ROBERT CRICHTON WYLLIE

A biographical sketch of Wyllie in "The Victorian Visitors" by Alfons L. Korn states that as a boy of twelve Robert was enrolled at the University of Glasgow as a pupil of Professor William Richardson but that his name was not among the graduates of the institution nor did it appear among the graduates of the Faculty of Medicine at Edinburgh. It is probable that he got his medical training by serving as assistant to some practitioner. In any case, he began his career as a ship's surgeon and was shipwrecked three times.

Forsaking the sea, Mr. Wyllie first went to Chile and then to other South American countries where me became a most successful merchant. From 1825 to 1830 he settled in Mazatlan, Mexico, and continued to prosper. While he did not actively practice medicine during this period, he did render medical aid when called upon and attended the member of several convents. In 1830 he returned to London and was a junior partner in the firm of Lyall, Wyllie, and Company, shipping merchants, until 1835. He then went into business for himself. He was on the original Board of Directors of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company.

In 1843 he came to the United States to represent the interests of some of his clients, and here he met General William Miller whom he had known in Valparaiso, Chile. The General had been appointed British Consul-General to Hawaii, and he was able to persuade Mr. Wyllie to accompany him as his secretary. The two arrived in Honolulu aboard HMS "Hazard" on February 3, 1844. Shortly thereafter, Mr Miller left for a visit to Tahiti and Mr. Wyllie was appointed acting consul and served for about a year.

On Miller's return, Mr. Wyllie was asked, on the recommendation of Dr. Gerrit P. Judd, to enter the service of King Kamehameha III. This he did on March 24, 1845, taking the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs, which he held until his death. In November 1847 Mr. Wyllie and Dr. Judd had a falling-out in which Wyllie accused him of a number of short comings. Gerrit P. Judd IV in his "Hawaii An Informal History" characterized this dispute as a challenge of the Doctor's leadership by Wyllie. It grew into a continuing feud which finally resulted in the missionary doctor's dismissal from the government in 1853.

Mr. Wyllie was one of the strongest proponents of the licensing and inspection of prostitutes, a stand which was bitterly opposed by the mission group. Over strong opposition, the legislature of 1860 voted law An Act to Mitigate Evils and Disease Arising from Prostitution, which did enforce treatment of diseased prostitutes. Again Wyllie found himself at odds with the missionaries, this time over the question of dancing. Described as being a tireless dancer himself, less than 18 months after his appointment dancing became part of palace affairs. Thenceforth, missionaries attending state dinners left before the dancing began, and one missionary complained that Wyllie could hardly wait until they were out of the room.

While Mr. Wyllie did not engage in the active practice of medicine during his years in Hawaii, there is evidence that he did treat at least one patient. A Mr. Frank Funk from Wailuku, Maui, while on a trip to Honolulu, he consulted Mr. Wyllie about his failing eyesight, and a course of treatment was prescribed. In August 1874, Mr. Funk wrote to Mr. Wyllie from Maui reporting that although he had continued to follow instructions he had noted little improvement and asking for further advice. Mr. Wyllie responded in a letter in which he counseled his patient to continue with Plummers Pills, ointment, blisters to the nape of the neck, and even suggested that a gentle dose of salts every eight days would be effective.*

Contemporary comments describe Wyllie as being of slender, bony build with slightly reddish hair and ruddy complexion. He was also called a sensitive and frail bachelor with reddish hair and a slight burr who was a conscientious if occasionally garrulous man. It was reported that his full dress when visiting a ship-of-war was white star upon his breast, two yellow crowns upon his collar, a beautiful russet moustache upon his face, and a crimson ribband across his shoulders, just half an inch broader than the regulation ribband worn by other ministers of the state.

Mr. Wyllie died in October 19, 1865, in Honolulu at the age of 67.

He is credited with being largely responsible for the founding of the Chamber of Commerce of Honolulu in 1850, was president of the Hawaiian Mill Company and the owner of a sugar plantation at Hanalei, Kauai. He was a Knight Templar in the Masonic Order.

During his incumbrancy, Hawaii was acknowledge as an independent Kingdom by treaties with most of the civilized nations, all of which were engineered by Mr. Wyllie, who was without a doubt one of the most, if not the most, influential men in the Kingdom. "The Hawaiian Gazette" of October 21, 1865, stated,

The death of such a man cannot but be regarded as a national calamity. There is not a Hawaiian, from one end of the Islands to the other, but who, when he hears of Mr. Wyllie's death, will say -- 'There went a true friend of our King and His People' .

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*In the Record. A Case of Eye Trouble, by R. A. G. The Hawaiian Journal of History, Vol. 1, 1967.

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