The Royal Society of Tasmania – 2014 Launceston Lecture Series
Professor John Pearn Emeritus, School of Medicine, University of Queensland
will present
The First Medical Research in Australia
in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk
2.00 pm Sunday 26th October 2014
Admission: $5 General Public, $3 Friends of the Museum, $2 Students
Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania
To assist us with the organization of this event
RSVP by Thursday 23rd October 2014:
Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798
Australia has a rich heritage of medical research. For those interested in “firsts”, the first formal medical research in Australia was undertaken on the French naval Baudin expedition of 1801 – 1803, in Tasmanian waters. The French naval surgeon, Francois Peron, had constructed a strength-testing machine, a dynamometer, and used this to measure the effects of climate and nutrition on human strength. These experiments were conducted against the background of scurvy, a disease which Cook’s earlier nutritional experiments had brought under control in the Royal Navy. Maria Island holds a special place in the history of medicine and healthcare in Australia.
Professor John Pearn is a Senior Paediatrician based at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. A Founder and Past President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of the
History of Medicine. He is also a long-serving Committee Member of the International Society of the History of Medicine. As Major General John Pearn, he is a former Surgeon
General of the ADF.
