Strange growth
On 16 April 1907, chemist and dentist Harcourt Whipple Ellis and medical doctor Charles Swanston were tried at the Perth Supreme Court for using instruments to procure a miscarriage on Elizabeth Murphy. Murphy, who was unmarried, testified that she had been keeping company for two years with Hamilton Robertson. After she began to feel unwell, he had brought her to Perth from Nannine. She initially consulted Swanston, who informed her she was pregnant. However, she later visited Ellis, who represented himself as a medical doctor, diagnosed a tumour, and recommended she stay at his private hospital in Moore Street until its removal. Following the miscarriage, Swanston was again called in to attend on her. Despite considerable evidence against Ellis, both men were found not guilty.
This trial report is from The West AustralianDownload from Trove
