New Zealand Medical Missions in South China – Ko Tong Hospital in the Kirk Years, 1896-1917

<p>During the rainy season of 1909, the first hospital of Western medicine opened to the public in the bustling market town of Ko Tong, Upper Panyu, China. Po Wai Yiyuen, or ‘The Hospital of Universal Love’, was a medical missionary endeavour of the Canton Villages Mission (CVM) of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, the only mission to China from any New Zealand church. This thesis presents the first in-depth biographical and institutional study of the CVM’s medical mission, from its conception in 1898 until the closure of its first temporary hospital at Ko Tong in 1917. The thesis argues that the trajectory of the CVM’s medical mission closely followed that of earlier medical missions in a crucial era for the presence and development of Western medicine in China. It also shows how local Cantonese responses to the medical mission in Ko Tong were complex and highly pragmatic. The study highlights the importance of relationships between returned New Zealand Chinese miners and medical missionaries. It argues that, despite numerous setbacks, the CVM’s medical mission under the leadership of Dr. John Kirk achieved a level of stability and purpose it would struggle to find again. Unlike much scholarship in New Zealand Chinese history, this research does not focus on the Chinese in New Zealand. Rather, it analyses the work and interactions of Western medical missionaries of the New Zealand Presbyterian Church active in China. A study of this kind draws on and contributes to histories of missions, medicine in China, and New Zealand-China interactions. The thesis’ three chapters contextualise the medical mission within the pre-existing Protestant missionary movement and medical missionary movement in China, consider how local Cantonese in Ko Tong viewed the ‘foreign doctor’ in their midst, and finally, analyse the influence and leadership of Dr. John Kirk, the hospital’s main superintendent. It does this by examining mission policy, the hospital’s medical care standards, and Kirk’s involvement in medical education. This research utilises primary sources from the Presbyterian Church Archives of New Zealand, highlighting an immensely rich and varied body of archival resources, which has remained largely untapped by historians.</p>

New Zealand Medical Missions in South China – Ko Tong Hospital in the Kirk Years, 1896-1917

<p>During the rainy season of 1909, the first hospital of Western medicine opened to the public in the bustling market town of Ko Tong, Upper Panyu, China. Po Wai Yiyuen, or ‘The Hospital of Universal Love’, was a medical missionary endeavour of the Canton Villages Mission (CVM) of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, the only mission to China from any New Zealand church. This thesis presents the first in-depth biographical and institutional study of the CVM’s medical mission, from its conception in 1898 until the closure of its first temporary hospital at Ko Tong in 1917. The thesis argues that the trajectory of the CVM’s medical mission closely followed that of earlier medical missions in a crucial era for the presence and development of Western medicine in China. It also shows how local Cantonese responses to the medical mission in Ko Tong were complex and highly pragmatic. The study highlights the importance of relationships between returned New Zealand Chinese miners and medical missionaries. It argues that, despite numerous setbacks, the CVM’s medical mission under the leadership of Dr. John Kirk achieved a level of stability and purpose it would struggle to find again. Unlike much scholarship in New Zealand Chinese history, this research does not focus on the Chinese in New Zealand. Rather, it analyses the work and interactions of Western medical missionaries of the New Zealand Presbyterian Church active in China. A study of this kind draws on and contributes to histories of missions, medicine in China, and New Zealand-China interactions. The thesis’ three chapters contextualise the medical mission within the pre-existing Protestant missionary movement and medical missionary movement in China, consider how local Cantonese in Ko Tong viewed the ‘foreign doctor’ in their midst, and finally, analyse the influence and leadership of Dr. John Kirk, the hospital’s main superintendent. It does this by examining mission policy, the hospital’s medical care standards, and Kirk’s involvement in medical education. This research utilises primary sources from the Presbyterian Church Archives of New Zealand, highlighting an immensely rich and varied body of archival resources, which has remained largely untapped by historians.</p>

G Vernon Davies: unsung pioneer of old age psychiatry in Victoria

Objective: To provide a biography of G Vernon Davies who took up a career in old age psychiatry in 1955 at the age of 67 at Mont Park Hospital in an era when there few psychiatrists working in the field. Conclusion: In the 1950s and 1960s, Vernon Davies worked as an old age psychiatrist and published papers containing sensible practical advice informed by contemporary research and experience, broadly applicable to both primary and secondary care, presented in a compassionate and empathetic manner. His clinical research in old age psychiatry resulted in the first doctoral degree in psychiatry awarded at the University of Melbourne at the age of 79. Before commencing old age psychiatry, he served in the Australian Army Medical Corps as a Regimental Medical Officer and received the Distinguished Service Order. He spent 3 years as a medical missionary in the New Hebrides before settling at Wangaratta where he worked as a physician for over 30 years. He contributed to his local community in a broad range of activities. Vernon Davies is an Australian pioneer of old age psychiatry.

Green’s Terminological principles and methods: an analysis on the pioneering work of Scientific Tamil

This research paper attempts to provide a details descriptive analysis on the terminological work done by Samuel Fisk Green, an American Medical Missionary as part of the Scientific Tamil initiatives in the nineteenth century in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Green being a foreign or more accurately an alien to Tamil language started to teach western medicine in Tamil at his own Medical College at Manipay and translated medical science related books from European languages into Tamil to enhance medium of instruction and disseminate healthcare information within community. During the translation process he was in need of terminology development on specific terms and he developed terminological principles and methods such as term creation, term formation, paraphrasing, compounding, borrowing, transliteration, derivation and others to use to create accurate and appropriate equivalents that could support beginners to communicate successfully in scientific Tamil language. Thus this descriptive analytical paper provides a details analysis of the significant contribution made by Green on Terminology while providing an indebt insight to the both novice as well as experienced future researchers. Further it will support the policy and strategies concerning scientific Tamil language with the hope of promotion of scientific and technical communication.

Considering Medical Missions in all its Different Forms: A Viewpoint from the Asia-Pacific Region

Whereas some medical missionaries may already have moved away from “traditional” models of medical mission, in the experience of the authors from the Asia-Pacific region, many potential medical missionaries in the region still imagine a stereotypical generalist medical missionary who runs a mission hospital. The authors argue that with the economic and socio-political development of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in recent decades, the landscape for medical missions has changed. Hence, contemporary medical missionaries should be well-advised to have specialist qualifications and be more likely to teach, mentor, and do research rather than only doing hands-on clinical work. Professionalism and quality, rather than “make-do,” should be the norm. There are more opportunities to partner with and strengthen existing local institutions rather than setting up a Christian health service. Furthermore, mission opportunities may be available in academia, government, or secular organisations, including places where Christianity has a hostile reception. Multi-disciplinary expertise and collaboration within health services are increasingly important and provide another opportunity for missions. Medical missionaries may also come from other LMICs, or from within the same country. Job-sharing, self-funding, or fly-in-fly-out, may be a viable and legitimate means of sending more medical missionaries. These non-traditional models of medical mission that incorporate a diversity of approaches, but without sacrificing the “traditional” missional values and practices, should allow even more people to serve in medical missions. The purpose of this paper is to survey this topic in hope of stimulating discussions on non-traditional medical mission opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

Medical Hallyu In Mongolia: A Case Study Of Dr. Kwan-Tae Park’s Spirituality And Medical Service

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Mongolia in 1990, Hallyu (the Korean Wave) has rapidly spread to Mongolia. Korean food and medicine, as well as Korean drama and pop music, are welcomed by Mongolians. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of Korean medical service on Mongolia, focusing on the Korean medical missionary Kwan-tae Park. We will show that his excellent human relationship as a reason for his fruit-bearing ministry in the Mongolian society, which is somewhat unfriendly to aggressive Christian evangelism. In conclusion, we will argue that his ministry is imitating Jesus' life presented by the New Testament in a large framework.

Medicine as a Lens to Examine Cross-Cultural Encounters: A Study of Medical Missionary Samuel Hayward Ford’s Writings in Nineteenth-Century New Zealand

Summary Medical missionary Samuel Hayward Ford arrived in New Zealand’s Bay of Islands in the late 1830s, a few years before the formal colonisation of the country. His letters and medical reports to the Committee of the Church Missionary Society revealed the complicated and malleable nature of medicine in the cross-cultural encounter. Through close study of Ford’s writings, this article argues that medicine worked to transform and interweave Māori and missionary worlds in precolonial New Zealand. Experiencing the spread of disease in the Bay of Islands, Ford practised and was influenced by evangelical humanitarianism, and he was also entangled in the politics of empire. More than this, his medicine exposed the missionary objective to transform Māori society, and it showcased not just cultural differences regarding medical knowledge but also the exchange of ideas and treatments between Māori and the missionaries.