


The “essence of dragons blood, unicorns horn and the oil of mans skull” – Tales from a 17th century apothecary physician
Dr Natalie Apelbaum, BBNSc, MBBS, is an Intensive Care and Emergency registrar at The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne It never ceases to amaze me where medical history reveals itself, often in the most obscure places. We are constantly surrounded by it, in the tales of...
The great women of anaesthesia: Emily Hancock Siedeberg McKinnon
This post is one in a series uncovering the stories of early women anaesthetists from Australia and New Zealand. In a very polite letter to the Chancellor of the University of Otago, dated 10 March, 1891, 18 year old Emily Siedeberg expressed her desire to study...
What’s on for 2017?
2017 marks 25 years since the establishment of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA). So, as part of ANZCA, we’ll be celebrating 25 years too. But, whether it’s related to 25 years or not, there’s plenty going on this year and you...
Why did the British anaesthetist, Joseph Clover (1825-1882), have bank accounts in New Zealand?
Joseph Clover trained initially as a surgeon but, by the 1860s, was one of the foremost anaesthetists in Britain. He was one of only a handful of doctors who devoted his practice to anaesthesia at that time. I have been researching his life for many years since the...