Presented by Professor John Pearn from the School of Medicine, University of Queensland.
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.
Admission: $5 General Public, $3 Friends of the Museum, $2 Students
Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania
RSVP- E: bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au, T: 6323 3798 by 23 October