ECCLES, ALFRED (1821-1904) was born at Kennington, Surrey, the son of John Henry Eccles, merchant, of Broad Street. His parents removing to Plymouth, he spent his early life there, but at the age of 10 was admitted as a pupil at Christ's Hospital, London, whose quaint dress he wore for the next three years and a half. There he developed a desire for the career of medicine, and on leaving school he apprenticed himself for five years to Samuel Millard, M.R.C.S., resident proprietor of the Whitchurch asylum for the insane, near Ross, Herefordshire. The five years that Eccles spent in the valley of the Wye and in Devonshire had a profound influence upon his artistic tastes.

Having completed his articles, Eccles entered St Bartholomew's Hospital (1842) and, according to Luther Holden (afterwards president of the Royal College of Surgeons), was 'one of the most distinguished students of his day.' In 1843, he took his degree as member of the Royal College of Surgeons, and in 1844 gained the diploma of licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries. He returned for a short time to Whitchurch, and then practised from chambers in London. By 1848 he had established himself also in practice at Tunbridge Wells. In 1848 he married Alice Elizabeth (d. 1852), daughter of T. S. Withington, of Dulwich. They travelled on the continent, and Eccles did research work in Malta and Egypt. Eccles did further post graduate work at St Bartholomew's and practised in London. He married (1853) Maria, daughter of Sir James Caleb Anderson, of Fermoy, County Cork. In 1858, Eccles was honoured by election to the fellowship of the Royal College. He had a prosperous practice in London and Tunbridge Wells when he decided (1861) to emigrate to New Zealand. He sailed as surgeon in the ship Chile on 31 Aug. Mrs Eccles died at sea.

Eccles was the first fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Otago, and he soon had a practice which took him far afield and paid handsomely. In 1864 he was appointed by the provincial government to a commission to recommend measures to improve the sanitation of the city. He acted as secretary to the commission, and next year was appointed a member of the Otago medical board. In less than a year after his arrival Eccles was an accepted leader in the public affairs of Dunedin. He was one of the leading promoters of the building of St Paul's Cathedral, and a chief organiser of the bazaar in 1862 at which a large portion of the money was obtained. The small industrial exhibition, which was a feature of the bazaar, was most popular, and Eccles conceived the idea of an industrial exhibition on a large scale, which would demonstrate the economic progress of the colony. In 1863 a preliminary committee was set up, and by Nov 1864 a fine block of buildings, which had cost the provincial government £18,000, was handed over to the regular commission. Here in Jan 1865, was opened the first New Zealand exhibition. Eccles was honorary secretary and the main driving force of the committee, and when the exhibition closed the committee voted that he be made a special award of a gold medal 'as a recognition of his indefatigable labours in originating and furthering the first New Zealand exhibition.' The exhibition building is now the administrative block of the Dunedin hospital.

A lifelong lover of art, Eccles assisted at the initiation of the Otago Fine Arts exhibition (1869). In the same year he was one of the founders—and a first vice-president with Arthur Beverly—of the Otago Institute.

In 1869 Eccles married Mary (d. 1886), daughter of John Jones and widow of Dr Henry Nelson. Two years later, to give his family an English education, he sailed for the Old Country and settled in Devonshire. Eccles died at Plymouth on 11 Mar 1904.

Hocken; Fulton; Otago Daily Times, 29 Aug 1930 (P).

Reference: Volume 1, page 130

🌳 Further sources