William Bland

343

Maureen Withey on 13th July 2022

DEATH OF DR. BLAND. Dr. William Bland, one of the few remaining old colonists, passed away on Tuesday morning, at ten minutes to 1 o'clock. The deceased gentleman had been ailing for some time, but was not confined to his room more than a week, his last visit to a patient having been made on the 14th instant. During his last illness he was attended by Dr. a' Beckett, with whom co-operated Dr. Bennett and Dr. Bedford. It was feared from the first day that he was confined to his bed that the physical vigour which had long sustained him would succumb, as his strength had evidently been failing for months prior to the final attack. Had he lived to the 5th of November next he would have completed his 79th year. During his illness he was several times visited by the Venerable Archbishop Polding, with whom he had been associated for many years in movements having for their objects the social, moral, and political elevation of the people. The persons in immediate attendance upon him at the time of his death were his nurse, Mrs. Anderson, and an old and respected servant, Mr. W. Deemer. Dr. Bland was elected in conjunction with Mr. Wentworth to the first representative Parliament in Australia, namely, the Legislative Council of New South Wales. This election was very hotly contested, and the venerable gentleman was much injured during a scrimmage that took place on the hustings in Macquarie-place. Under the new Constitution, two Houses were created, and Dr. Bland was nominated to a seat in the Upper House, which he retained till the unsettled state of his private affairs rendered his resignation necessary. He, however, still continued to lead an active life, though he seldom took part in politics during the latter years of his life. Dr. Bland's name is associated with the educational, political, and benevolent institutions of the colony, and privately he was always ready to assist, both with his purse and advice, all who solicited him. We copy from the Register for 1843, the following brief notice of Dr. Bland, published in that journal under the title of ' Heads of the People.' ' William Bland is a native of London, and the son of a medical practitioner of late celebrity in that city. Having undergone the necessary preparation, the subject of our notice entered the Royal Navy as a surgeon, which position he held for some time, till sailing up the Persian Gulf, a quarrel ensued between him and the purser of the ship. The latter challenged Mr. Bland — they fought, and the purser fell at the first shot. Bland's second in this affair was Mr. Randall, the first lieutenant of the ship. They were both tried at Calcutta — found guilty of manslaughter; Bland was sentenced to transportation for seven years, and Randall for eight. In terms of this sentence, Mr. Bland arrived in New South Wales in the year 1814, but was shortly after emancipated, and resumed the practice of his profession. On the 24th September, 1818, Mr. Bland was brought to trial on a charge of libelling the Governor (Macquarie) by the composition and publishing of various letters and verses, contained in a manuscript book dropped on the Parramatta Boad, and thence brought to light. The information contained several counts; upon two of which — one a copy of verses signed ' Lavater, and the other an anonymous letter signed 'The Farmer' — the prisoner was convicted, and sentenced to be imprisoned for twelve calendar months ; to pay a fine of £50, and to give security for his good behaviour for two years after; himself in £200, and two sureties in £100 each; and to remain imprisoned till the fulfilment of the sentence. We have not been able to ascertain what was the nature of these libels. If we may give credit to the Sydney Gazette of the time, they ' were conceived in malignity, and brought forth in the blackest ingratitude;' but as the Gazette was then under a Government censorship, little importance is to be attached to this opinion, or to the ' agitated feelings' of the writer, when he had the misfortune to listen to their recital in Court. At any rate Mr. Bland underwent the full term of his imprisonment in Parramatta gaol for the offence. Since that time Mr. Bland has been known chiefly as a successful medical practitioner, and as the corresponding member of the Patriotic Association. In the latter capacity he wrote a series of very able letters to Mr. Charles Buller, jun., M.P., advocating the concession of representative institutions to this colony, based upon a very extended scheme of elective franchise. He has since, however, thought proper to recant many of the opinions put forth in these letters, at least so far as to go the full length with his friend Mr. Wentworth, in measures at direct variance with the principles laid down by himself in this correspondence. In June, 1843, he was elected one of the members of the Legislative Council for the City of Sydney, but has not been more than a few days present in his place, in consequence of ill health. Mr. Bland writes with fluency, and is a close reasoner, but in his attempts, hitherto, at public speaking he has altogether failed. Mr. Bland enjoys a reputation for benevolence, particularly in connexion with his profession, which few men, if any in the colony, possess in an equal degree. We believe he has never withheld his purse or advice, when either was wanted in aid of any philanthropic enterprise, and his private benefactions have been equally numerous.' The funeral of Dr. Bland, whose death, in his 79th year, occurred on Tuesday morning last, took place on Thursday afternoon, and was attended by a large number of old colonists and gentlemen occupying official and influential positions in society. Sydney Mail, Sat 25 July 1868.

343

Maureen Withey on 13th July 2022

Letter. Dated 31 March 1814, from Secretary’s Office, Sydney. …. 2. The ship Frederick alluded to in your letter of the 27 Aug 1813, has not yet arrived here, and consequently I am not enabled to say further with respect to the proceedings of the Governor General in Council in the Judicial Department of the 9th Jan 1813, and the sentence of the Supreme Court of Judication in the Case of James Halkett, a convict on board that vessel will be duly attended to on his arrival. The Frederick has been for some time at the Southern Settlement on the Derwent in Van Diemen’s Land, and is daily expected here. 3. William Bland, late Lieutenant, and William Randall, late surgeon of H.M. Navy, now convicts on board the above ship Frederick, are also not arrived, but the Proceedings of the Governor General in Council, and the sentences passed on these two persons at Bombay, as transmitted in your letter of the 4 Sept 1813, will meet due attention; in like manner as in the foregoing case. ... -------------------------------------------------- Letter dated 20 July 1814, from Secretary’s office, to Secy, Public Dept, Fort William, Bengal. I have the honor to acquaint you for the information of his Lordship the Governor General in Council that the ship Frederick of Calcutta, Duncan Master, arrived her on the 18th ult and that William Bland, late surgeon and William Randall, late Lieutenant in H.M. Navy arrived on board of her as Convicts under limited sentences. By this opportunity I was favoured with your letter of the 4th September 1813 on the subject of the above prisoners, accompanied by the Proceedings of the Governor General in Council, and the Sentences passed on them at Bombay on the 14th of April 1813, all which, I have laid before His Excellency the Governor, agreeably to the wish expressed in your letter above alluded to. Signed, Thomas Campbell. -------------------------------------------------- D Wong on 12th February, 2014 wrote: The Denmark Hill was not actually a convict ship. It did many sailings and was used to transport William Bland from India. Bland, William (1789–1868) by John Cobley: This article was published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, (MUP), 1966 William Bland (1789-1868), medical practitioner and politician, was born on 5 November 1789 in London, the second son of Dr Robert Bland. He trained in medicine, qualified at an examination conducted by the Royal College of Surgeons as surgeon’s mate in the navy in 1809 and was promoted to the rank of naval surgeon in 1812. While serving in the Hesper at Bombay, he was involved in a wardroom argument with Robert Case, the purser. As a result Bland fought a duel with pistols with Case on 7 April 1813 and wounded him mortally. Bland was tried for murder in Bombay on 14 April and found guilty. He was recommended for mercy and sentenced to transportation for seven years. Bland reached Hobart Town in the Denmark Hill in January 1814 and Sydney in the Frederick on 14 July. He was sent as a prisoner to the asylum at Castle Hill to take care of the inmates, but he may have been allowed to practise privately, as it is known that he treated a free person in this period. He remained at Castle Hill until 27 October 1815, when he received a pardon. Bland began private practice in Sydney, but early in 1816 applied for office in the administration. He was offered the medical appointment at Port Dalrymple on condition that he passed an examination to be conducted by Drs D’Arcy Wentworth, William Redfern and West, but he refused as he considered himself better qualified than his examiners. His practice flourished, and in 1817 he was able to take an apprentice, William Sherwin. In that year he unsuccessfully petitioned the Lords of the Admiralty for restoration of his naval rank and privileges. On 17 April 1817 Bland married Sarah, the 20-year-old daughter of William Henry. Her infidelity caused him again to appear in court. He sued Richard Drake, an officer of the East India Co., for £3000 damages. Bland obtained a verdict for £2000, but Drake absconded from the colony before paying. Bland and his wife separated and she left the colony. On Thursday and Friday, 24 and 25 September 1818, Bland was in court again. ‘Pipes’ lampooning the governor had been found in the Parramatta Road. The ‘pipes’ accused the governor of misleading the farmers and referred offensively to Lachlan Macquarie’s wish to perpetuate his name on foundation stones. Bland was charged with ‘composing, writing and publishing … a manuscript book, containing divers libels on His Excellency Lachlan Macquarie Esq’. Bland skilfully conducted his own defence but was found guilty. He was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment, ‘and to remain imprisoned until the fulfilment of the sentence’, and to a fine of £50. In addition he and two others had to give security for his good behaviour for two years. Bland served his sentence at Parramatta, and from his prison wrote a letter on 14 July 1819 to Earl Bathurst. This letter was forwarded with Macquarie’s own dispatches. Bland criticized seven episodes during Macquarie’s administration. It is significant that three of these occurred before Bland arrived in the colony. At the completion of his sentence, Bland returned to his private practice, and in 1821 began a long association with the Benevolent Society. He not only provided professional services at the asylum but, until 1829, also dispensed medicines at his own home. In addition, in 1825 he was asked to advise on extensions and improvements to the buildings. His advice that a room should be erected for the dual purposes of mortuary and operating theatre sounds strange in the twentieth century. Bland was praised for his exertions by Governor (Sir) Ralph Darling in a dispatch in 1828 and became a life member of the society in 1830. He continued his professional work in the asylum until 1863. He was on the staff of the Sydney Dispensary from its inauguration in 1826-27 and served it until the dispensary lost its identity by merging with the infirmary in 1845. Bland was a philanthropist in many ways. The record of some of his subscriptions is extant and he was a regular patron of literary workers. He assisted the people of Ashfield to build a church with gifts of both money and land. He helped the development of education in the colony. Early in 1825 a free grammar school opened in Phillip Street but this school closed in 1826. The project was revived in 1828 at a pubic meeting convened to consider a plan advanced by Bland. The foundation stone of a new building was laid by the chief justice in 1830 and the Sydney College opened on 19 January 1835. Bland was treasurer from 1835 to 1844 and in 1845 became president, an office he held when the buildings were sold to the University of Sydney in 1853. He helped in the formation of the Sydney School of Arts and Mechanics’ Institute, which opened in 1833. In 1849 Bland’s interest in education and his status as a citizen resulted in the inclusion of his name in the list of proposed members of the first senate of the university. A bill to found the university was introduced in the Legislative Council, with the list of nominees for the senate appended. Robert Lowe spoke vehemently against allowing the management of the university to fall into the hands of former convicts. The bill was passed, but without the list of nominees, and the proclamation appointing the senate on 24 December 1850 did not include Bland’s name. Bland’s political activity began early. In 1821 he attended meetings of an association of emancipists, and in 1825 he was responsible for a publication urging distillation in the colony, to encourage agriculture and to economize in currency. He consistently supported William Charles Wentworth and the emancipists in the struggle for a jury system and took a leading part in a public meeting in January 1827 held to demand trial by jury and a representative assembly. In 1830 he actively opposed attempts to alienate large areas of crown land, and in 1831 joined the committee of the Australian Landowners Association to fight the Ripon land regulations. At another public meeting in 1830 a committee which included Bland was formed to demand legislation by representation and to appoint a parliamentary agent in the House of Commons. Petitions demanding representative government and trial by jury failed in 1830 and 1833. In September 1834 Sir Edward Lytton Bulwer, M.P., wrote from England that the Australian situation was not well understood in London. He suggested that an organized association should be formed, and that it should appoint a parliamentary agent for New South Wales. As a result the Australian Patriotic Association was formed in 1835, with Bland as chairman of the committee of correspondence. The object of the association was to draw up a draft bill for the government of the colony, and two draft Constitutions were completed before the end of the year. Bulwer acted as parliamentary agent until 1838, when he was succeeded by Charles Buller. A petition went forward to the British government in 1839. In 1842 parliament passed an act to authorize representative government in the colony by a single chamber of twelve nominees and twenty-four elected members. The first election was held on 15 June 1843 and Bland was elected as a representative of Sydney. He was a vigorous councillor with a distinctive approach to the land question. He believed that paying for immigration from the fund created by colonial land sales resulted in an export of capital which the colony could not afford. He diverged farther from the attitude of the majority of the landed interest by favouring government encouragement to create a yeomanry. He continued his protests against the alienation of crown lands; he was on the select committee to investigate expenditure on public buildings; he advocated a reduced municipal franchise; he was on the select committee to investigate the desirability of a parliamentary agent in London; he was appointed to the committee to investigate the lunatic asylum at Hunters Hill; he was a member of the select committee to inquire into the renewal of transportation. He was appointed a trustee of the New South Wales Savings Bank on 23 January 1844. However, in the second election for the Legislative Council in 1848, and probably because of his enthusiasm for the reintroduction of transportation, Bland was defeated by Robert Lowe. Lowe resigned in 1849 and Bland was re-elected, but he resigned in the next year. In 1858 he was nominated to the Legislative Council, by then part of the recently created bicameral parliament, and resigned with its other members in 1861, according to the terms of section 3 of the Constitution Act. In February 1846, Bland, then a widower, married a widow, Eliza Smeathman. Bland was a trustee and at one time president of the Australian Medical Subscription Library founded in 1846, and first president of the Australian Medical Association formed in 1859. He contributed articles to the Australian Medical Journal on ‘Bites of Venomous Snakes of Australia’ and on ‘Dislocations’. He performed operations for removal of cataracts from the eyes and of stones from the bladder. In 1832 he performed a remarkable operation for the cure of an aneurysm of the subclavian artery; it was only the seventh known operation of its kind. Bland reported the details of the operation and of the instrument he had improvised for it in the Lancet in the same year. He performed this operation on another patient in 1838. Apart from the surgical instruments he improvised, Bland made drawings of two inventions. He published a brochure entitled Suppression of Spontaneous Combustion in Wool Ships on 27 March 1843: carbonic acid gas was to be circulated freely through the holds of the ships and thus prevent combustion. In 1855 he published The Atmotic Ship. This contained a drawing of a balloon filled with hydrogen; it was to be propelled by four screw propellors, two driven by steam, and the other two ‘by their impulsive effects against atmospheric pressure’. A model of the device against combustion was shown at the International Exhibition in London in 1851, and of the Atmotic Ship at the Crystal Palace in 1854. Bland edited the Journey of Discovery to Port Phillip, New South Wales; by Messrs W. H. Hovell and Hamilton Hume in 1824 and 1825 (Sydney, 1831), and published New South Wales: Review of the Examination of Mr James Macarthur’s Work (1839); and some of his letters to governors were printed. A banquet was held in July 1856 to celebrate the grant of a new Constitution by the British government. Bland accepted an invitation to preside and received a deserved ovation. On 5 November 1858 he was given a sum of money and a candelabra for his services to the community, but in 1861 an attempt to procure an annuity for him was defeated in the Legislative Council. In 1861 he was declared a bankrupt. Bland continued in active medical practice until 1868. In that year, he developed pneumonia and died intestate on 21 July. He was accorded a state funeral. A portrait of Bland is in the Mitchell Library, Sydney. There are hundreds of references to William Bland and it is surprising that there should be so many gaps in knowledge of a man who was a public figure for so long. There seems no doubt, from his brightly coloured carriages, of his flamboyance. His quarrels with Lowe and his heated newspaper battle with Dr McCrae over the treatment of a patient suggest a basically argumentative disposition, and he appears to have entered without great reluctance into the duel which led to his original conviction. Though bankrupt in 1861, he was at one time a large landowner, with property at Prospect Hill, Hunters Hill, Yass and Gerringong. He appears to have had an interest in horse racing; he was a member of the Turf Club until he resigned to join the Australian Racing Club founded in 1828. There is little doubt of his ability and patience as a surgeon, and of his selfless affection for the sick and the poor. It is also clear that he devoted tremendous energy and much time to establishing in New South Wales two basic freedoms: the right of man to be tried by his peers, and his right to participate in the election of his government. It is probable that a contemporary view of Bland provides as accurate a picture as can be contrived. Dr Evans wrote in the Empire on 21 January 1862: ‘there is a class of men among the old colonists, to whom those locks, whiter than the driven snow, are a crown of glory: and who, when they shall follow him to his grave, will feel that, whoever may come after him, none can ever assume his place, as one of the earliest founders and patriarchs of liberty on this continent. For more than forty or perhaps fifty years, has this brave, consistent and accomplished man been struggling, sometimes against imperial, and at other times against local tyranny, on behalf of a people who at one moment appreciated his motives, and at another joined with their own oppressors in disparaging, if not in vilifying their greatest benefactor. An elegant scholar, a man of science, and a gentleman of that antique school of urbanity and refinement, which modern barbarism and ruffianism have almost trampled into oblivion — William Bland’. -------------------------------------------------- Colonial Secretary Index. BLAND, William. Per "Frederick", 1814, from India, a former surgeon in the Royal Navy; sent as a surgeon to the Asylum at Castle Hill; pardoned in October 1815 1814 Mar 31, Jul 20 Convict from Bombay transported on "Frederick" under limited sentence (Reel 6018; 4/3521 pp.7, 21) 1814 Sep 12 George Suttor re relations with Bland (Reel 6004; 4/3493 pp.293-4) 1814 Sep 12 Letter to and instructions as surgeon at Castle Hill (Reel 6004; 4/3493 p.297) 1814 Oct 1 Surgeon at Castle Hill Asylum. Re condition of patients and repairs and additions to the Asylum (Reel 6044; 4/1730 pp.406-9). Reply, 15 Oct (Reel 6004; 4/3493 p.335) 1815 Feb 27 Ordered George Suttor to cease reading prayers to patients at Castle Hill Lunatic Asylum (Reel 6045; 4/1732 p.83) 1815 Mar 2 Re continuation of prayers on Sundays at Lunatic Asylum (Reel 6004; 4/3493 p.475) 1815 Aug 28 Re resignation as surgeon at Asylum (Reel 6004; 4/3494 p.152) 1816 Jan 13 Re convening of Medical Board to examine competency of Bland for position of Surgeon, Port Dalrymple (Reel 6004; 4/3494 pp.316-7) 1816 Jan 16 Of Sydney. On list of persons to receive grants of land in 1816 (Fiche 3266; 9/2652 p.22) 1816 Dec 29 Evidence at inquest on William Jenkins (Reel 6021; 4/1819 p.337) 1817 Jan 29 Attended James Elgin during illness (Reel 6047; 4/1739 pp.121-4) 1817 Mar 24 Granted special licence to marry Miss Henry (Reel 6005; 4/3496 p.87) 1817 Mar 25 Re confirming of terms by which special licence granted (Reel 6005; 4/3496 p.88) 1817 Dec 16 Issued writ against Richard Drake (Reel 6047; 4/1739 pp.80-1) 1818 Sep On lists of fees paid to the Clerk of the Peace, 1 Jan 1817 to 1 Jan 1821; in case of King v Bland (Reel 6054; 4/1758 pp.65b, 66a) 1820 Aug 2 Evidence at inquest on a male infant (Reel 6021; 4/1819 p.320) 1820 Aug 3 Evidence at inquest on Christopher Grogan (Reel 6021; 4/1819 pp.263-5) 1821 Jan 13 Evidence at inquest on Elizabeth Mandeville (Reel 6021; 4/1819 p.439) 1821 Feb 14 Evidence at inquest on a male infant (Reel 6021; 4/1819 p.281) 1821 Mar 5 On list of persons for whom grants of land have been handed over to the Surveyor General for delivery, with amount of fees to be charged (Fiche 3266; 9/2652 p.62) 1821 May 27 Evidence at inquest on Thomas Jones (Reel 6021; 4/1819 p.363) 1821 May 31 Evidence at inquest on Isabella Johnson (Reel 6021; 4/1819 p.347) 1821 Aug 21 Evidence at inquest on Henry McMahon (Reel 6021; 4/1819 p.425) 1822 Apr 22 Referred to in letter complaining about George Slade, Coroner (Reel 6055; 4/1760 p.38c) 1822 May 9 Testifying to ill health of Abraham Polack (Fiche 3224; 4/1867 p.15) 1822 Aug Signatory to petition objecting to the Commissariat's new system of paying for supplies in Spanish dollars (Reel 6017; 4/5783 p.124a) 1823 May 9 Aware of state of health of Vickers Jacob's wife. Jacob explaining reasons for retiring to New South Wales from service in India (Reel 6017; 4/5783 p.304) 1823 Sep 13 Name omitted from list of Naval Surgeons (Reel 6059; 4/1772 p.117). Reply, 30 Sep (Reel 6011; 4/3509 p.335) 1823 Oct 13 Applying for the body of an executed prisoner (Reel 6057; 4/1766 p.60) 1824 Jan 14 Re Mr D McDonald being in his care (Reel 6061; 4/1778 p.28) 1824 Jun 22 Memorial (Fiche 3078; 4/1836A No.71b pp.353-5). Reply, 5 Jul (Reel 6013; 4/3511 p.605) 1824 Sep 16 Certifying to medical condition of Francis Wilde (Reel 6061; 4/1780 p.315) 1824 Sep 20 On list of persons receiving an assigned convict (Fiche 3290; 4/4570D p.58) 1824 Oct 3 Attesting to the ill health of Sarah Downing (Reel 6061; 4/1780 p.302) 1825 May 9 Signature in recommendation of Thomas William Middleton's memorial re retaining the situation of Inspector of Cattle (Reel 6062; 4/1782 p.48b) 1825 Sep 14 Re non compliance with his request (Reel 6015; 4/3515 p.307) 1825 Oct 17 Memorial for a Sydney town allotment (Fiche 3120; 4/1840B No.58) 1825 Nov 12,14 On list of persons who have received orders for grants of land (Fiche 3266; 9/2652 p.85); on list of lands granted and reserved by Sir Thomas Brisbane (Fiche 3269; 9/2740 p.4) --------------------------------------------------- NSW Convict Index. William Bland, per Frederick, 1814, Conditional Pardon, 27 Oct 1815. --------------------------------------------------- Sydney. Criminal Court. On Thursday Mr. William Bland, formerly a Surgeon in the Royal Navy, and who came to this Colony under sentence of the law between four and five years ago, and was shortly after emancipated by His Excellency the Governor, was brought to. trial on a charge of libelling the G