Richard Ryther Steer Bowker (30 August 1815 – 3 April 1903) was an Australian mariner, physician, surgeon and politician.

Early life and education

Bowker was the son of Thomas Dawson and Elizabeth Steer and born at Campsall,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, England. He was awarded diplomas in botany and

materia medica ''Materia medica'' ( lit.: 'medical material/substance') is a Latin term from the history of pharmacy for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing (i.e., medications). The term derives f ...

in Paris in 1836 and an MD from the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

in 1839. He visited Australia in the emigrant ship the ''Shepherd'' and then migrated to Melbourne,

Colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...

, in the in February 1841. He kept a diary on the voyage which was edited and published by one of his descendants in 2016. The volume also records his service aboard the Sydney whaler ''Caroline'' (1841–42) as an ordinary seaman. He was a passenger on the ''Susannah'' from London to the Cape in 1845. From there he left to India where, in 1846, Indian contract labourers went aboard as passengers to Mauritius, with Bowker aboard as the ship's doctor. He sailed from Mauritius back to India, arriving at Madras in September 1846.

Career

In New South Wales, Bowker was appointed as a medical practitioner to the Loyal Union Lodge in Newcastle in 1842, resigning in 1844. He was a surgeon on ships transporting coolies from India to

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

and

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

in 1846–1847. He was reappointed to the Loyal Union Lodge in 1847. From 1851 to 1853, he researched tropical diseases in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

. He briefly returned to Newcastle and then went to England gaining a ''Licentiate of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

'' and a

Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Roya ...

in 1854. Bowker returned to Newcastle and was elected to the Legislative Assembly as member for North-Eastern Boroughs from January 1858 to 1859. He married Lydia Frances Phillips in November 1858 and they eventually had issue three daughters and six sons. From 1862 or 1863 until 1874, Bowker was simultaneously assistant surgeon for the Volunteer Artillery, health officer for Newcastle and government medical officer. He was particularly concerned to prevent the practice of placing cemeteries, such as the existing cemetery at Christ Church, in the urban area, where they could pollute wells and swamps, which were still used for collecting water for household use. Eventually, he persuaded the

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

to build its new cemetery at Sandgate, well away from the urban area. Apart from his public health interests, he also gained a reputation as an eye surgeon. Bowker also owned ships, and valuable city properties and owned of land at

Waratah Australia’s famous waratah (genus ''Telopea'') is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees, native to the southeastern parts of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, and Tasmania). The be ...

. He bred race horses at his estate, Bona Vista near Paterson. He was the member for

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

from 1877–1888. In 1888, he was appointed for life to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

. In 1873, he moved to Avoca House at

Darling Point Darling Point is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of Woollahra Council. Darling Point is bounded by Sydney Harbour to ...

in Sydney, where he died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowker, Richard Ryther Steer Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly British emigrants to the Colony of New South Wales 1815 births Alumni of the University of St Andrews 1903 deaths Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England 19th-century Australian politicians Australian people in whaling 19th-century Australian medical doctors Maritime writers