f, 59, 79, 83,
Tribes 1 96, 103, 108
Parasite infestations 18, 57-8, 82 Twin infanticide 32, 84-5 Vitamin deficiencies and drugs 49
Pauling, Dr Linus 128 Twins 84f, 97 Vitamin supplements 80, 108,
Pepper, Billy 32, 40 Turnbull, Walter 65, 69 116, 125, 133
Pneumonia 59-60, 68, 71 Vorbach, Dr E.A. 62, 66
Protein-calorie malnutrition 83 Upper respiratory infections 81
Public Defender 70, 73 Walgett 108
Pussy Cat Creek 37, 40 Vallie, Professor 126 Willis, Dr Rory 129, 131
Viral infections 57, 59, 81
Racial factors 57 Vitamin assays 97, 98, 107 Yokoyama, Mitsuo 114
Reserves 4, 27, 64 Vitamin A deficiency 83 Young, Evelyn 64f
Respiratory diseases 16 Vitamin B deficiency 55 Young, Nancy 64f, 124
Roma 70, 72-3 Vitamin C administration 52, 53,
Running noses 56 61, 77, 96 Zinc deficiency 116, 126, 135
Salt retention 93,118
Scurvy 2, 29, 45-6, 49, 54, 61-2,
70,71
Shock and vitamin B 55
Shock and vitamin C 54-5
Smallpox vaccination 132
Smith, Roy 34
Smoking 79
Stuart, Dr John 129-30, 132
Sudden unexpected infant deaths
10, 23, 52-4, 115-16, 123
'Sunshine milk' 66, 71, 73, 74,
124
Sydney Aboriginal Medical
Service 122
Sydney University Law School
74,75
Teething 48
Ten Cent Jackson 71
This Day Tonight 72
Tim 30
Tom 78
Tooth, the Honourable G.D. 129
Topsey 43
Trachoma 120-1
Transferable drug resistance
factor 26, 60, 94, 95
Tribal customs 2, 35, 40, 50