“Captain of All These Men of Death”: An Integrated Case Study of Tuberculosis in Nineteenth-Century Otago, New Zealand

Abstract

The South Island of New Zealand saw several major waves of migration in the mid-nineteenth century, predominantly from Europe but also with an ethnically distinct Chinese presence. The rural community of Milton, Otago, was a settler community established primarily by immigrants from the United Kingdom in search of a better quality of life. However, these settlers faced unique challenges related to surviving in an isolated location with very little infrastructure compared to their origin populations. In 2016 excavation was undertaken at St. John's Burial Ground, Milton, with the object of using bioarchaeological methods to elucidate the lived experience of the first organized European settlement of this region, particularly in terms of health and disease. Here we present a case study of Burial 21 (B21), a male individual of known identity and a documented cause of death. We use biochemical and paleopathological methods to ground-truth his written history, which includes a period of invalidism due to tuberculosis, and discuss the implications of our findings for the community, provision of care, and quality of life in rural colonial New Zealand.

Bone Remodeling Changes in an Individual with Tuberculosis-Induced, Left-Sided Femoroacetabular Joint Destruction, from Nineteenth-Century Milton, New Zealand

“…Our findings address the original speculation in Snoddy et al (2020) that the limb function of B21 was restricted to some degree by the one-sided hip pathology. We add further to the biochemical and paleopathological analyses, combined with documented life history, by offering a more direct histological method of testing for individual-level localized bone functional adaptation in contexts of immobilization.…”

“…He died on July 5, 1873, and his cause of death is listed as "pneumonic phthisis haemorrhage." It was found that B21 exhibited lesions that, along with his documented cause of death, strongly support a diagnosis of disseminated tuberculosis (Snoddy et al 2020). These include extensive destruction of the trabecular bone in the proximal femur (Fig.…”

Nostalgia for the old country—A histological exploration of early childhood physiological stress experiences in colonial Otago, New Zealand

“… Note : Data compiled from Buckley et al (2020), King, Petchey, et al (2021), Snoddy et al (2020, 2021), and Petchey, Buckley, Hil, et al (2018). Adult age‐at‐death estimates are defined as young adult (20–34 years), mid‐adult (35–49 years), and older adult (50+ years).…”

“…Modern historians have proposed that the early immigrant populace of New Zealand experienced better health and longer lifespans than their contemporaries back home (Inwood & Maxwell‐Stewart, 2015; Woodward & Blakely, 2014). This assumption has only recently been critically examined from a bioarcheological perspective (Buckley et al, 2020; King et al, 2022; King, Buckley, et al, 2020, 2021; King, Petchey, et al, 2020, 2021; Petchey, Buckley, Hil, et al, 2018; Petchey, Buckley, & Scott, 2018; Snoddy et al, 2020, 2021), with the Southern Cemeteries Research Project, a joint endeavor between the University of Otago and Southern Archaeology Ltd. Bioarcheological and paleopathological investigations of individuals from the sampled cemetery assemblage indicate that the colonial experience of health is more nuanced than suggested by the historical narrative, with evidence for traumatic injuries (Buckley et al, 2020; Petchey & Buckley, 2022), infectious diseases (Snoddy et al, 2020), high infant mortality (Buckley et al, 2020), and dietary stress (King et al, 2023; King, Buckley, et al, 2020).…”

Extracting the truth through chemical analyses: Early life histories of Victorian‐era dental patients in Aotearoa New Zealand

“…Over the Victorian period, farming, waterworks and gasworks industries began to boom in Invercargill, further promoting the city's development (Bailey, 1966). Recently, bioarcheological studies of colonial period cemeteries have shed light on the lives of Victorian New Zealanders in a small number of Otago farming and gold mining communities in Lawrence (Gabriel and Ardrossan Street Cemeteries) and Milton (St John's Cemetery) (Buckley et al, 2020; King et al, 2020; King et al, 2022; King, Buckley, et al, 2021; King, Petchey, et al, 2021; Snoddy et al, 2020). However, this is the first bioarcheological investigation of Victorian era people recovered from an urban center in Aotearoa.…”