AMA Queensland 130th anniversary

130th anniversary header

This year AMA Queensland celebrates its 130th anniversary. Following Victoria's lead, doctors of the time established the Queensland Branch of the British Medical Association (BMA) in 1894. It wasn't until 1962, when the BMA was replaced by the Australian Medical Association (AMA), that the Queensland BMA became AMA Queensland.

While AMA Queensland has changed and evolved over the past 130 years, our efforts to deliver strong medical leadership have never wavered. As the state's peak medical body, we work to represent Queensland doctors, support the medical profession and achieve better health outcomes for all Queenslanders.

As a medical association we are driven by social and political issues and work to ensure equitable healthcare for every Queenslander. Our history shows this commitment and our future vision is clear.

This year, we celebrate our history, triumphs and member achievements built over the past 130 years and look to how we can achieve new successes for members to come.

We extend a special thank you to all AMA Queensland Past Presidents and Vice Presidents, Councillors, Directors, and above all, our members who have helped shape our organisation into what it is today.

Supporting Queensland doctors, creating better health.

1862	Queensland’s first medical register was compiled consisting of 23 practising doctors. Their status was often as much the result of their activities in agriculture, business, science, the law and politics as in medicine. Early leaders of the profession in the new colony included Drs Joseph Bancroft, David Ballow, William Hobbs, Kevin Izod O’Doherty, and Kearsey Cannan (pictured).	Dr Kearsey Cannan John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg No: 79520. https:/hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/67922
Dr Joseph Bancroft John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg No: 57297. https://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/71103	The Queensland Medical Society (QMS) was established as a purely medical organisation. Dr Kearsey Cannan was President and Dr Joseph Bancroft (pictured) was Secretary.	1871
1882	The Medical Society of Queensland (MSQ) came into being. It had 27 members originally, including Dr William Taylor, an ophthalmologist and member of the Medical Board, and Dr Kevin Izod O’Doherty (pictured), who was President.	Dr Kevin Izod O'Doherty John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg No: 13335. https://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/57829
Josephine Bedford (left) and Dr Lilian Cooper John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Image No: 7593-0001. http://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/32900	Dr Lilian Cooper arrived in Brisbane from England. She applied for registration with the Medical Board of Queensland and became the first female doctor registered in Queensland and the second in Australia. For 10 years, she was the only woman practising medicine in Queensland.	1891
1893	Until 1893, when Dr Lilian Cooper was admitted as a member, the QMS had historically been an all-male establishment.	Dr Lilian Cooper John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg No: 144022. https://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/99051
Dr William Taylor John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg No: 135461. https://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/20706	The inaugural meeting to form the Queensland Branch of the British Medical Association (now known as AMA Queensland) was held on 30 May 1894, following Victoria’s lead. Influential QMS members became officeholders with Dr William Taylor (pictured) elected President and Dr Peter Bancroft (nephew of Dr Joseph Bancroft) elected Secretary.	1894
1894	Founding member and early President of the Queensland Medical Society Dr Joseph Bancroft died suddenly from heart failure on 16 June 1894 at the age of 58. Dr Bancroft was one of the few Australian scientists at the time who had obtained an international reputation. He showed a great interest in medical problems affecting people, stock and agriculture, and was looked upon as an authority for many diseases.	Home of Dr Joseph Bancroft in Ann Street, Brisbane, 1882 John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg No: 265. https://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/141214
Dr Eleanor Elizabeth Bourne John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg No: 168869. https://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/128371	Dr Eleanor Elizabeth Bourne became one of the first Queensland women to study medicine. Queensland didn’t yet have a medical school, so she enrolled at the University of Sydney and graduated MB ChM in 1903.	1896
1915	The first meeting of the ANZAC Medical Society was held on 7 November 1915 at Gallipoli. President of the Queensland Branch of the BMA 1924-25 Col D Gifford Croll CBE, VD presented the photograph (pictured, right) of the society's first meeting to the association in 1925.	ANZAC Medical Society at Gallipoli, 1915
Sir David Hardie John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg No: 51689. https://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/72765	The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Queensland was established on 13 December 1935, 25 years after the University's initial foundation in 1910. Its formation followed years of advocacy by Queensland BMA Presidents Sir David Hardie (pictured) and Dr Ernest Sandford Jackson.	1935
1946	The Federal Government introduced its first scheme for free public hospital care.	Staff from Biggenden Hospital, 1946 John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg No: 135799. https://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/26113
Hunstanton, L'Estrange Terrace	The Queensland branch of the BMA acquired the L’Estrange Terrace property from Dr James Duhig in December 1955. There have been few structural changes since, and the association (now AMA Queensland) continues to operate from the building. Read more about Hunstanton.	1955
1962	The BMA branches formally merged into the Australian Medical Association. Dr Donald Augustus Dowling was the last President of the Queensland BMA and first President of the Australian Medical Association Queensland.
The trustees of the Bancroft Memorial at Bancroft Terrace, Deception Bay, on the site of the former Bancroft Farm. Left to right: Dr Elizabeth Marks AO, Mr Leonard Ware, Emeritus Prof John Pearn AO AM, Dr David Mackerras, and Dr Stuart Patterson AM OSTJ.	The Bancroft Memorial was unveiled on 21 July 1963 to honour the contributions of Joseph Bancroft and his son Thomas Lane Bancroft as two of Australia's pioneer doctors. The Bancroft father and son duo developed the most significant medical research in Australia in the nineteenth century, and their legacy lives on in many forms. Read more about the memorial.	1963
1975	The Australian Government under Prime Minister Gough Whitlam introduced Medibank. It had only a short period of operation before the Whitlam Government was dismissed and Prime Minister Malcom Fraser entered and made many modifications. In November that year, the Fraser Government imposed a 2.5% income levy to fund Medibank and made changes to hospital funding, benefits and bulk billing, and private insurance rebates.	Prime Minister Gough Whitlam John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg No: 166408. https://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/246251
Emeritus Professor Teresa Rita O'Rourke Cramond (Brophy) AO OBE	AMA Queensland elected its first female President, Emeritus Professor Teresa Rita O'Rourke Cramond (Brophy) OA OBE. She joined as a member in 1951 after graduating MB BS from UQ on an open scholarship, and thirty years later, became President. Read more about Prof Cramond here.	1981
1984	The Hawke Labor Government renamed the Medibank system to what it is still known as today - Medicare. Aside from the name change, the health care system was very similar to that introduced in 1975. At the time of its launch, there were approximately 2,300 items on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS). Today, there are approximately 6,000.
A/Prof Noel Hayman	In 1990, Wakka Wakka and Kalkadoon Aboriginal man Associate Professor Noel Hayman became one of the first Indigenous medical students to graduate from the University of Queensland. He went on to establish the Inala Indigenous Health Service in Brisbane in 1995 which grew into a purpose-built Indigenous Primary Health Care facility in 2013. He was also Queensland’s Australian of the Year in 2011.	1990
1996	Dr Chris Argent became the inaugural Chair of AMA Queensland Doctors in Training Committee (CDT). The committee was set up to advocate on the critical issues affecting doctors in training. Today, these largely include medical workforce shortages, placements, training opportunities, appropriate rostering arrangements and adequate payment. Read more about the CDT here.	Inaugural Chair of the CDT, Dr Chris Argent
	AMA Queensland Foundation was established as the charitable arm of AMA Queensland, with a mission to improve medical conditions in areas of need. The foundation has since continued to raise funds to support scholarships, bursaries and charities. Visit the Foundation webpage.	2000
2000	AMA Queensland commissioned a mace as a significant addition to the cultural heritage of the association. The work was coordinated by CEO Colonel Kerry Gallagher AM, who in June 2000 was the Mace Bearer. Read more about the mace here.	Emeritus Prof John Pearn AO AM, Dr Kerryn Phelps, Kerry Gallagher AM, and Dr Shane Sondergeld.
Emeritus Prof Ian Frazer AC	In 2006, the TGA approved a HPV vaccine that had been in development in Queensland since the early 1990s. In 2007, Australia became the first country that rolled out a national HPV vaccination program. The Federal Government extended the vaccination program to teenage boys in 2013. Emeritus Professor Ian Frazer AC developed the vaccine with his colleague Dr Jian Zhou.	2007
2014	AMA Queensland hosted the first annual Junior Doctor Conference to support junior doctors' professional development.	Junior Doctor Conference 2014
	The Queensland Government agreed to introduce and fund the AMA Queensland Resilience on the Run wellbeing program at all Queensland intern hospitals. Read more about the program here.	2015
2016	The first Resident Hospital Health Check (RHHC) survey of junior doctors in Queensland doctors was launched by the AMA Queensland Council of Doctors in Training (CDT). This survey has since become a leading advocacy tool to improve conditions for our junior doctors and boost our workforce. See the report cards here.	RHHC visit to Gold Coast Hospital, 2023
	AMA Queensland successfully lobbied for a medical professional to chair the Queensland Medical Board.	2016
2020	COVID-19 emerged in Australia in January 2020 with the first Queensland case being confirmed on 21 January 2020. The Queensland Government was the first Australian state to declare a public health emergency following the first confirmed case of COVID recorded in Queensland on 28 January. AMA Queensland took a leading role in the crisis.	AMA Federal Council, including Dr Chris Zappala (far left, obscured) and Dr Dilip Dhupelia (far right), on the day National Cabinet announced the first COVID restrictions
AMA Queensland Ramping Roundtable Chair Dr Kim Hansen at a press conference for the launch of our Ramping Action Plan	The AMA Queensland Ramping Roundtable was formed to address the emergency department crisis across the state. The State Government has since adopted most of our Ramping Action Plan, with 2,500 more public hospital beds, extended opening hours for transit lounges to allow patients to be discharged at night and on weekends, and new Patient Care Facilitators in general practices to help patients stay out of hospital. Read the Action Plan here.	2021
2021	Queensland Health created an Office of Hospital Sustainability (OHS) in direct response to AMA Queensland’s calls for environmental sustainability in healthcare. The OHS is established within Queensland Health and began by implementing a $30 million solar panel and energy efficiency program, installing solar panels at 50 hospital sites. Read more here.
Dr Jeanette Young AC PSM	On 1 November 2021 Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM was sworn in as the 27th Governor of Queensland, stepping down from her role as the state's Chief Health Officer, a role she held for 16 years.	2022
2022	As a direct result of AMA Queensland advocacy, the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 was amended to make Hospital and Health Services (HHSs) and their boards responsible for staff wellbeing and for promoting a culture that supports health, safety and wellbeing.	2022 CDT Co-Chair Dr Rob Nayer and 2022-24 AMA Queensland President Dr Maria Boulton speaking at a media conference on the 2022 RHHC
Working Group members; Dr Elise Witter, Dr Hash Abdeen, Dr James Allen, and Dr Nicola Campbell.	The AMA Queensland LGBTQIASB+ Working Group and Climate and Sustainability Working Group (CSWG) were formed to provide advice on emerging health issues in LGBTQIASB+ communities and policy proposals related to climate change and environmental sustainability. Read more about the groups here.	2023
2023	AMA Queensland achieved an amnesty until mid-2025 for practices to prepare for payroll tax for GPs on service agreements. We also saw revised Public Ruling that provides clarity for all private specialists that payments made directly by patients are not subject to payroll tax. Read more about the campaign here.	Dr Aaron Chambers and Dr Maria Boulton at a press conference at Queensland Parliament House speaking on payroll tax
AMA Queensland President Dr Nick Yim at the 2024 Dinner for the Profession	On 30 May, AMA Queensland celebrated its 130th anniversary as the state's peak medical body.	2024