100th Anniversary of Anthrax VaccinePrint Page

The memorial, erected by the citizens of Ardlethan, commemorates the 100th anniversary of the development of the first single dose of anthrax vaccine by John Gunn of Yalgogrin Run in 1897.

John Gunn built his own laboratory in 1890 on Yalgogrin Run the property he was managing for R Goldsbrough and Co. Anthrax was the scourge of the industry at the time, killing more than 30 per cent of sheep flocks and other livestock with more than 270,000 sheep known to be lost to the disease in the Riverina District. The double dose vaccine developed in 1881 by the Louis Pasteur Institute in Paris could not survive shipment or outback climatic conditions, and the regime of two vaccinations administered fourteen days apart was a particular problem on the sprawling Australia sheep runs.

John Gunn had many supporters in his endeavour, including Frank Stewart of Bygoo Station, Ardlethan, and Arthur Devlin of Uarah Station near Grong Grong. Devlin had begun work in 1890 with French scientists in an attempt to manufacture the French vaccine in Sydney, but by 1897, John Gunn succeeded in producing a serum which was effective in one dose and could be kept almost indefinitely. His first attempt to reproduce the serum was unsuccessfull, but fortunately this was achieved a few days later by John McGarvie Smith. The two men formed a partnership which continued until Gunn’s death in 1910.

 

Location

Address:	Ariah Street, Stewart Park, Ardlethan , 2665
State:	NSW
Area:	AUS
GPS Coordinates:	Lat: -34.357471 Long: 146.900657 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.

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Details

Monument Type:	Monument
Monument Theme:	Technology
Sub-Theme:	Science
Approx. Event Start Date:	1897
Approx. Event End Date:	1997

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:	Sunday 9th March, 1997

Source: MA