Dr Giulio Catani (1848-1921)

Carlo's brother, Dr Giulio Catani was born in 1848 and was a doctor at the St John of God Hospital in Florence. The website Associazione San Giovanni di Dio, provides a history of the Hospital - 

This hospital, on the street of Borgo Ognissanti dates back to the 14th century. In 1382, its founder Simone Vespucci dedicated the hospital. Its name, Santa Maria dell'Umiltà (of Humility), probably comes from the nearby convent of the same name. Vespucci, a merchant and silkmaker was also the first administrator and patron of the hospital, along with being the great uncle of the more famous Amerigo.

In 1400, the hospital passed from the Vespucci to the captains of Bigallo; the latter had been given charge of the supervision and management of small hospitals in the city and surrounding countryside. The Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God's involvement in this hospital's activity began on February 4th 1588 when Grand Duke Ferdinand I accorded possession of the hospital buildings and grounds to the brothers of Saint John of God. 

You can read more of the history here https://www.asgdd.it/antico-i.htm

Interior - St John of God Hospital in Florence, where Dr Catani was Superintendent.

https://www.asgdd.it/antico-i.htm

I found these reports of  Dr Catani's medical work in the Australian newspapers on Trove. The first one is from The Advocate, of October 31, 1891 (see here) and concerns the miraculous recovery of a patient. The treatment - Trepanning - involved drilling a hole in the patient's skull. 

ROME. OUR LADY OF POMPEII.
A correspondent (" F. K.") writes to the Weekly Register, under the heading "Our Lady of Pompeii" : -  A remarkable answer to the prayer of faith has been recently exhibited in the case of one of the English denizens of Florence, Mr. Campbell, a Catholic gentleman engaged in tuition, met just two years ago with a bad accident, by which he sustained a severe contusion of the skull, bringing on intense pain and paralysis. 

It was decided a few weeks since, as a last resource, to submit the patient to the operation of trepanning. When the decision of the surgeons was announced, Mr. Campbell's friends determined before the operation took place to make the matter a subject of special prayer; and, accordingly, a novena was observed, requesting the intercession of Our Lady of Pompeii. On the last day of the novena the patient was so bad that Dr. Baldwin said he must be trepanned at once. The next morning he awoke perfectly well as regards his head, and the doctors pronounced that the brain pressure was gone. The paralysis, however, remained as before; and Dr. Catani, the other physician in attendance, told Mrs. Campbell that there was absolutely no hope that her husband could recover the use of his limbs, and that he would always be paralytic.

In consequence, a second novena was addressed to the Virgin of Pompeii. No amendment (as in the former case) was observed at first, but on the tenth day Mr. Campbell arose from his bed, and walked, and jumped, and ran. On Monday (the 3rd of August) he walked up to Bellosguardo - a long ascent sufficient even to tire a person in health - and called upon a friend there.

The second report was published first in The Herald (see here) and then reprinted in the Kyneton Guardian, on November 11, 1915 (see here). As Carlo's son, Enrico, owned a farm at Kyneton, the report added this local connection.

Dr. G. Catani, formerly Superintendent of the Hospital of St. John of God, Florence, Italy, and a brother of Mr. C. Catani, Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department, and uncle of Lieut. Enrico Catani, of Kyneton, has been recalled from retirement to organise No. 2 Hospital, Florence, for the Red Cross Society, in order to provide for the reception of 60,000 wounded soldiers if necessary. Despite his 67 years, he has entered upon his task with zest. He has been given the rank of Lieut.-Colonel by the Italian Government. Some time before war broke out Dr. Catani treated King Ferdinand of Bulgaria for throat trouble, and received a decoration.

Dr Catani died on January 22, 1921 and a death notice was inserted in The Argus, of March 21, 1921 (see here) - CATANI - On the 22nd January, 1921, at Florence, Italy, Dr. Giulio Catani, brother of the late Carlo Catani, C.E., Melbourne, and uncle of Ettore, Vera, and Enid Catani, St Kilda.

There is one other mention of Dr Catani and this was in regard to the shortage of lanolin for Red Cross work in Italy during the War and Carlo's efforts to remedy this; I have written about this here.

There are photographs of the St John of God Hospital here   http://himetop.wikidot.com/san-giovanni-di-dio-s-hospital and here https://www.florenceinferno.com/torregalli-hospital/

Carlo seeks supplies of Lanoline for the Italian Red Cross

The Great War caused the shortage of many products in Australia and other countries and one of these products was lanoline. This shortage also impacted Italy and Carlo Catani was asked to help resolve this problem, however in spite of Australia having the largest sheep industry in the world, we did not produce lanoline which is made from the grease of the wool. Australia imported most of its lanoline from Germany (1).

In 1912, Mr. J. B. Henderson (2), President of  Royal Society in Queensland estimated that state alone would throw away 20,000,000 lbs of lanoline a year, which at the wholesale price in Germany, 11d a pound, is approximately worth £1,000,000. As he asked - Would it not pay to have all our wool scoured, and keep this considerable sum in Queensland, instead of making a present of it to continental manufacturers? (3)

Wool washing or scouring on the Yarra; the dirt and grease removed from the wool added to the pollution of the Yarra.

Wool washing on the Yarra, 1872. Photographer: Charles Nettleton

State Library of Victoria H96.160/1729

Italy's request for lanoline in June 1915 was reported in many newspapers, firstly in The Herald -

Lanoline is urgently required in connection with Red Cross work in Italy, and Mr C. Catani, Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department, has authority to negotiate for purchasers. Inquiries which he has made recently have indicated that there is little, if any, to spare in Victoria. He urges that as lanoline is merely the fat of wool it ought to be possible in a great sheep-raising country like Australia to supply large quantities. This was one opportunity, he considered, for trade expansion. Mr Catani who has received advices regarding the shortage of lanoline, bismuth and alkaloids of certain drugs from his brother, Lieutenant-Colonel G. Catani of Florence, will be glad to give particulars to any business firms interested. (4).

Lieutenant-Colonel G. Catani was Carlo's older brother Giulio, born in 1848. He was a Doctor and the Superintendent of St John of God Hospital in Florence and during the War he was recalled from retirement to organise No. 2 Hospital in  Florence, for the Red Cross Society, in order to provide for the reception of 60,000 wounded soldiers if necessary. Despite his 67 years, he has entered upon his task with zest. He has been given the rank of Lieut.-Colonel by the Italian Government (5).

The Herald expanded upon the supply of lanoline the next day and provided some interesting statistics -

Mr C. Catani, Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department, who is Italian by birth and an excellent Australian by adoption, has been authorised to see if he can obtain in Victoria a sufficient supply of lanoline for Red Cross work in Italy. He points out that this is a great sheep-raising country and that lanoline is the refined fat of the wool. As a fact, in 1913 Australia had more sheep than any other country in the world, the number being over 85,000,000 against 80,400,000 in the Argentine, 74,000,000 in the Russian Empire, and 52,300,000 in the United States. With that fact before us, it constitutes a reflection upon our intelligence and enterprise and upon our sense of legitimate self-interest that we have not a huge lanoline works in this country. (6)

Table Talk also reported in their signature style on Carlo's involvement 

Mr. Carlo Catani, of the Public Works Department in Victoria, creator of Lake Catani and revealer of the grandeurs of the Buffalo and the beauteous possibilities of St. Kilda foreshore, has found for himself a legitimate war-time activity in these days when local landscape improvement is a drug in the market. He has heard from his brother, Lieut. Colonel Catani, at Florence, that lanoline is badly wanted by the Italians. Mr. Catani is by way of being a practical scientist as well as an engineer and a creative artist, and prospective makers of lanoline - the substance is a bi-product of the woollen industry, will find him an intelligent interlocutor for the Italian Government. (7).

The Weekly Times also reported on the lanoline issue as one of the neglected opportunities in the wool industry issue -

Mr C. Catani, Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department, has been authorised by the Italian Government to obtain in Australia a large quantity of lanoline for Red Cross purposes. Lanoline is a preparation made from the grease of the wool, and Australia being the chief wool-growing country, it was naturally supposed in Italy that the lanoline would be obtainable here. The Italians will no doubt be surprised to hear that we buy our lanoline from those countries to whom we sell the wool. Even the fat and other by-products from Australian wool-scouring works are thrown away instead of being utilised, as they are by the foreigners. There is not the slightest doubt that all these facts reflect upon our intelligence as a people. At first sight it appears to be a direct admission of incompetence which impels a country with 80 millions of sheep to send away the wool to be manufactured. It is hardly that, but it is an admission of lack of enterprise. (8)

In February 1916 a start had been made towards a lanoline industry, as the Weekly Times reported -

Mr F. Tudor, Minister for Trade and Customs, gave an assurance on February 15 that if a lanoline industry was started in Australia, it would be fully protected. Mr J. H. Chambers, who holds patent rights for a wool-scouring process by cold water, and Mr W. Melvin, the first manager of the Ballarat Woollen Mills, in an interview with the Minister demonstrated that it was possible to extract lanoline. Mr Melvin stated that with lanoline at 3/ a lb - it was now 6/ - the establishment of a lanoline industry would mean £22,000,000 a year to the Commonwealth. (9)

An advertisement for lanoline

The Argus, December 31, 1913 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/7274274

22 million pounds seems an extraordinary amount of money, that would have been  a valuable addition to the Australian economy. It also seems extraordinary that we learnt nothing from the Great War lanoline shortage as in 1921 The Age reported that Australia was still not manufacturing lanoline - 

time and again attention has been drawn to the colossal loss which Australia annually suffers from the non-utilisation of by-products. Yet little or nothing has been done to remedy the defect. It is literally true that millions of pounds are running to waste annually at various factories and works throughout the Commonwealth. A notable instance is that of wool grease, or lanoline, which is not being saved in anything like the quantities that one would expect in the largest wool-producing country in the world. (10)

In 1945,  the newspapers were still talking about the production of lanoline as a potential new industry for Australia. An Argus article in June 1945 commenced with - 

When we think of lanoline memory is apt to take us back to childhood days when some kindly soul applied this refined and soothing wool fat to a grazed knee or a chafe. It may seem a little strange at first to leam that wool fat might form the basis of new industries that would have the effect of increasing considerably the value of greasy wool generally. (11)

Sadly it appears that when Carlo considered that the production of lanoline in Australia in 1915 was one opportunity for trade expansion this opportunity was never acted upon.

Trove list - I have created a list of articles on lanoline production, mainly connected to Carlo Catani's war time role on Trove, access it here.

Footnotes

(1) Various reports from my Trove list, here.

(2) John Brownlie Henderson (1869-1950) - see his Australian Dictionary of Biography entry here https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/henderson-john-brownlie-6633

(3) The Queenslander, April 6 1912, see here.

(4) The Herald, November 8, 1915, see here.

(5) The Herald, November 8, 1915, see here; A Labour of Love - the Public Works of Carlo Catani Victoria 1876-1918, by Isaac Douglas Hermann (published by the Author in 2018). Dr Catani died in Florence on January 22, 1921.

The Argus, March 21, 1921 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1741204

(6) The Herald, November 9, 1915, see here.

(7) Table Talk, November 11, 1915, see here.

(8) Weekly Times, November 13, 1915, see here.

(9) Weekly Times, February 19, 1916, see here.

(10) The Age, January 18, 1921, see here.

(11) The Argus, June 16 1945,  see here.