Max’s journey to the grave 113 years after death, via a doctor fleeing murder charges and an Australian museum
Max Dreyssig, a German war hero whose skeleton was displayed at the South Australian Museum for nearly 80 years, has finally been buried in Adelaide 113 years after his death.
For almost 80 years, visitors to the South Australian Museum filed past the skeleton of Johann David Max Dreyssig, posed with one leg up on a small chair and a bird skeleton perched on his outstretched hand. A simple sign reading 'Human: Homo sapiens' marked him apart from animal skeletons in the collection.
Dreyssig, a German immigrant who was awarded the Iron Cross for bravery after serving in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71, died of cancer in 1913 at age 62. He had given his body to his eccentric doctor, Prof Archibald Watson, who had him reduced to a skeleton and sold him to the museum for £10 in 1920.
Ethical reconsideration
The museum's repatriation manager, Anna Russo, explained that while the conversations between Dreyssig and Watson on his deathbed remain unknown, the laws at the time didn't allow people to donate their bodies to their doctors. 'Knowing Max's story and that history, the museum had to think very deeply about what dignity and respect meant for Max,' she said.
The museum had to think very deeply about what dignity and respect meant for Max.
Controversial doctor
Watson, a University of Adelaide anatomy professor, had a troubled past. He had been arrested for murder and blackbirding in the South Pacific but slipped bail and went to Germany to study medicine. Historical accounts show Watson had a passion for collecting body parts, sometimes not by the book, and once replaced a torso with an umbrella to fool relatives at a viewing.
Historian John Healey speculates Watson may have carried out a 'radical and untried' surgery on Dreyssig, who died three weeks after his diagnosis. A museum taxidermist, Joe Rau, prepared the skeleton after Dreyssig's body was 'flensed'.
Long journey home
The museum worked with Adelaide's German community for months to find any relatives of Dreyssig, but the family line had ended in 1960. On Saturday, Dreyssig was buried at West Terrace cemetery in a small casket draped with the German flag. A Lutheran pastor read the last rites before his remains were lowered into the grave.
Dr Ian Harmstorf, a historian and former president of the SA German Association, described Dreyssig's life as 'exciting' and noted his success as an iron and steel merchant. He explained that Dreyssig's skeleton likely sat unheeded during World War I before being exhibited in 1942 to teach anatomy students.
The skeleton was removed from display in 2019 after a German visitor complained to the German government about the indignity. Museum board chair Dr Rob Saint acknowledged that past practices had fallen short of current ethical standards. 'The story of Max Dreyssig reminds us that museums have a responsibility to consider not only our past actions, but more broadly whose stories have been told and from what perspective,' he said.
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