A serologist’s reminiscences of PNG
03 January 2009
Dr
Peter Booth arrived in Port Moresby in October 1962 as the first Director of
the Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service. He was a serologist. His wife, Kitty,
a haematologist. Between them, they knew everything about blood that could
be known. When Peter arrived, the Blood Transfusion Service consisted of two
nursing sisters in Port Moresby, one in Lae and one in Rabaul. When he left,
shortly before Independence, there was a fully operational blood bank in all
the major centres.
After
some years in Christchurch running the Blood Transfusion Service, Peter and
Kitty returned to Port Moresby to share a visiting professorship at the
University of Papua New Guinea.
Well
into his retirement, Peter was invited to deliver the inaugural Ruth Sanger
Memorial Ovation at the Conference of the Australasian Society for Blood
Transfusion in October 1990. He wrote the paper but died in February 1990 before he could deliver it. It
was his 100th paper and, renamed the Peter Booth Memorial Ovation, it was read
at the conference by his son Nick.
It
is both an erudite and witty presentation (the original has slides, but it won’t
affect your enjoyment of Peter’s prose), with many references to his work in
PNG. An extract below and you can read the full paper, which is on the PNGAA website,
here.
This is in fact the old hospital at Saiho, 18 miles
and 18 rivers from Popondetta. Bush materials, flat swampy ground, a tropical
paradise, and absolutely lethal. Infested by mosquitoes all full of talciparum malaria, not chloroquin-resistant in
my day. The lab was much the size of an average garden shed, and, when it
contained two burly Melanesians - Edward the technician and his mate - and
myself, it seemed like WembleyStadium on Cup Final Day.
Reverting to Saiho old hospital, l had another
picture to show you, but have mislaid it. It showed preparation of the
patients' lunch: slices of bread being fried in pig grease on top of old 40
gallon drums. It smelt delicious, and l was even more envious after lunch with
the Saiho Medical Officer He was a single man, with a mind well elevated above
the humdrum, so he failed to notice that his housekeeping was being deplorably
neglected by a handful of slovenly Papuan house-boys, who served up an
abominable lunch.
However, an even worse meal from PNG is on record. It
was served in 1888 at Government House, Port Moresby, to the Resident Deputy
Commissioner, Hugh Hastings Romilly, who was living alone there, awaiting the
arrival of the first Administrator, William MacGregor. When Romilly came to
breakfast on his first day, he was confronted by a table covered with a dirty
old blanket on which was arranged a bizarre meal.
Cockroach Cheese, One Dutch
Blue mould sardines, One tin opened
Bitten bread, One hunk
Brandy, One bottle
Whisky, One bottle
Office gum, One pot
I also found it interesting, as Dr Peter Booth was my mum's brother. How about that? I haven't heard hide nor hair of Nick his sons and his sister.
Contact: 3 Envilles Chase, lt-laver, Ongar, Essex , UK, 01279 730168
Posted by: Pete Scales | 23 June 2010 at 06:58 AM
I find this article very interesting as Dr Booth was my grandfather, Thankyou for this information.
Posted by: Josh | 05 January 2009 at 08:21 PM