Melbourne Botanical Garden,
25/7/67.
It affords me the utmost pleasure to bear testimony that Dr. JAMES ATKIN WHITE, M.R.C.S., acted as Honorary Medical Officer, from Nov., 1866, till June. 1867, to the Expedition sent by the Ladies’ Committee in search of Dr. Leichhardt’s Party, lost in the interior of the Australian Continent.1 Dr. WHITE not merely proved himself a highly efficient Surgeon to the Expedition, but also to the settlers in the districts of tropical Australia, through which he passed; and his services deserve a still higher recognition, as Dr. WHITE had to expose himself to the danger of Typhus, then raging at Carpentaria, but became himself a sufferer of Tropical Jungle Fever while in the exercise of his professional duties. I regard it also but just to this gentleman, when I add that in a bold and courageous spirit he entered on his engagement, had to travel a wide distance of but little known country in the tropics, at the hottest season, to join the expedition, and won by the skill of his treatment, by his absolute disinterestedness, and by the maintenance of highly honourable principles, the respect of all with whom he came in contact. Dr. WHITE’S services were only secured for the period of his attachment to the expedition and ceased with the discontinuance (for the present at least) of the party in the field.
Ferdinand Mueller, M.D., F.R.S.
Ladies’ Leichhardt Search Expedition, 1866-7. White returned to England after the expedition and probably collected the testimonials in preparation for departure; see his obituary, Manchester evening news, 1 May 1885, p. 2. He was very likely the 'Dr. White' who sailed for London aboard Sussex on 6 August 1867 (see Argus, 7 August 1867, p. 4).
MS is a printed document, pinned together with five other printed references for White. In the 19th century, a testimonial was typically sent to the person requesting one and treated as an open document for use by the recipient, often by printing it along with the other testimonials supplied. Occasionally the letter might concern a specific role but was still sent to the person requesting it, who then forwarded it; see, for example, M to J. Hector, 5 December 1870 (in this edition as 70-12-05a), and notes thereto.
Please cite as “FVM-67-07-25b,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on