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• Auction House:
  Mossgreen
• Sale Name:
  Australian & Colonial History
• Sale Date:
  28 Jun 2016
• Lot #:
  296
• Lot Description:
  A LETTER FROM H.M. GOAL, PENTRIDGE
  1885 (Sept.5) complete hand-written letter on prison letterhead, addressed to Mr. J. Singleton from the convicted rapist, Charles Hansen; with COBURG despatch and MELBOURNE arrival datestamps.
• Notes:
  Hansen [or Hansson], a Swede (although the address panel is endorsed “Norwegian” in a different hand) who had been in prison since 1880 writes “....I am geting wary impatience in geting my leberty, as I think I was very shamfully delt with; the awydance against me was not fit to convigt any man upon....”. He continues to write about the young woman having given her consent, that her clothes were not dishevelled and, moreover, “not a hear on her head was desturbed...” The prison warden has reviewed the contents of the letter, underlined a number of passages in red and added the comment “not a particle of truth in any of these statements.” at the end. Accompanied by reproduction photographs of Hansen on conviction in 1880 and on release in 1888. Dr. John Singleton was a doctor, evangelist, philanthropist and powerful social reformer. He was also a prolific writer on health matters, and wrote a memoir of his experiences entitled “A Narrative of Incidents in the Eventful Life of a Physician” in the year before his death. Born in Dublin in 1808, he was the son of a prosperous merchant. He qualified as a doctor in 1832 and arrived in Melbourne in 1851, with his wife Isabella and their seven children. Singleton and his family moved into a timber terrace house in Collins Street. Here he lived and worked for five years, his practice stretching as far as Mt. Macedon and Brighton. He was soon visiting the prisons, where he attempted to bring the inmates to Christendom and sobriety with bundles of religious tracts and a book of pledges ready for signing. He then moved to the country, continuing his good works, among them the establishment of an Aboriginal mission near Warrnambool. In 1867 Singleton returned to Melbourne where, in addition to running a busy medical practice, he founded a variety of philanthropic and charitable institutions. Possibly his most innovative enterprise was the establishment in 1869, of a free medical dispensary, the first of its type in Victoria. In 1888, Singleton built a newer and bigger dispensary at 162 Wellington Street, Collingwood. This was the first medical practice in Victoria to employ a female doctor, the American trained Laura Morgan. The building is now on the register of Heritage Victoria. Singleton died in 1891; a lane in East Melbourne is named in his memory.
• Estimate:
  A$200 - 300
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Memorabilia

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.