Seddon, Herbert Robert, LVSc 1912, BVSc 1913, DVSc 1921
DR. H.R. SEDDON’s 75th BIRTHDAY
The Australian veterinary profession has been fortunate that during its development, its ranks included men who were notably eminent veterinarians, but also took a lively interest in the organisation of the profession. Not the least of these is Herbert Robert Seddon. Born at Tauranga, New Zealand, he will be 75 years of age on 26 May 1962 and is still active in veterinary work and in A.V.A. affairs.
Laboratory assistant to the late J. A. Gilruth at Wallaceville, Seddon accompanied his chief when the latter accepted the Chair of Veterinary Science at the University of Melbourne. He enrolled as a student and graduated B.V.Sc. with honours and two gold medals. A demonstrator in pathology and bacteriology whilst still an undergraduate he was appointed lecturer in these subjects on receiving his degree. On the outbreak of war in 1914 he enlisted in the A.I.F. but deferred his departure when asked by the University to remain to assist in the training of students in order to provide the sorely needed veterinary officers for the horsed units. During most of 1916-17 he had full responsibility for the teaching of veterinary pathology and bacteriology. In 1916-17 he carried out a comprehensive investigation into brucellosis and for his thesis on this work he was awarded his D.V.Sc. in 192l.
In 1917 he went on active service as Captain A.A.V.C. and served in Egypt, Syria and Palestine. In 1919 he took the final year course at the Royal Veterinary College, London. However at the request of the Veterinary Faculty at Melbourne he did not sit for the final examination. This was because efforts were being made at the time to obtain recognition of Australian degrees in Great Britain. On his return he became Senior Lecturer in Pathology and Bacteriology at the Melbourne School. In addition he undertook the diagnostic work of the Veterinary Research Institute. During this period he carried out his well known research into botulism of cattle.
In 1923 he was appointed Pathologist in charge of Glenfield Veterinary Research Station, and a year later became Director of Veterinary Research. He held this position until 1936. Great advances in the development of the field and laboratory services in N.S.W. were made during this period. Max Henry, Chief Veterinary Officer, and Seddon formed an energetic team whose efforts led to a wide appreciation of the services that could be rendered to the stockowner. A tireless worker, Seddon set the pace for his staff as is evidenced by the large number of research reports which appeared in the Glenfield Annual Reports and in the veterinary and agricultural press.
When Sydney Dodd, D.V.Sc., F.R.C.V.S. died in 1926, Seddon took over the lectures in Veterinary Pathology at the Sydney School until the appointment of H. R. Carne. In 1930 he attended the International Veterinary Conference in London and presented a paper on brucellosis. After attending the International Wool Conference he returned via South Africa in order to visit Onderstepoort laboratory.
In 1936 he accepted the chair in Veterinary Science at Brisbane University with characteristic energy. He faced the difficult task of building up a new school but the outbreak of war in 1939 created new problems. Most of the students enlisted in the army and in 1942 the Senate suspended teaching in Veterinary School. In 1937 he had been appointed Director of Veterinary Services to the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock, Chief Quarantine Officer (Animals) and representative of the Department on the Federal Animal Production Committee. In spite of the pressure of University work he exercised close supervision over the State veterinary services.
When Australia was under threat of invasion Seddon was charged with the arrangements for transfer of foodstuffs to inland areas in Queensland and the determination of the quantities to be stored. With the suspension of the veterinary school Seddon joined the staff of the Rationing Commission where his knowledge of the animal industries proved of great value.
In 1946 he was appointed to a position in the Division of Veterinary Hygiene of the Federal Department of Health. Here he undertook a task eminently suited to his experience, knowledge and ability - that of an epidemiological survey of animal diseases in Australia. The eight service publications of which he is the author cover the whole field of infectious and parasitic diseases of livestock in Australia. They comprise a remarkably well authenticated and detailed series of epidemiological studies which have become standard works of reference. In addition he has been the author of over one hundred articles dealing with his research and its implications. A number of his researches were carried out in association with others well known for their work in the veterinary field, notably G. Edgar, W. L. Hindmarsh, L. Hart, A. L. Rose, and C. Bulmer. Of most economic importance, probably, was that undertaken with H. G. Belschner and C. R. Mulhearn which led to the understanding why sheep became 'flystruck'. From 1957 to 1961 Seddon was lecturer in Epidemiology at the Sydney Veterinary School.
On reaching the age limit Seddon retired from the public service but not from active work, for he set up in practice, first at Ingleburn and later at Campbelltown. In 1954 he accepted an invitation to become Technical Director to the McGarvie Smith Institute, a position which he still holds.
During the whole of his career Seddon has given constant service to the Australian Veterinary Association of which he is a foundation member. He has served as Councillor for many years and has held the offices of President, Vice-President, Secretary and State Editor of Australian Veterinary Journal. In addition he has been President of both the Queensland and N.S.W. Divisions. He was awarded the Gilruth Prize in 1954 and is a Fellow of the A.V.A. He was President of the Section L of the A.N.Z.A.A.S. in 1930 and in 1937 he delivered the second Kendall Oration in Canberra.
It is not possible to express in words what men like Seddon have done for Veterinary Science in Australia. He is one of a dedicated band who, unsparing of self, guided the infant steps of the Association to its present sound position. We offer the sincerest congratulations of all members to Dr. Seddon on his 75th birthday.
HERBERT ROBERT SEDDON
Herbert Robert Seddon was born on 26 May, 1887, at Tauranga, New Zealand, where his father conducted an extensive business as stock and station agent.
From 1904 to 1906 he was a cadet in the New Zealand Department of Agriculture and in 1907 became laboratory assistant to the late J.A. Gilruth at Wallaceville. Early in 1909 when Gilruth left New Zealand to become Dean of the Veterinary Faculty and Director of the Veterinary Research Institute of the Melbourne University, Seddon accompanied him as Chief Laboratory Assistant. While working in that capacity he studied for the degree of B.V.Sc., which he was awarded in 1913, having passed all his examinations with distinction.
Seddon volunteered for war service in 1914, but at the request of the University remained on the veterinary School staff until 1917. From 1917 to 1919 he served as Captain in the Australian Army Veterinary Corps in Egypt, Palestine and Syria. In 1920 he returned to Melbourne and was appointed Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Pathology and Bacteriology, and in 1921 was awarded a Doctorate in Veterinary Science on presentation of a thesis founded on research into contagious abortion. In 1923 he was appointed Veterinary Pathologist in the New South Wales Department of Agriculture to organize the newly-established Veterinary Research Station at Glenfield, and in 1924 became Director of Veterinary Research. From 1928 to 1936 he was Honorary Lecturer in Investigational Method at the University of Sydney.
Between 1914 and 1936 on his own account or jointly he published over 130 papers and articles dealing with various diseases of livestock. These included articles embodying research work on tuberculosis, blackleg, contagious abortion, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, tick fever, botulism, mycotic dermatitis, arthritis in sheep and pigs, caseous lymphadenitis, swine fever, infectious laryngotracheitis and pullorum disease of fowls; the following parasites—sheep blowfly, liver fluke, tapeworms, stomach and bowel worms, sheep ked; nutritional studies, including the value of various minerals to stock; and poisonous plants.
Dr. Seddon was appointed to the new Chair of Veterinary Science in the University of Queensland in 1936 and carried out his duties with characteristic energy. In his Inaugural Lecture he stated that the aims of veterinary science were “to prevent or cure disease and suffering in all domestic animals and to raise the productivity of our animal industries by sound breeding, feeding and management”.
An outline of the history of the School has been given in the introduction to Dr. Seddon’s lecture “The Development of Veterinary Science in Australia” at the Silver Jubilee of the foundation of the School in August, 1961 (University of Queensland Press, 1964). Again he had to start from the beginning and the initial classes were held in a converted stable. Before he arrived, it had been estimated that the cost of additional buildings would be £5,000 or £8,000 if the facilities of the Animal Health Station were not employed. He prepared fresh plans estimated to cost £23,000, but his difficulties may be imagined because the Premier said he had “no intention of permitting the Government to be committed to an expenditure of anything like an amount of £23,000 for the Veterinary Science building”. He suggested that the Senate review the whole matter with the object of adapting requirements to the basis outlined in the report of the Committee of Investigation. Nevertheless, by 1940 buildings to the value of about £26,000 had been erected at Yeerongpilly. Seven students enrolled in 1936. O.H. Brooks, G.R. Moule, G.E. Fewster, O.M. Macpherson and L.G. Newton graduated in 1940. By 1943 eight more students had graduated, the last being R.F. Reik who completed his course in Sydney. No student enrolled in 1942 and the School closed the following year, as most of the students and staff had volunteered for active service. Dr Seddon was appointed Veterinary adviser to the Department of Agriculture and Stock in April 1937, and files indicate that he exercised a detailed supervision of its veterinary staff as Director of Veterinary Services. In March 1939 he was appointed the Department’s representative on the Australian Committee of Animal Production and attended the first meeting in June.
Mr. O.H. Brooks has given the following picture of Professor Seddon during this period. “Professor Seddon was intensely interested in anything which presented a challenge and was a tireless worker. As Professor and Veterinary Adviser to the Department of Agriculture and Stock, he quickly assessed the problems of this State and was largely responsible for the developments leading to the establishment of the Division of Animal Industry. He started the School single-handed and prepared the first horse for anatomy dissection himself and gave most the early lectures. He was a very natural teacher—every lecture was an adventure into the unknown which did not fail to maintain an interest throughout. He coloured his lectures with a wealth of personal experience and humorous anecdotes. Professor Seddon treated his students as adopted sons. He was always master of any situation and imbued the student with a sense of confidence, responsibility, care and foresight towards the profession. He was at all times approachable and the more interest the student showed the more he became interested in the student. He was very active in seeking the help of the graziers’ association to arrange the vacational training on sheep and cattle stations. Professor Seddon was an inspiration from the very first meeting. He demanded a high standard which he also maintained. He never spared himself and seemed to be continually running from one job to another. All students who studied under him became imbued with his enthusiasm for the importance of veterinary science to the individual stock owner and the industry”.
After teaching was suspended, Dr. Seddon was given extended leave of absence and joined the staff of the Rationing Commission in August, 1943. In 1946 he accepted an appointment with the Commonwealth Department of Veterinary Hygiene when his great knowledge, experience, and skill in marshalling evidence were used to produce the eight “Service Publications” which give a complete picture of animal diseases in Australia.
Dr. Seddon was a foundation member of the Australian Veterinary Association. He was Honorary Secretary from 1924-28, President 1929-31 and served as a member of Council and on various committees between 1926 and 1952. He was President of the N.S.W. Division in 1925 and was President of Section L (Veterinary Science) of A.N.Z.A.A.S. at the Brisbane meeting in 1930. He was a member of the Australian National Research Council from 1925-36. In 1930, Dr. Seddon attended the Eleventh International Veterinary Congress in London as a Rapporteur on Contagious Abortion of Cattle and subsequently visited South Africa to investigate animal disease problems. He delivered the Kendall Oration at Canberra in 1933 and the Stewart Oration in Sydney in 1963. He was awarded the Gilruth Prize by A.V.A. in 1954 and was elected to Fellowship of the Association in the same year.
Following completion of the “Service Publications” Dr. Seddon became Technical Director of the McGarvie Smith Institute at Ingleburn near Sydney and in addition conducted an active veterinary practice until he became ill in 1963.
The Veterinary Research Station at Glenfield, the Queensland Veterinary School and the eight “Service Publications” are perhaps the main monuments to Seddon’s industry and vision. His working life spanned the “golden age of bacteriology” and he belonged to a generation which had great faith in the value of the work it was doing; consequently he made major contributions in both the scientific and professional fields.
The comment of Dr. J.A. Gilruth, made in 1936, will perhaps still best serve as Seddon’s epitaph. Gilruth wrote “I have with great satisfaction and considerable pride (which I think justified) his career as an assistant, as a student, as a lecturer, as a research worker, and as an administrator. In each he has acquitted himself admirably, to his own honour and to the great credit of his profession. His name is a household work amongst stockowners in Australia and New Zealand and his reputation stands deservedly high amongst scientific men engaged in problems of animal health and disease throughout the world”.
Until 1963 Dr. Seddon maintained his well-known, remarkable vigour. His was a familiar voice at Conferences insisting that the profession should assert its rightful function as the leading influence in animal disease control. No opinion was ever more forcefully expressed than his demands for Commonwealth action to cope with the risks of exotic disease.
In 1963 his health was failing but with his customary energy he continued to write the historical records of animal disease control in the 19th century. His history of scab eradication in New South Wales was published posthumously (Aust. vet. J. 40: 418). He died 25 October 1964, leaving a heritage of scientific and professional achievement which is a shining example for Australian veterinarians; it is our duty to see that it is perpetuated for future generations.
We extend to Dr. Seddon’s family our sincere sympathy in their bereavement.