TEICHELMANN, Ebenezer

TEICHELMANN, Ebenezer

 Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 149, 21 December 1938, Page 14

 

                                       Noted Mountaineer

Dr. E. Teichelmann
Death At Hokitika 

New Zealand has lost one of her noted mountaineers through the death of Dr. Ebenezer Teichelmann, F.R.C.S., M.R.C.S. (Eng.), L.R.C.P. (Ireland). Associate of Mason's Science College (Birmingham). He died at Hokitika yesterday.

Dr. Teichelmann was surgeon superintendent of the Westland Hospital for about twenty years, but retired eighteen years ago. He was widely known in New Zealand because of his mountaineering work and was in Wellington for the last annual dinner of the New Zealand Alpine Club.


Dr. Teichelmann was born in South Australia in 1859. He was educated at Hahndorf College, at Adelaide University, and at Queen's and Mason's Colleges, Birmingham, England. He also studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, and at hospitals in Dublin. Ireland. For a time he acted as demonstrator of physiology at Mason's College, was assistant physician and resident pathologist at the General Hospital, Birmingham, assistant surgeon at the Jaffray Suburban Hospital, resident medical officer of the Birmingham Workhouse, and later spent two years in private practice in England. Upon returning to Australia he was health' officer at Port Adelaide for two years. He came to New Zealand in 1897 to accept the position of superintendent of the Westland Hospital.

At the outbreak of war in 1914 Dr. Teichelmann, although he had difficulty in obtaining a position with the Forces because of his German ancestry on his father's side, secured a commission in the New Zealand Medical Corps with the rank of captain. He served overseas from 1914 until 1917, and was one of the survivors of the troopship Marquette which was torpedoed in the Aegean Sea.  

Exploring and Climbing.

Many contributions to mountaineering in New Zealand were made by Dr. Teichelmann. He first became interested in climbing through engaging in prospecting for gold up the Kellery River, but as soon as he v commenced mountaineering he followed what was to be his lifelong hobby with enthusiasm. Although he was a small, spare man, he proved a capable climber and was nominated and elected a member of the Alpine Club (London) in 1903.

He came into prominence through carrying out some noted exploration work in the headwaters of the Wanganui, where he climbed a number of peaks. He also did a good deal of exploring at the head of the Cook River, but the pioneering work had been done there before his time. From the time he was elected to the Alpine Club until he went overseas with the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces he made many ascents, several being first ascents, and a monument to the part he played in New Zealand mountaineering will always remain in Mount Teichelmann (10,370 ft) in the Southern Alps, which was named after him.

Dr. Teichelmann was the first to climb some of the peaks at the head of the Cook River from the westward. and he was the first to cross the Harper Saddle from the west, making the crossing some years after Mr. A. P. Harper, Karori, Wellington, had given the saddle its name.

Dr. Teichelmann also crossed Baker's Saddle from the Hooker Glacier to the Copeland River, and made the' first crossing (in 1904) of Pioneer Pass from the Fox Glacier to the Tasman Glacier. Others of his notable climbing feats included the ascents of Mount Cook, Douglas Peak, Mount Spencer. Mount Green, and La Perouse Call 10,000 ft or over). His principal climbing companions were the Rev. H E. Newton (A.C.) and Mr. Alex Graham (guide).

Dr. Teichelmann was a member of the New Zealand Alpine Club for many years, and was a valued member of the executive. He was president of the club in 1936 and 1937.
 

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 149, 21 December 1938, Page 14

 

I was so happy to discovery this obituary today  so long after writing his biography.  Here is a to my web site on Dr. Ebenezer Teichelmann.

A typical Teichelmann photograph taken from the Fritz Range looking over the Franz Josef Glacier and the main divide with Mt. Elie de Beaumont to the left and The Minerets and de la Beche to the right. What light, composition and texture. Bob McKerrow collection. Christchurch.

Ebenezer Teichelmann - Keeping mountaineering alive in New Zealand (Part 1)

Here is an article I wrote for the New Zealand Alpine Journal somr years back which gives a good insight into his early days in New Zealand.

Keeping Mountaineering alive - 1897 to 1914

By Bob McKerrow

Reaching into the life of Dr Ebenezer Teichelmann is to open a window on one of life's great and gifted people. Medical doctor, surgeon, photographer, author, philosopher, gardener, conservationist, soldier, humanitarian, public health expert, explorer, mountaineer.... the list goes on and on and is exhaustive as it is diverse.

Dr. Teichelmann's contribution to New Zealand mountaineering was phenomenal, but never recorded in great detail. With the help of Dorothy Fletcher of Hokitika, daughter of one of Dr. Teichelmann's close friends, Alec Graham, I shall try to give a detailed insight into his life and mountaineering expeditions during the period 1897 to 1914.

Arthur P. Harper, President of the New Zealand Alpine Club for many years, pays tribute to the role that Teichelmann played in those years when the New Zealand Alpine Club was in recess and the popularity of climbing waned:-

" In estimating the value of Teichelmann's work, it must be remembered that High Alpine Climbing was almost at a standstill when he took it up. The small "Old Brigade" of the late 'Eighties and the early 'Nineties, had temporarily gone out of action, and except for Malcolm Ross and Fyfe's successful season in 1897, little had been done since 1895; thus Teichelmann must have the credit of reviving the sport, and his successive expeditions kept it alive for some years." (1)

Dr Teichelmann was elected to the Alpine Club (England) in 1903, and when the New Zealand Alpine Club was revived in 1914, he became a member. He held various offices in the Club including President of the New Zealand Alpine Club in 1936-37 and Chairman of the Canterbury-Westland Branch in 1936-38. But he will be remembered more for his mountain exploration which started at the late age of 40 and spanned 25 years. His long list of first ascents are sprinkled from the head of the Wanganui River in the north to the Waitoto in the south and his extensive photographic collection, housed in the Hocken Library, is one of the most significant in New Zealand.

During World War One he was even accused of being a spy when the member for Grey Lynn raised his name in Parliament as one of a number of German suspects. The accusation quickly died as people from all walks of life rushed to his support.(2) Shortly afterwards he served as a captain in the Medical Corp with the Sixth Reinforcement and was on board the Marquette when she was torpedoed in the Mediterranean. He was in the water for several hours before being rescued. (3)

So what was this remarkable man really like ?

To say he was different is an understatement. Peter Graham records his first meeting in 1899 with Dr. Teichelmann in his book 'Mountain Guide':

"The Doctor shook hands with me. He had wonderful
grey eyes and he looked earnestly into my face as
if he was peering into my soul; then he said at
last in a squeaky sort of voice, " So this is
Pe-tar." Instead of a big man I had pictured, he
was a little man I could have picked up in my arms. He had a "Captain Cuttle" beard and wore a sports coat, knickers and stockings, and wide
welted boots which emphasised the thinness of his
legs. We were much amused when having a smoke after dinner, he stood with his legs wide apart on the uneven ground and said to Arthur, " I can't
find a level place to put my feet." I was drawn
to this quaint little man at once, and when I came to know him better I developed a very warm
affection for him. He was a lifelong friend to
my brother Alex and myself."


Teichelmann trained seriously for his expeditions and his techniques must have provided great amusement to his neighbours in Hampden Street, Hokitika. He possessed a long ladder, which he would rest against a tall tree in his garden and with full gear and a heavy pack, climb up and down for long periods of time. (4)

Mary, his wife, also displayed qualities which were considered a little eccentric for a women of her time. With little regard for the conventions of the day, she played golf, smoked, and was one of the first women in Hokitika to drive a car. (5) It is not hard to imagine the impact that Mary and Ebenezer Teichelmann on Hokitika society.

Apart from being a great mountaineer and surgeon, Dr. Ebenezer Teichelmann was a pioneer in tourism development, abattoirs, conservation and Free Public Libraries. Among the positions he held were; President of the Westland Acclimatisation Society for more than 40 years, vice-president of the Westland Savings Bank, a member of the Westland Racing and Trotting Clubs, the Westland Progress League, President of Hokitika Lawn Tennis club, Patron of the Lake Kaniere Power Boat Club, member of the Hokitika Borough Council and Hokitika Harbour Board, and a member of most, if not all Boards formed for forest conservation at Lake Kaniere, Punakaiki and Arthur's Pass. Together with Leonard Cockayne he published a little known paper, "The Glacial Scenic Reserves of Westland," which is illustrated with Dr. Teichelmann's photographs. (6)

Ebenezer Teichelmann was born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1859 of a Scottish mother and German father. His father, Christian Gotleib, was born in Dahme, in the Duchy of Saxony, and came to Australia in 1838 as a Lutheran Missionary to work among the Aborginal people of South Australia. Seemingly Christian Teichelmann was a competent linquist and published in 1840, a book on the Aboriginal language of South Australia. In 1841 Governor George Grey appointed him official interpretor for the natives. Margaret Nicholson, his mother, was born in Edinburgh, and migrated to Australia with her family in 1840. Ebenezer was born ninth of fourteen children, seven boys and seven girls.(7) From early childhood he was fired up with dreams of becoming a surgeon. There was not much money in the Teichelmann family, so some of his six brothers helped finance him through medical school. (8)
Details of his early medical career are a little sketchy, but an old newspaper cutting throws some new light:

"Dr. Teichelmann returned to this colony by the
steamer 'Adelaide' from Melborne on Thusday after an absence of nearly ten years, during which he has been engaged in the study and practice of
medicine and surgery in the City of Birmingham.
Dr. Teichelmann was educated in this colony, and before leaving for England, was assistant with the late Dr Gething and Dr Toll at Port Adelaide."(9)

In 1897, at the age of 38, Dr. Ebenezer Teichlemann moved to Hokitika to take up the position of Medical Superintendent for the Westland District Hospital, a position he was to hold for 23 years. He brought Mary ( nee Bettney) to Hokitika, whom he had married while studying in Birmingham.(10)

His 'patch' extended from south of Greymouth down to Jackson Bay and there wasn't a community or corner he didn't visit.

A longtime friend of Teichlemann, W.A. Kennedy describes the conditions the Doctor had to travel in:
" Roads in those early days were few, and transport bad. Below Ross, little more than pack tracks existed and the rivers were all unbridged. Under such circumstances dogged determination, coupled with judgement, was often necessary to get safely through. This quality the doctor fortunately for all concerned, possessed in a marked degree, a quality which later served him in good stead during his exploring and alpine adventures." (11)

The new Doctor was an active man, always willing to go to the scene of accidents, often with scant regard for his own life. He had only been in Hokitika a little more than a year when a terrible mining tragedy occured at a goldmine at Craig's Freehold, across the river in South Hokitika. When word reached Hokitika, the Doctor left immediately and went into the mine to ascertain for himself the nature of the accident, and what probabilities there were of the entombed men being recovered alive. (12)

1899

The "Little Doctor" as he was affectionately known by close friends, learnt about the early miners and explorers as he travelled on his far-flung medical forrays into South Westland. It wasn't long before he was bitten by gold-fever and became friends of local gold miners, the Stonar brothers and Mr. Lee. In early 1899, Arthur Woodham and Peter Graham spent three months in the Callery and Burster Range area getting enough gold to pay expenses and share twenty pound between them. Further down the Callery at Little Beach, the Friend and Watson party had struck it rich and were washing up an average of one pound weight in gold a day and had three extra men working for them on wages. (13) Teichlemann knew Arthur Woodham and had heard of young Peter Graham, so he backed them financially to go back into the Callery to find the elusive 'Mother Lode' from whence all gold came.

Teichelmann's first excursion into the mountains was with Arthur Woodham, Charlie Stonar and Peter Graham. They packed up the Burster Range, with Peter Graham carrying the Doctor's full-plate camera. His first photographic stop was to take a photograph of the Spencer Glacier. The party explored the Burton and Spencer glaciers and discovered a metre-wide quartz band, but no gold. Here they spent seven days exploring the Spencer and Burton glaciers, but the Doctor had to return back to the Westland Hospital. As Dr. Teichelmann parted from Peter Graham at Burster Camp, he said, " You know, Peter, this mountaineering-it's a bug-it 'gets' you doesn't it?" What we see here is a transition from pure gold prospecting to recreational mountaineering with a little fossicking.(14)

He was 40 years of age on his first trip into the mountains which started him on a 25 year stint in South Westland's mountains. He was hooked. The bug never left him.

1900

A new century dawned, the twentieth, and with it the excitement and prospect of more climbing for the " Little Doctor" and his friends. In January 1900 he was making plans for a trip into the Fox Glacier region. Unfortunately Peter Graham was working a gold claim and was unable to accompanying Teichelmann. " Peter, you are deserting me," (15) he told Peter Graham as he passed through Waiho Gorge. But once Graham had explained his predicament of not being able to walk out of his job on a gold claim, he understood and got Charlie Stonar and Alf Dale of Hokitika to accompany him.

The party set out from the terminal face of the Fox Glacier after spending a night in the old tin hut which was close by. After spending most of the day on the Fox Glacier, they climbed Craig Peak. Details of the trip from here on are sketchy but Peter Graham reported that they traversed the Victoria Range, ascended several peaks including Mt. Purity. They had hoped to cross to the Franz Josef Glacier but when they reached the saddle at the top of the range the Fritz Glacier was so broken that they were prevented from proceeding further.(16)

It is likely that Dr. Teichelmann had received a copy of Edward Fitzgerald's book (published in 1896)'Climbs in the New Zealand Alps', and was following his map and route which shows his route over Blackburn's saddle into the Fritz Glacier and then over Zurbriggen's Saddle into the Franz Josef. It appears from his description he turned back at Blackburn's Saddle.

In 1901, a young Englishman arrived in Westland, to take up the position of vicar of Ross and South Westland. Alex Graham recalls meeting the Rev. Newton shortly after his arrival in Ross : "He was a young man then, full of energy and keeness, and I notice while he talked to one and another his eyes often wandered to the mountains." (17)

1902

The eyes had it. It didn't take long for Teichelmann with his wonderful grey eyes and Newton with his wandering mountain eyes to team up. Bishop Julius had given Newton a letter of introduction to Dr Teichelmann, who, he said would like a companion to share his mountain trips.

The West Coast Times on 6 February 1902 gives a details of their first trip together:
" Dr. Teichelmann and Mr. Newton, who left here about a fortnight ago on a mountaineering
expedition have arrived at the Hermitage, having
crossed the range at Graham's (sic) Saddle. We
understand that the explorers are entitled to
the credit of being the first to cross the ranges by this pass. Dr. Teichelmann in a wire from Lake
Tekapo stated they intend leaving there today or
tomorrow on the return trip and expect to reach
Hokitika about the end of next week."

The above article omitted to mention that they were the first to cross Graham's Saddle from west to east from Waiho to the Hermitage, the first crossing west to east crossing from Fox Glacier being in 1895 by Fitzgerald and party.

Newton and Teichelmann had asked Peter Graham to join them on the 1902 trip, but again was unable to take leave from his employers. To help carry their heavy loads, they took along Mr. Batson who owned the guest house at Waiho as a porter. It took the trio three days to reach Graham Saddle after a new route using the Miner's Track into the Callery, up onto the Callery Ridge which they followed until reaching the Water Hole. They spent their second night above Rope Creek. On the third day they ascended the Goat Path ridge, crossed the Almer Glacier to a Col below St. Mildred which gives a splendid view towards Graham Saddle. From here they picked out a route to the dsaddle late in the afternoon, with Mr. Batson using his slasher to cut steps up a steep slope. They reached the junction of the Rudolf and Tasman Glaciers at nightfall and spent a cold night out before reaching Ball Hut.

The trip was far from finished. Young Newton, fresh from a few seasons in the European Alps was keen to come back by a new route. At Ball Hut they discussed possiblities with Jack Clarke. Clarke who had made the first ascent of Mt. Cook was then Chief Guide at the Hermitage. He agreed to accompany them back to the West Coast from the Hooker Glacier via Baker Saddle. They reached Baker Saddle, making the first ascent, and climbed down to the Strauchon Glacier and camped at the terminal face. Poor Batson, not having the mountain temperament, kept saying "Let me get back to the bush; I feel safe there." (18)

The next day while descending to the Copland River they struck thick bush and Teichelmann turned to Batson and said," Here's your chance now, Batson, get into this with your billhook and whack away." Jack Clarke left them at the Copland River, returning to the Hermitage by the Copland Pass.

Teichelmann's concern for others and his wry sense of humour is further illustrated by his actions on their arrival at the Scott's homestead. Batson, who had arrived before Newton,Teichelmann and Graham, had obviously pushed himself beyond his limits. Peter Graham takes up the story:
"Batson was well settled in bed by that time, but
the Doctor's first thought was for him, so they
took a candle each and went in as if holding a
wake. Very sunburnt with the skin peeling off
his nose, and with a week's beard, he looked a
picture. "Isn't he a beauty; and doesn't he look lovely there!" After a lot of raillery they left
him to rest." (19)

This ended Teichelmann's 1902 trip. He called in to see brothers Peter and Alec Graham and discussed their trip.

The Doctor encouraged Peter and Alec to improve their climbing skills. On days off they would explore the Franz Josef using prospecting picks to cut steps. Soon they began taking local people for trips on the glacier and Teichelmann started referring people to "get" young Graham to take them on the glacier. (20)

1903

In early 1903 Peter Graham received a letter from Dr. Teichelmann informing him that he and Newton were organising a trip to the head of the Fox Glacier. Graham was invited to join and accepted immediately. At that time the Fox neve was unexplored.
Peter Graham arranged for all the gear to be packed by horses over the bridle track from Waiho (Franz Josef) to the Fox Glacier. After a recce, a spell of wet weather and a few days hard slog, the party put in a camp, high up Chancellor ridge. The next day they climbed to the top of the ridge and did the first ascent of Chancellor Dome. The view was stunning. Teichelmann and Newton set up their bulky plate cameras and photographed the virgin panorama before them. Newton was fascinated by the bulk of Horo Koau ( Mt. Tasman) and expressed a desire to attempt the arete from the col ( later named Engineer Col) between Lendenfeld and Tasman.

During the next week they climbed up to Engineer Col, retreated back to their camp on Chancellor ridge, and later climbed back up to Pioneer Pass, becoming the first to set foot on it. Gale-force winds forced them back to Chancellor ridge campsite. Here they spent a few days, photographing and taking observations with a prismatic compass for chief surveyor, G.J. Robert back in Hokitika. Peter Graham describes the careful attention Teichelmann gave his surveying.

" I erected a cairn with a firm flat stone on top on which to place the prismatic compass. The Doctor was very careful about taking three special points, Douglas Peak, Mt Haidinger, and Mt Tasman. I put down the number of the prismatic reading as he called it out. To make doubly sure that the readings were accurate, the Doctor took them again and was dismayed to find them all different. This was a poser until he realised the goggles he was wearing were affecting his compass needle. Afterwards he always removed them before taking any readings." (21)

At the conclusion of the trip, Dr Teichelmann gave Peter Graham a rope, an ice-axe and a 'Badminton' book on mountaineering. Graham studied the book carefully and worked on his skills along with his younger brother Alec. The Doctor's generosity put Graham in a position to be able to guide Mr. T.E. Donne, the first Superintendent of the Tourist Department, up the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers in the winter of 1903. During the trip, Donne offered Peter Graham position of assistant to Chief Guide at the Hermitage. In October the same year, Peter Graham crossed the divide, by the Copland Pass, to take up the position.(22)

1904

The annual 1904 expedition of Newton and Teichelmann took shape. Teichelmann was keen to cross Pioneer Pass from the east, and engaged Jack Clarke and Peter Graham as guides, while Newton and Alex Graham went up the Fox Glacier. They planned to meet on the west.

Teichelmann, always the explorer with a dash of surveyor and scientist, arrived at the Hermitage in late January 1904 (23)to explore the different glacier valleys and take a series of photographs of the various peaks, before crossing Pioneer Pass. With Peter Graham he climbed up to the Sealey Range and from the top of Mt. Ollivier, the Doctor, greatly impressed by the view, set up his full-plate camera and spent an hour taking photgraphs. The next day they set off for Ball Hut. At the meal table that night were a number of other visitors, including the Reverend Mr Hansell of Timaru and two young Australian women. Peter Graham describes Teichelmann's conversation:

" We on the West Coast..." followed by a
description of some of his climbing experiences
or some beauty spot. Mr Hansell was very taken with the Doctor's enthusiasm for the West Coast
and teasingly remarked to his table neighbour,
"Let's see how long it will be before the Doctor
mentions the West Coast again." He hadn't long to
wait before the Doctor was in earnest conversation with the two Sydney girls, telling them of the attractions of Franz Josef Glacier. When
opportunity offered, Mr Hansell with a
mischievious twinkle asked the girls what they had
in Sydney worth seeing.
They replied with one voice, " We have a wonderful
harbour."
Hastily the Doctor rejoined, " Yes, yes, that's about all you have got."

Peter Graham and the Doctor walked up to Malte Brun Hut the next day. Using the early morning light to his advantage, the next morning saw Teichelmann setting his camera up at the end of the Western arete of Malte Brun on a small rock platform, where he spent the morning photographing the overwhelming scenery before him.

At the beginning of February the Doctor set out again for Ball hut with guides Jack Clarke and Peter Graham with the objective of crossing the pass between Mt. Haast and Grey Peak, later named Pioneer Pass. The party swagged up Haast ridge with seven days food and a large full plate camera and camped high on Haast ridge at the levelled-off spot which had been used by earlier parties attempting Mt Cook. A violent storm which brought gale-force winds and heavy snow forced them back to Ball Hut, but three days later they were back at the same camp site. Canon Newtown and Alex Graham were similarly affected by bad weather on the Western side of the divide.

It dawned fine on 7 February. Teichelmann and his party plodded up to Glacier Dome in soft snow. Here they abandoned any thoughts of high climbing for the day and the morning was spent assisting Dr. Teichelmann taking photographs and checking out the route for the next day. While on the Dome, Peter Graham and the Doctor, pointed out the col between Lendenfeld and Tasman they had reached the previous year. They had hardly finished explaining when they observed two distant figures appear over the horizon from the western side of the Southern Alps. It could only be Mr. Newton and Alec Graham. The eastern party watched them move from Engineer Col slowly up Mt. Lendenfeld before they turned back.

Jack Clarke said he wanted to cooee and shout out to them but Dr.Teichelmann quickly replied. "No, no, don't do that. If Newton heard you he would want to climb straight down to us." This is another example of Teichelmann's judgement. He knew well the impetuousity of youth and advised New Zealand's most experienced guide against a course of action. At the same time he was shaping the future of two of the country's upcoming guides, the Graham brothers. The party watched Newton and Alec Grahan disappear out of sight, presumably back to the Fox neve.

The next morning, Dr. Teichelmann and his guides retraced their footsteps up to Glacier Dome, crossed the prominent arete leading up to Mt. Haast, and headed up to Pioneer Pass in soft snow. Jack Clarke lead out in waist deep snow to the pass and before long they reached the pass. They trudged down the West Coast side of the divide and were relieved to find Newton and Alec Graham's footsteps of the previous day.

Alec Graham had been hoping to meet Jack Clarke for some time. " I was especially looking forward to meeting Jack Clarke, whom I had heard so much about as a mountaineer and guide. I think I regarded Jack with something amounting to hero worship for his prowess and for the fact that he was one of the party to conquer Mt Cook."

That afternoon Alec Graham met his hero on Chancellor ridge when Clarke arrived with Teichelmann and Peter Graham. There was much excitement and conversation.

History was made that day! The first crossing of Pioneer Pass was posted and, more importantly, plans were cemented for the future, a future in which these five mountaineers were going to play a leading role for decades to come.

It just didn't happen. Teichelmann was at his innovative best. He had hired Clarke and Peter Graham, and arranged for Newton to climb with Alec Graham from the west. The rendez-vous on Chancellor ridge was planned by the Doctor a month before. The Graham brothers from Waiho Gorge had been nutured and encouraged by him to learn the trade of mountain guiding from the first day he had met them.

Two days later the group decided to head for the unclimbed Glacier Peak and Mt. Douglas. They climbed up to the Pioneer Ridge and discovered a patch of gravel at the top of a steep buttress and noted it as a future tent or hut site. Time ran out and they descended the Fox Glacier back to Weheka (Fox) and then to Waiho.
On February 13, Dr. Teichelmann took Jack Clarke, who had suffered terrible toothache on the trip, to Okarito where he had two teeth and three stumps extracted. The forceps, a rudimentary book on dental extraction had formerly belonged to Dick Dickens at Okarito, and somewhere about 1903, had been given to Jack Heveldt, the proprietor of the Forks Hotel. After the bush dentistry, Jack Clarke returned to the Hermitage with Peter Graham by way of Goat Path and Graham Saddle.(24)

Teichlemann returned to his medical duties in Hokitika where much of his work was surgical. One of the Doctor's fears when climbing was damaging his hands, which would affect his ability to perform delicate operations. Before climbing on rock, he would often tape his fingers up to prevent cuts and abrasions. Alex Graham describes " The Doctor's fingers had suffered with all the rock work and some of them were bleeding. I strapped up the tips with plaster and the doctor jokingly remarked that it would be better to put the plaster on sticky side out, to give him a better grip on the smooth rock. He was always worried about letting his wife down, and being hurt or even dying from a fall.(25)

References

1 NZAC Journal 1939 p116
2 Place of Return - Hokitika Borough Council
1869-1989 Field Ron p80
3 Press December 20, 1938
4 -5 Dorothy Fletcher, personal communication
6 Various sources, predominently The West Coast Times and West Coast Historical Museum, Hokitika.
7 The Descendents of Christian Gottlieb
Teichelmann - O'Donnell J.F. 1974
8 Dorothy Fletcher, personal communication
9 Graham Collection, Hokitika
10 Death Sighting, Graham Collection
11 Canterbury Mountaineer 1939 p 98
12 West Coast Historical Museum, Hokitika
13-16 Peter Graham - Mountain Guide. p 41-42, 47
17 Uncle Alec and the Grahams of Franz Josef
Graham A & Wilson J (Abbreviated) UA p39
18-22 Mountain Guide p 52-75
23 Newton Diaries, Hocken Library (ND) 1904
24 ND,UA & Mountain Guide
25-26 UA

Beyond the central Southern Alps

Here is an excellent New Zealand website which will take you to photos and articles on Ebenezer Teichelmann

http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/BushAndMountainRecreation/en

Graham, Newton and Teichelmann
Outside the Aoraki/Mt Cook region
Guided climbing was based at the Hermitage hotel, but the early climbers also visited ranges beyond the central Southern Alps. Harry Birley climbed the East Peak of Mt Earnslaw in 1890. Guy Mannering climbed the Low Peak of Mt Rolleston, above Arthur’s Pass, in 1891. Cloud obscured the High Peak, which was not climbed until 1912. Mannering attempted Mt Arrowsmith in 1893.
Jim Dennistoun, Lawrence Earle and Jack Clarke made the first ascent of Mt D’Archiac in 1910. Mt Arrowsmith was climbed two years later. Up the Waimakariri, A. P. Harper climbed Mt Davie in 1912. In Fiordland, the great prize was Mt Tūtoko. The first serious attempt was made by Malcolm and Kenneth Ross and William Hodgkins in 1895. The peak became an obsession for Samuel Turner, who finally succeeded in February 1924.
Mt Aspiring was first attempted from the Waiototo River in 1905, but not climbed until 1909 by Alec Graham, Bernard Head and Jack Clarke.
A remarkable pair
On the West Coast, an unusual team made an indelible mark on New Zealand mountaineering. Ebenezer Teichelmann, born in Australia, was a doctor in Hokitika from 1897 until 1926. Henry Newton, from England, was vicar at Ross from 1901 until 1907. While Newton was in New Zealand, he and Teichelmann initiated climbing from the West Coast side of the Southern Alps. Often climbing with Alec Graham, the pair completed 26 first ascents, culminating with Mt La Perouse in 1906.
A mixed group on top
Ebenezer Teichelmann, R. S. Low, Henry Newton and Alec Graham achieved the first ascent of Mt La Perouse in 1906. It was noted that there were ‘a Scot, an Englishman, a German/Scot born in Australia and a New Zealander sitting on a peak named after a French navigator.’1
Access from the west
On the eastern side of the Southern Alps broad valleys, with little forest, give relatively easy access to the high peaks. The western flank of the range is much steeper and has a higher rainfall. Heavy forest, deeply gorged rivers and steep icefalls guard the peaks. Teichelmann and Newton were among the first to force routes onto the high West Coast neves (the high snowfields that feed glaciers).


Footnotes
Bob McKerrow, Ebenezer Teichelmann: pioneer New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, surgeon, photographer and conservationist. New Delhi: Tara-India Research Press, 2005, p. 161.

Link to Ebenezer Techelmann photograph - Te Ara

The website below will link you to a classic photo of Teichelmann, Newton and Graham in the mountaineering section under Beyond the central Southern Alps. This is a wonderful website. Bob

http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/BushAndMountainRecreation/en

Ebenezer and Mary's Gravesite - Hokitika

photo credit: Bruce White

Dr Ebenezer Teichelmann died at the Westland Hospital on 20 December 1938, of a cerebral haemorrhage following a cerebral thrombosis ten days earlier. Two days later he was buried at the Hokitika Cemetery. A service was held for him in the All Saints Anglican Church. At the graveside, Father J. Finerty, Roman Catholic priest, conducted the ceremony. This final gesture of having an Anglican Church service and a Catholic Father conducting the graveside rites for a man who professed by faith to be a rationalist, showed that there is hope for unity in this world. His whole life had been devoted to healing and discovery.
It was a poignant moment.
“O leave my bones at the Hokitika cemetery when I die,” he had said some years earlier, when questioned about his future, and being a lover of Stevenson’s poetry, it was indeed “here he lies where he longs to be.”
The Patriach had found his rest. He was in the forefront of applying scientific and medical knowledge as it became available, a voyage of discovery in surgery, medicine, rainforests, conservation and exploration. And on photographic plates he left his record.

Buried alongside his wife Mary, his gravesite is not far from the Westland Hospital where he gave over 30years of medical service to the district, and in the distance Mount Cook, Mount Torres, Mount Douglas, Glacier Peak, La Perouse — all peaks he climbed — dot the horizon. Not far away are the graves of his mates, of a kindred spirit; Charlie Douglas, G. J. Roberts, Dr. MacAndrew and Duncan McFarlane.
Even the day after he died, Teichelmann’s generosity was still being felt. Mrs K. Lee (nee Warren) was working in the Post Office Exchange and she said that “Teichie always gave Five Pound each year towards Post Office Christmas Cheer. This year Teichie died before Christmas, but before he died he had written out a cheque for Five Pounds, and the Post Office received the cheque the day after he died.”
Mount Teichelmann, Teichelmann Rock, Teichelmann’s Corner, Teichelmann’s Track, Teichelmann’s Creek, Ebenezer Peak and Teichelmann’s (Bed and Breakfast) guesthouse celebrate his memory.
Peter Graham recognized something many others were to verbalize in different ways. “I was drawn to the quaint little man,” he said. Others described it as an attraction, a charisma, or a magnetic personality.
'He had that rare gift of always seeing the very best in his friends, for he especially loved and had much consideratio for younger people, and I always felt he loved us in spite of our faults; yet; withal, he was so amazingly modest about his own gifts and especially concerning his mountaineering achievements,’ wrote another friend in the Alpine Club Journal.


A small man, without an ounce of flesh, his physical powers were amazing. I can still see him — slipping through the tangled bush like a Maori Hen and perfectly happy, while I panted and struggled behind in the vilest of tempers — and an enormous ‘swag’, above which the crown of a hat was just visible and below, the lower part of a pair of very thin legs.
… A fine character, a delightful companion, and one who, when climbing was almost dead in New Zealand, did so much by his climbs and his photographs to rekindle that enthusiasm for the hills which is bearing such good fruit among the new generation of climbers in the Southern Alps.’

Ebenezer Teichelmann at the head of the Fox Glacier

Ebenezer Teichelmann (left) at a campsite on the lower Pioneer ridge at the Head of the Fox Glacier. He, Newton and Alec Graham did the first ascent of Mt. Douglas from here plus a number of others first ascents.

Teichelman and party after 3rd ascent of Aoraki/Mt. Cook

Ebenezer Teichelmann (right) with the group he made the 3rd ascent of Aoraki/Mt. Cook

Mining and sawmilling accidents

Mining and saw milling accidents were common on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island in the early 20th Century and as a leading surgeon and doctor, Dr.Ebenezer Teichelmann would be summoned to tend to the injured. This photograph shows Dr. Teichelmann (centre) about to go down a mine shaft in Ross

In spite of the growing use of x-rays, and common use of antiseptics, Teichelmann had a struggle to combat old ways. Most people carried on as they always had, going only to a Doctor when all else failed. Home cures were based either on herbal remedies, castor oil, tonics, so called old wives’ tales, or the private use of such hard drugs as paregoric and opium. Newspapers advertised Stubbs Fern Ointment, which was guaranteed to heal rheumatism, sprains, colds and influenza; and Charles’ B41 pills could be furtively taken for urinary or venereal diseases. Holloways Pills, Beechams Pills and Davis Painkiller helped deal with any other complaints. Any recent advances in medical practice had to be proven in the community before they won acceptance.
Diseases that claimed many young lives over the years the Doctor worked on the Coast were measles, scarlet fever, whooping cough and tuberculosis, along with epidemics of typhoid and diphtheria. On top of those, Dr Teichelmann also had to deal with numerous mining and saw milling accidents. It was a wild and unforgiving frontier, and the isolation of patients from medical centres meant even more tragedies than today. Too often help arrived too late. Travel was slow and cumbersome; frequently dictated by the weather. Medicinal supplies were poor, and access to consultation with peers was difficult. But despite all these impediments, Doctor Ebenezer Teichelmann endeavoured to do the best for his community with the available resources. He made numerous difficult and dangerous journeys in the face of ridiculous odds, on the chance that there was still something that could be done. The lifestyle took its toll on his personal life. He had to battle with self-doubts when lives were lost. But this was a man that sacrificed much for the sake of his fellow citizens, no matter who they were. Many people owe him their lives.

Ebenezer Teichelmann

Pioneer New Zealand mountaineer, photographer, surgeon and conservationist.

Cutting Across Continents

by Bob McKerrow

The 274 page book is richly illustrated with 106 photographs, 4 maps list of ascents, glossary of terms and a comprehensive index, has a Foreword by Sir Edmund Hillary. Published by Tara Press New Delhi, India and available from http://www.indiaresearcpress/

and distributed in New Zealand by Craig Potton Publishing.

Born in South Australia in 1859 to German and Scottish parents, Teichelmann trained as a doctor and surgeon in Australia, England, Ireland, (1880-90) and later updated his surgery skills in England, Germany and Austria. (1912). He emigrated to New Zealand in 1987.

Author Bob McKerrow describes his struggle to piece together the life of Ebenezer Teichelmann:
“At times I struggled to find what made this remarkable man tick, but the more I talked to people who knew him, I slowly brought together his many faces; Doctor, surgeon, public health promoter, mountaineer, explorer, photographer, conservationist, world traveler, philanthropist, philosopher, humanitarian, gardener, soldier, promoter of free-public libraries and tourism, tennis player, swimming, golf and cricket club president, newspaper director, Trustee Savings Bank pioneer, admirer of abattoirs, harbour board chairman, and a rationalist by faith. A canvas as wide as the world.”

Friend of……..

Friend of ferrymen, gold-miners, publicans, prostitutes, farmers, explorers, speculators, rock-solid working women, fishermen, sailors, shepherds, saw-millers, tunnelers, blacksmiths and shop-keepers who lived on the edge of life, at the end of the world.
Teichelmann lived on the periphery of the mountains and he felt their pulse and moods in his daily work, travels and life. The watery arteries of the snow, ice and mountains often blocked his passage as he tried to reach patients needing urgent medical treatment. He fell in love with their shape, light and curves and sensitively captured their moods on his large plate camera. There was a sense of intimacy in his photographs and writing, and when he was moved by the beauty around him, would often quote from Longfellow, Stevenson or other romantic poets. He was in love with Mary, a beautiful and unconventional women.

Mountaineering

1907

First Ascent of Mt. Douglas

This was a brilliant first ascent of a mountain which up until then had been regarded as being very difficult — if not impossible. It has an imposing presence when viewed from the Fox névé. It was their third first ascent in as many days, and one of their most satisfying. Newton regarded Mount Douglas as his finest climb in New Zealand, and Alec Graham wrote, ‘To me, it still takes first place’.

Later that year Newton returned to England, thus ending a superb list of climbing feats by the greatest climbing trio in the history of New Zealand mountaineering.
Apart from exploring a large amount of virgin territory, the intensity and enormity of Newton, Teichelmann and the Graham brothers climbing in the period 1902 to 1907 was phenomenal. During six annual trips into the mountains, they had crossed four passes for the first time, made twelve first ascents and the third ascent of Mount Cook.

First Ascents of Mt. Green and Walter

Early next morning, 15 February, 1909, the two doctors with the Graham brothers as guides set out for Mount Green. Darby Thomson and clients accompanied them until they turned left off Tasman Glacier for the ridge onto Mount Green. Darby and party headed for Hochstetter Dom.
For Teichelmann it must have been one of his most enjoyable days in the Southern Alps. It was a beautiful day with not a breath of wind. Using the narrow arête from the Tasman Valley, they climbed Mount Green, where Teichelmann took particular interest in the view down into the Callery Valley, one of the most impenetrable on the West Coast. Mount Walter looked more comfortable for dining, so they climbed that also, crossing the col and ascending its north-eastern arête.



Photography

Strongly in love with the curves and angles of nature, he set about creating a huge collection of images that reveal today the extent of his appreciation of light and shade, form and texture.
Ebenezer Teichelmann not only mastered the idiosyncrasies of large format photography, but he excelled with images that extolled the beauties of his beloved mountains and West Coast. His prints were sought after for promotional publications, and the outstanding quality of his large prints with their superb tonal range must rank him among the best of his time. Had he exhibited in North America or Europe, his name would be far more widely known as a photographer

Conservation

Doctor Teichelmann was a man with a belief in the preservation of nature for the benefit of all people. But his convictions did not exist solely in the purchase of a few glossy photography books to show visitors, or even the membership of a conservation organization. He lobbied and fought unselfishly for those long term goals. He suffered hardships to explore and record those wonders for those who did not have the means to access the wilderness. He was a man who lived what he preached. Bruce Watson, a former Conservator for the Department of Conservation, West Coast Conservancy, acknowledged the difficult pioneering work achieved by Teichelmann. “ In an era and region where natural resources were often exploited with scant regard for posterity, gaining protected status for Arthurs Pass, Lake Kaniere, Lake Mahinapua, Punakaiki, later the Paparoa National Park, and the four glacial Scenic Reserves of South Westland, later Westland National Park, was a tremendous achievement.[1]

Andy Denis writing on one of the world’s richest conservation areas, teeming with biodiversity and wonder, Te Wahipounamu, South-West New Zealand, spoke of those great conservation pioneers such as Teichelmann “…a celebration of wisdom and foresight of those New Zealanders, who from as early as the 1880s, who have been aware of the necessity of setting aside large areas of unspoilt wild country both to protect their intrinsic values and for the benefit, use and enjoyment of those who need such places for inspiration, solitude and escape.”[2]


The enduring glory of the land and mountains of South Westland are indeed a fitting tribute to this extraordinary man.



Medicine and Surgery

In 1892, Dr and Mary Teichelmann returned from England to Melbourne, Australia on board the Anchor liner Yarrawonga as the ship’s Doctor. Behind his name were the titles, F.R.C.S. Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, M.R.C.S (Eng) Member of Royal College of Surgeons, England and L.R.C.S. (Ireland) and Associate of Mason’s College (Birmingham). Fifteen years earlier he had been an apprentice to a chemist and now returned a highly qualified surgeon. On arrival he moved to Port Adelaide where he filled the post of Health Officer.

On 17 October 1897 the Doctor made a record trip to Okarito. He received an urgent call at 2:00pm on Tuesday and left Hokitika at 3:00pm, arriving in Okarito at 12:30am the next morning. After attending to the patient, he left at 8:00am the same day, and arrived back in Hokitika by 7:15pm. He had covered 174 miles, mainly on horseback, and in a little over twenty hours.

On 20 December 1897, the Doctor was summoned to an unusual incident. This time he hurried around the corner from his surgery to the Café de Paris in Tancred Street. Upon his arrival, he was ushered over to a table in a darker corner. A man was seated there, unaccompanied. It must have been a quiet time of day, as his head was face down in a bowl of water, and on the back of his head, to hold it down, was a clothes trunk. John Scopinich, aged sixty-seven years, had drowned himself in a public restaurant, using a bowl of water.

1912
It must have been a searching time for Dr Teichelmann. He is likely to have asked himself if there was anything more he could have done to save Hugh Preston and Elsie Cameron. These two deaths and many others led Teichelmann to go overseas to learn the latest developments in medical treatment. The West Coast was becoming too isolated. In fact he felt New Zealand was too, for keeping up with new surgical and medical knowledge emanating from Europe.

Less than two months later, the West Coast Times of 7 March announced that at the monthly meeting of the Westland Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, a letter was received from Dr Teichelmann asking for twelve months’ leave of absence. The Doctor pointed out that he had been the Board’s Medical Superintendent for fifteen years, and Westland was not only commercially isolated, but medically as well. Therefore he considered it his duty, not only to himself, but to the public, whose servant he was, that he should revisit the centres of medical and surgical knowledge in Europe.[3]

First world war

Teichelmann’s knowledge of cold injuries gained from his years in the high alps of New Zealand served him well. It was a far cry from his work on the West Coast of distant New Zealand where he had a modern operating room to do his surgery. The operating theatre was in a marquee on a raised wooden floor with a strong incandescent light to operate under. Numerous operations were performed by Captain Teichelmann and his colleagues. Surrounding the marquee was a slit trench, and nearby were dugouts to shelter from enemy attacks. All water had to be carted up to the tents. Apart from treating war injuries, accidents and hundreds of cases of frostbite, there were large numbers of soldiers to be treated for typhoid, para-typhoid, dysentery and trench-fever.
As the Allies retreated, the front line moved closer to Salonika and the number of casualties increased. Enemy planes bombed the medical camp on 30 December, and to prevent further bombing, staff painted a large red cross, 30 yards by 20 yards, on each side of the ridge on which the hospital was situated.

He served in England Egypt, Greece, France and on Hospital Ships.

Ships and Shipwrecked

Why was standing for the Harbour Board so important? “Teichelmann had worked in the remote parts of South Westland in communities like Bruce Bay, Jackson’s Bay, Haast, and to reach these places overland by car, horse, it could take four days or even two weeks, depending on the state of the rivers, as to whether you could cross them or not.”

“By ship, these remote communities often with large Maori populations, could be reached in an overnight journey,” said Maori chief, Jack Bannister. “Teichelmann cared for our people, people whether they were European, Chinese or Maori.”

1915 Shipwrecked off Greece

As Teichelmann clung to his life in this watery drama it is likely he thought that the Marquette may have been sunk by cousins, nephews, distant relatives or friends from his father’s native Germany. The war was now very real and the stupidity of European fighting European must have hit home. After several hours in the water, he survived the ordeal. Others weren’t so fortunate. The death toll revealed that 170 lives were lost following the sinking of the Marquette, ten of the 36 New Zealand nurses and 22 of other ranks in the NZ Medical Corp lost their lives.[4]


Humanity, humour and love

There in the early 1990s I was able to interview people who knew very him well. Many are no more. Their stories always had a touch of admiration, humanity, detail of deeds done, and often humour. What stood out was that he cared for people, and those close to him were not afraid to use the word ‘love’ to describe one of Teichelmann’s strong emotions, for example, “He had that rare gift of always seeing the very best in his friends, for he especially loved and had much consideration for young people, and I always felt he loved us in spite of our faults; yet withal; he was so amazingly modest about his own gifts and especially concerning mountaineering achievements,” said Peter Graham. In annual Christmas cards he sent to friends he picked out quotes that immortalized love and friendship, and illustrated with his most beautiful photograph. He was a caring and sensitive man. But he still remained a source of curiosity. Few, if any, truly understood this man of a character so different to theirs.


Arrival in Hokitika New Zealand in 1897

About the time Malcolm Ross and Tom Fyfe were organizing supplies and equipment for their climbs of Mounts Haidinger, de la Bêche and the twin summits of the Minarets, a train was hissing to a stop further north in Hokitika. Amid the bustle and steam of a busy station emerged a curious figure. So slight was his stature that it could be mistaken for that of a thirteen-year-old boy. Thin wiry legs stood askance, rooted firmly to the ground in wide-welted leather boots. His attire had a European styling unusual to the district: tight stockings to knee-height with woolen knickerbocker pants. A sports coat of similar weave clad the lightly-framed torso. He wore a hat on a head of coarse dark hair, and beneath its brim sparkled lovely grey eyes that spoke of intensity and compassion. Delicate, finely-boned fingers clasped a pipe that he replaced between a fine set of teeth. A whiskery goatee beard jutted forward, reminding one of a Captain Cuttle figure.
Beside him stood his pretty wife, Mary, beneath a broad-brimmed hat with flowing feathers. Her dress was more typical of the period, with a long dark skirt, tight bodice, and a small jacket. The quality revealed cosmopolitan origins; a step above what was sold around the corner in Tancred Street draperies and milliners. A subtle smell of expensive perfume was discernable.


Diversity

The egalitarian society was one he believed in. Maori and European he viewed with similar respect. The barriers of race didn't exist for Teichelmann. Often when queried about his own heritage of a German father and Scottish mother he would say, ‘I have a Scots body and a German brain.’[5]


In old age

1924

For 13 years Dr Teichelmann had dreamed of completing his 1911 exploratory work up the Wanganui Valley. The war intervened, the influenza epidemic came and his medical duties just didn't give him the time to get away. He was now 65 years of age, an age when most mountaineers have hung up their ice axe and retired to the rocking chair.

‘I have not a single photo of the high region there, the pass was reached in a fog and nothing could be seen thirty yards away. We then established a camp a day’s march further up the Perth and from it we nearly reached a saddle into the Rangitata and the Adams branch of the Wanganui, but high snow drove us back, this was well into March. At the end of just on six weeks, bad weather made a return necessary.’[6]


1929
Both Hazel and Nell remember the Doctor still playing tennis in 1929, when he would have been 70. Despite his age, he was fit and agile, and his wiry body and sharp mind and reflexes still made a formidable opponent. He never wore whites when playing tennis, only his trademark knickerbockers.
Hazel Kelly recalls Flo Lewis quite clearly from her tennis days:
“One day we were at tennis and she was playing and she was rather big in the bust and she didn't wear a bra, and somebody said, ‘Isn’t it uncomfortable?’ She said ‘Oh no, I just let them flop.’ ”
The doubles team of Teichelmann and Lewis, Ebenezer in his knickerbockers and Flo playing bra-less, must have been quite a sight.


[2] Craig Potton Publishing, Te Wahipounamu- South-West New Zealand World Heritage Area –Photographs by Andris Apse, Introduction by Andy Dennis. 1997



[5] Elsie Davidson, personal conversation. June 1993.
[6] Ibid.

Book Review: Ebenezer Teichelmann

Book Review, By Tony Gates
Ebenezer Teichelmann. Pioneer New Zealand explorer, surgeon, photographer, conservationist. Cutting across continents.

By Bob McKerrow (2005), Foreword by Sir Edmund Hillary. $49.95. $270 pages.
Many excellent mountain photographs, most naturally taken by the book’s subject, are scattered throughout this fine book. Like the cover, they are black and whites, presented as sepia tones- a nice touch. Quotes too, and good stories by the author, present the life and climbs of a truly great man. Many quotes are by Teichelmann (example below), as well as by his climbing companions who kept good dairies. I completed the book after a week of easy evening reads feeling that I had finally met Ebenezer Teichelmann (as well as Alex Graham, The Rev Newton, and others) and knew a whole lot more about a vital section of New Zealand mountaineering history- 1900 till 1934. He didn’t start his expeditions as a young man, and his career was interrupted by the war, but he continued long into his 50’s. He met such luminaries as Charlie Douglas, Jack Clarke, and the Graham Brothers, and served as President of the New Zealand Alpine Club.
The book commences in a biographical sense, you know, family background, professional interests (and they were many), and his life in general. The book concludes with notes from his funeral service detailing an amazing character who touched many. The author personally interviewed many people who had, in turn, personally met “the little doctor” (one of the many pseudonyms that he was known by). But it was the 15 chapters concerning mountaineering expeditions that interested me the most. One summer expedition per year, from 1900 till 1914 is written into each chapter, with photographs. Some expeditions are briefly presented, but each make for good stories. Many modern day readers should know some areas that Teichelmann visited, such as the head of the Fox Glacier, the summit of Mt Cook, and the Rakaia.
A few maps are provided- not particularly good ones unfortunately. And I got the distinct feeling that the spell check software used had English as a second language, so let through a number of typographic errors that shouldn’t have been there. Editing was therefore a bit poor.
However, the book does make a good read, and is a valuable addition to the history of New Zealand Mountaineering. IPNTCndeed, the Teichlemann- Newton- Graham trio is said to be the greatest ever seen in the New Zealand Alps, largely due to their numerous first ascents around the head of the Fox Glacier from 1902 till 1907. I’d like to finish this review with a quote from the man himself.
I had the good fortune to have Harry Butler with us, a splendid bushman, good cragsman, although no alpine experience, he saved the situation. He organised the bridge, and did most of the track making, it was a bad river that he could not cross. Lippe was always getting lost in the bush, and as he was a big man, he was slow in getting through it. I thought I would be the weakling of the party, not being very young, but was surprised to find I could carry a 35 to 40 lb swag for 8 to 10 hours without being played out. The only pity of it was that I should be spending my energies in the bush instead of the snow regions. Perth River, 1924.
______________________________________________________________________________________ PNTMC June 2005