Encounter with a con man: An introduction to Otago
An alumni story
University of Otago Magazine, Issue 26, June 2010
In late January 1943 I travelled from
Frankton Junction to Dunedin to begin
medical studies at the University of
Otago. The train was crowded, sleep was
almost impossible and I was very tired
on arriving in Wellington. As it was
wartime, the ferry crossing was made
in daylight so that submarines might be
spotted. It was very tedious, with little to
do but walk the deck and, while doing so,
I noticed a lone man of average height,
well-dressed and wearing horn-rimmed
glasses.
From Lyttleton I travelled to
Christchurch to catch the midnight
train to Dunedin. A few minutes out of
Oamaru I was tapped on the shoulder by
the same man I had noticed on the ferry.
It seemed I was in his seat: I moved over
and conversation began.
In a rather cultured voice, he asked
me if I was going to university and
was I planning to study medicine? I
replied, yes, I hoped to and that I had
booked into the YMCA for a few days
while I found digs. He told me that he
too had studied medicine in Dunedin,
later travelling overseas to specialise
in neurosurgery, before returning to
work at Dunedin Hospital. He was very
helpful, saying his former landlady at 357
Great King Street might help me with
accommodation and offering to take me
to dinner at Wains Hotel the following
evening. In my address book he wrote “T C Shearsby Wains Hotel 6.30pm”.
I duly appeared at Wains Hotel,
but there was no Dr Shearsby and no
reservation in his name. I was a little
nonplussed, but the following day went
to the hospital only to be told there was no Dr Shearsby on staff. I then went to
the Medical School to find out if he was
working there. The kind person in the
office obligingly went through the past
20 years of student records and, again, no
such name appeared. I also checked the
Great King Street address he had given
me to find no such number existed.
Something made me persist and I
returned to the hospital reception the
next day. No joy there, but then who
should I see coming down the stairs in a
white coat with a stethoscope around his
neck but Dr Shearsby! He explained that
the staff in reception were new and did
not know him. He then offered to sell me
a microscope – for £25, which was about
all that I had! He said to think about it
and come back tomorrow.
So, I again presented myself at
reception and was – again – told there
was no Dr Shearsby. When I explained
that I had seen him the previous day
and described what he looked like, the
manager exclaimed: “My God, that must
be Murray Roberts!”
That meant nothing to me then
but, about two years later, I found a
note on the notice board in the medical
students’ common room: “Ever heard
of Dr Shearsby?” from a fellow student
who knew of this encounter. The note
was accompanied by a newspaper cutting
about a certain Murray Roberts accused
of impersonating a doctor!
Dr Ross Smith MB ChB 194
Murray Beresford Roberts began medical studies
at the
University of Otago, but, while he never
completed his degree,
he went on to impersonate
doctors and teachers both in
New Zealand
and Australia. He was imprisoned on several
occasions for offences including fraud, theft and
impersonation.
Roberts' autobiography, 'A King of
Con Men',
was printed posthumously in 1975.
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