St John's Hospital (Morton House), Launceston, Australia: A history of the hospital and Dr William Russ Pugh's first operations under ether

On 7 June 1847, William Russ Pugh, MD, performed two operations at the St John's Hospital and Self-Supporting Dispensary, Launceston, Tasmania, while his patients were rendered insensible by the inhalation of sulphuric ether. These operations are the earliest documented surgical operations under ether in Australia. St John's Hospital officially opened on 1 September 1845. The hospital may have closed in late 1853 because of financial difficulties. The two-storey Georgian-style building which served as the hospital was completed c1831-1832. It has served as a residence, school, boarding school, hospital, medical consulting rooms and commercial offices. The building is now known as Morton House. We could not identify the date when the name Morton House was adopted, or explain the origin of the name. The earliest identified use of this name is in May 1873 in a newspaper advertisement for boarders. No person with the surname Morton is known to have been associated with the building as an owner or as a tenant. The name Morton House may honour William T.G. Morton, MD, the Boston dentist who performed the first public demonstration of surgical etherisation on 16 October 1846.