2.3 Reverend Watson's Diaries - Annotations

  1. Watson informed the Sydney Committee of Betsy’s baptism later that month. Watson to Hill, 26 June 1835, CMS CN/O5(a). [Return to page 263]
  2. Nehemiah 4:2. [Return to page 265]
  3. Zechariah 3:2. `And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?’ [Return to page 268]
  4. Romans 8:28. ` And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose’. [Return to page 271]
  5. At this point, the mission had about eight servants, including a servant for Handt and a female domestic for Mary Handt. `General Scale of Rations at Wellington Valley’, 8 October 1835, CMS CN/O5(a). This was evidently too few to carry on the multitude of tasks and responsibilities of the station, necessitating the casual employment of local stockkeepers to retrieve stray cattle, local labourers to build fences, and the military called on to lend a hand. The mission staff included the convict `Paddy’, who had formerly worked for Aspinall and Co. under the superintendence of John Maxwell, and was with the missionaries from around mid 1833. His propriety and industry was such that Watson wished to employ him when he became eligible for his ticket-of-leave, even though the going salary for an illiterate overseer at Wellington was £40. Paddy was said to be able to keep other servants in good order, and would thus be in high demand on the frontier. Watson to Hill, 16 December 1835, CMS CN/O5(a). Paddy appears to have found better pay elsewhere and moved on. [Return to page 271]
  6. Jerimah 49:11. `Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me’. [Return to page 273]
  7. John 21:6. [Return to page 278]
  8. Isaiah 49:4. `Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God’ [Return to page 282]
  9. ie. tuberculosis. Phthisis, meaning wasting, refers to the enfeeblement and weight loss arising from tuberculosis as it affects the lungs. [Return to page 282]
  10. Measles, or Rubeola, an acute and highly infectious disease, characterised by an eruption of small, crimson spots on the skin. It was once thought to be a variety of smallpox and was sometimes confounded with scarlet fever. Symptoms include fever, catarrh, headache, sore throat and thirst, and complications include ear and eye infections, diarrhoea, encephalitis, or inflammation of the respiratory organs resulting in bronchitis or pneumonia. Measles spread with great rapidity and virulence among indigenous peoples. For examples, a virgin soil epidemic decimated the population of the Faroe Islands in 1846, and Fiji in 1875. [Return to page 283]
  11. Psalms 74:20. `Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty [Return to page 285]
  12. During 1835, Geanil emerged as one of Watson’s most promising students. In June, he informed the Sydney Committee that she was “under serious religious concern. She weeps and prays and expresses an anxious desire to be baptised”. Watson to Hill, 26 June 1835, CMS CN/O5(a). [Return to page 287]
  13. Howitt describes the perforation of the septum as a custom performed on children prior to initiation. Boys were treated by old men and girls by old women. Howitt, Native Tribes, 740-1. [Return to page 288]
  14. Matthew 9:18-26. [Return to page 298]
  15. Influenza: an acute infectious disease, caused by one of three known types of influenza virus (A, B and C). The illness is characterised by generalised aching and respiratory symptoms, with possible serious complications arising from infection of the lungs. An influenza pandemic in 1918-1919 is estimated to have caused 20 million deaths worldwide. [Return to page 302]
  16. Ischuria, retention or suppression of the urine. [Return to page 303]
  17. Reverend Robert Cartwright (1771-1856), Anglican clergyman and chaplain at Liverpool from 1819-1836 (see WellPro Directory). [Return to page 305]
  18. Proverbs 6:6.`Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise’ [Return to page 314]
  19. Paralysis, or Palsy, meaning a loss of muscular power, resulting from an affection of the nervous system. Paralysis affecting one side of the body is known as hemiplegia, commonly due to brain disease, possibly a cerebral haemorrhage, thrombosis or embolism. [Return to page 318]
  20. Vitriol, or sulphuric acid, being an oily, colourless and powerful mineral acid. Dilute or aromatic sulphuric acid containing cinnamon and ginger, known as `elixir of vitriol’, could be used to treat diarrhoea. [Return to page 319]
  21. Corrosive Sublimate, or Perchloride of Mercury, a powerful antiseptic. [Return to page 319]
  22. 1 Timothy 1:15. `This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.’ [Return to page 327]
  23. Jeremiah 28:16. `Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD.’ [Return to page 332]
  24. William Brown, M.D., History of the Propagation of Christianity among the Heathen since the Reformation. London: Ogle, Duncan & Cochran, 1814. [Return to page 336]
  25. Psalm 146:8. `The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous’. [Return to page 340]
  26. Buddah Lake, north-west of Narromine, roughly 100 km from Wellington Valley. [Return to page 347]
  27. Blood-letting was a popular treatment for various ailments. The key methods were puncturing or cutting the vein (venesection), cupping or leeches. [Return to page 352]