Catalogue description Folios 22-23: Caroline Watson, aged 16, [Convict]; disease or hurt, fever. Put on sick...

Folios 22-23: Caroline Watson, aged 16, [Convict]; disease or hurt, fever. Put on sick list, 8 January 1835, at sea in the Atlantic Ocean. Discharged, [24 January 1835]. Folio 23: Mary Cottell, aged 22, [Convict]; disease or hurt, fever. Put on sick list, 24 November 1834, at Isles of Scilly. Discharged, 6 December 1834. Folio 23: Mary Pearce, aged 28, [Convict]; disease or hurt, fever. Put on sick list, 15 December 1834. Discharged, 12 January 1835. Folio 24: John Miller, aged 10, Son of a free woman; disease or hurt, fever. Put on sick list, 14 January 1835, at sea. Discharged, 10 February 1835. Folio 24: Maria Turner, aged [not recorded], [Convict]; disease or hurt, fever. Put on sick list, 15 February 1835. Discharged, 27 February 1835. Folio 24: Margaret [Benson], aged 22, [Convict]; disease or hurt, fever. Put on sick list, 11 March 1835. Discharged, 23 March 1835. Folio 24: Margaret Hebbron, aged 22, [Convict]; disease or hurt, parturitio. Put on sick list, 3 December 1834, at sea. Gave birth to a still born male child in the 8th month of pregnancy. Folio 24: Sarah Stephens, aged [not recorded], [Convict]; disease or hurt, parturitio. Put on sick list, 23 December 1834, at sea. Discharged, [8 January 1835]. Delivered of a male child, both did well.

Folio 25: Ann Robson, aged 22, [Convict]; disease or hurt, parturitio. Put on sick list, 28 December 1834, at sea. Discharged, [12 January 1835]. Delivered of a female child which did well. Folio 25: Mary Morgan, aged 36, [Convict]; disease or hurt, parturitio. Put on sick list, 4 January 1835, at sea. Discharged, [20 January 1835]. Delivered of a female child, both did well. She was the mother of 8 other children, all of whom were also aboard.

Folio 25: Mary A Gates, aged 24, [Convict]; disease or hurt, parturitio. Put on sick list, 19 March 1835, at sea. Discharged, [1 April 1835]. Delivered of a still born child in the 7th month of pregnancy. She recovered well.

Folios 25-26: M White, aged 40, Free Woman; disease or hurt, dysenteria. Put on sick list, 7 December 1834. Discharged, 19 December 1834. Had suffered almost constant sea sickness causing great debility.

Folio 27: E Roberts, aged 28, [Convict]; disease or hurt, dysenteria. Put on sick list, 13 December 1834. Discharged, 21 December 1834.

Folio 27: Mary Pearce, aged 28, [Convict]; disease or hurt, dysenteria. Put on sick list, 15 December 1834, at sea. Discharged, 15 January 1835. Suffered dysentery after mild fever.

Folio 27: Rebecca Hiscock, aged 30, [Convict]; disease or hurt, dysenteria. Put on sick list, 7 January 1835, at sea. Discharged, 16 January 1835.

Folio 27: S Suffolk, aged 56, Free Woman; disease or hurt, dysenteria. Put on sick list, 17 January 1835, at sea. Discharged, 23 January 1835.

Folio 28: M Tilsed, aged 40, [Convict]; disease or hurt, dysenteria. Put on sick list, 23 March 1835, at sea. Discharged, 28 March 1835.

Folio 28: M Donald, aged 28, [Convict]; disease or hurt, dysenteria. Put on sick list, 23 March 1835, at sea. Discharged, 28 March 1835.

Folio 28: Hester Hiscock, aged 30, [Convict]; disease or hurt, dysenteria. Put on sick list, 23 March 1835, at sea. Discharged, 1 April 1835.

Folio 28: M Pearce, aged 26, [Convict]; disease or hurt, dysenteria. Put on sick list, 27 March 1835. Discharged, 1 April 1835.

Folios 28-29: S Suffolk, aged 56, [Free Woman]; disease or hurt, asthma. Put on sick list, 29 January 1835, at sea. Discharged, 12 February 1835.

Folios 29-32: J Pattison's child, aged 18 months; disease or hurt, diarrhoea. Put on sick list, 15 December 1834, at sea. Sent to the Colonial Hospital, 29 March 1835. 'A puny emaciated child' who had been 'falling off in point of health and strength' since embarking. His mother was said be inattentive by the other women and persisted in giving him salted meat in spite of all that was said to her. He improved slightly in health but was having convulsive fits towards the end of March. He recovered after being sent to the hospital.

Folio 33: Blank.

Folio 34: Abstract of the preceding journal, being a summary of all the cases contained therein, nosologically arranged. Containing the names of patients as well as the disease and the length of treatment.

Folio 35: Form of a list to be made out of men who have received wounds or hurts, between the [blank] and the [blank]. The form is blank.

Folios 35-37: Surgeon's general remarks. The surgeon arrived on board the New Grove on24 November 1834 at the Isles of Scilly, where the ship had called in consequence of the dangerous illness of Mr George Rowe, Surgeon Superintendent. The convicts had been aboard about 5 weeks. The New Grove was on her second voyage and was a vessel of 490 tons with good, dry accommodation but full with 165 female convicts, 5 free women and 28 children. Discipline was rather lax due to Mr Rowe's illness. The surgeon details the system of management used by him in three previous voyages and sets out the daily routine of cleaning and admission to the deck. He checked the quality of every meal served to the prisoners and inspected the prison every day. He found it impossible to get women prisoners to dry holystone the decks, it 'being so contrary to their usual mode of cleaning', so allowed them to clean with cloths and as little water as possible. Dinner was at 1pm, tea at 4pm, at 5pm beds were taken below. Just before sunset each woman's name was called and she was sent below and the prison secured. A similar routine was followed in the morning and thus all the women were mustered and seen by the surgeon twice every day. The hospital was in the after part of the lower deck and was large and airy, with 8 bed places and two cradles. Three women were selected as nurse attendants. The surgeon visited the sick at least twice a day. The attendants needed constant supervision to make sure they did not neglect their patients. The weather was good throughout the voyage. At the start of a voyage the change in diet and lack of exercise generally gives rise to a number of diseases, the most common being disorders of the bowels. These are common throughout the voyage and cause by far the greatest expenditure of medical provisions, although they are generally of very short duration. The fever cases were severe and produced debility but were inflammatory in nature rather than like typhus fever, as delirium rarely occurred. There were a considerable number of cases of dysentery, produced by cold weather towards the end of the voyage and obstructed perspiration. There were 5 children born and 2 still born. The still births both had been dead some days probably from partial separation of the placenta occasioned by slipping while climbing the ladder. The diarrhoea among the children can be ascribed to want of attention on the part of their mothers. Children at the breast thrive but from weaning to 4 or 5 years old they are very subject to diarrhoea, debility and emaciation, and consequently in great danger. The surgeon has no suggestions to improve the diet, accommodation or clothing allowed the female prisoners and considers 'so many prisoners being transported to such a distant region as the Australian Colonies, with so little serious sickness or loss of life as the best proof that these arrangements are brought as nearly to a state of perfection as circumstances will admit'. He makes the point that it is the third voyage in succession he has had charge of in which there have been no deaths. Signed David Thomson