Historical information

These Victorian-era obstetrical forceps are from the collection of equipment used by Dr William Bottomley. Dr Bottomley was born in Fitzroy in 1881 and obtained a Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Melbourne in 1906. He lived in South Yarra with a weekend log cabin called Forest Lodge in Emerald and practiced in Collins Street in Melbourne. These Victorian-era 'action traction' obstetrical forceps were invented by Dr Robert Milne-Murray, a practicing physician at the Royal Maternity and the Simpson Memorial Pavilion in Edinburgh in 1891. They were designed to allow the attending physician to obtain a secure hold on the infant before pulling backwards on the handle to facilitate the baby's birth.

In the 1920s Dr Bottomley and business partner W.H. Treganowan initiated the Emerald Country Club syndicate to purchase land from Carl Axel Nobelius' Gembrook Nurseries estate, which led to the formation of the golf course and Country Club facilities. Bottomley Drive in Emerald is named after Dr Bottomley; the street is located near Silver Birches, the house commissioned by the doctor from modernist architect Harry Norris.

'Action traction' obstetrical forceps were invented by Dr Robert Milne-Murray, a practicing physician at the Royal Maternity and the Simpson Memorial Pavilion in Edinburgh in 1891. They were designed to allow the attending physician to obtain a secure hold on the infant before pulling backwards on the handle to facilitate the baby's birth. Forceps to extract fetuses from women who would otherwise die during complications in labour have been used as a last resort since 1500 BCE, though it has only been in the last 300-500 years that forcep design has shifted to focusing on saving the lives of both mother and infant. These are fenestrated forceps, with a hollow 'blade' or loop, which have been superseded as a design by solid models that are less likely to cause compression damage to the baby's head.

Significance

These items are significant as they provide insights into medical practice in the early twentieth-century in Melbourne and surrounds. They are also significant because they were used by Dr William Bottomley, who owned property in Emerald and whose business dealings significantly shaped the development of the town.

Physical description

The silver-coloured item is approximately thirty centimetres long and features two rounded metal loops opened and closed by manipulating the stem of the object, which ends in short feet that attach to a separate handle.