Dr. John Murray-Gibbes
Dr. John Murray-Gibbes. Image extrapolated by artificial intelligence from a poor-resolution digital image (left).
Dr. John Murray-Gibbes (1843–1928) was an English-born doctor whose career spanned medicine, public health, and community service in both New Zealand and Australia. Born at Hutton, Somerset, he emigrated to New Zealand in the 1860s, becoming a Master of Surgery, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, and lieutenant-colonel in the Territorial Forces.
In New Zealand he pioneered a treatment for diphtheria using eucalyptus vapour and wrote on public health, notably criticising excessive tea consumption. He maintained a wide range of interests outside medicine, including astronomy, geology, and the study of evolution.
By the early 1900s Murray-Gibbes was living at Angledool, New South Wales, where he served as doctor.
“Gibbs, Dr. Murray: Of Angledool. Went out looking for topaz. Got lost. Was in his slippers. He turned up near Goodooga two days later with bare blistered feet.”
In later years he moved to Nowra, lecturing on science and the possibility of life on other planets. He died at Newport, New South Wales, on 5 November 1928, aged 85, survived by his wife, Florence, and two sons.
Article: Research by Russell Gawthorpe and Leisa Carney, edited by Russell Gawthorpe. LRHS research compiled by Len Cram and Barbara Moritz. Sources: ‘Use for Bluegum’, Launceston Examiner, 27 March 1882, p. 2; ‘Cure for Diphtheria’, North Eastern Ensign, 10 June 1884, p. 3; ‘Topics of the Day’, Press (NZ), Volume XLIX, iss. 8115, 5 March 1892, p. 4; Electoral Rolls, Darling (Angledool), 1903; ‘Railway Extension’, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 July 1903, p. 10; ‘Goodooga’, St. George Standard and Balonne Advertiser, 23 September 1904, p. 3; ‘Lecture by Dr. Murray-Gibbes’, Shoalhaven News and South Coast Districts Advertiser, 20 June 1908, p. 4; ‘Dr. Murray-Gibbes’, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 November 1928, p. 12; The Lightning Ridge Book, Stuart Lloyd, 1967, p. 45.