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Image Not Available for The Surgeon-General John White Medal for Service to Health in its Many Forms
The Surgeon-General John White Medal for Service to Health in its Many Forms
Image Not Available for The Surgeon-General John White Medal for Service to Health in its Many Forms

The Surgeon-General John White Medal for Service to Health in its Many Forms

Designer
Date2007
Object number00044465
NameMedallion
MediumCopper, gold
DimensionsOverall: 90 x 48 x 4 mm, 126 g
ClassificationsCommemorative artefacts
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Air Vice-Marshal Bruce Short AM RFD (Rtd)
DescriptionThis oval shaped medal depicts five images of Australian flora and fauna, including a red-bellied black snake and a waratah flower. It was awarded to the Immediate Past Surgeon-General, Air Vice-Marshal Bruce Short AM RFD, in 2007 for his dedication to Australia's heath services. The medal is one of 150 designed by Major General John Pearn AM RFD, to commemorate Surgeon John White RN, who in 1786 was appointed the First Fleet's and Australia's first Surgeon-General.HistoryThis medal is in recognition of the work carried out by the Australian Defence Force Health Services and commemorates the first Surgeon-General to Australia, Surgeon John White RN. The medal was given to the Australian National Maritime Museum by Air Vice-Marshal Bruce Short AM RFD (Rtd) to mark his retirement from the Royal Australian Air Force on 1 November 2007 and acknowledges the services of individuals within the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The medal was originally produced in July 2007 and designed by Major General John Pearn. Its concept was to commemorate the first Surgeon-General, John White, who at that stage had not been suitably recognised for his short but influential stay in Australia. John White's substantial contribution to Australian health is honoured in this medal, designed by medallist, numismatist, historian and the first Reserve Surgeon-General of the Australian Defence Force, Major General John Hemsley Pearn, AM, RFD (Rtd). The medal's reverse features raised text that reads "The Surgeon-General John White Medal, For Service to Health in its Many Forms". On the obverse, the images of five examples of nature, identified by John White are carved in relief. At the centre is the red-bellied black snake, shown as a symbol of medicine and health in the form of an Aesculapian Serpent of Healing. Above the snake is the waratah, the telopea, which is the State floral emblem of NSW. Below the snake is a blue-bellied parrot, first described by White in 1790. To the right of the snake is White's seahorse which is found in Sydney Harbour. To the left of the snake is a leaf-tailed gecko, also first described by White in 1790 and then in 1804 named the EGERNIA WHITII in his honour. Within the national and international spheres, this medal is used to recognise exceptional individuals who have contributed services to health in a variety of forms. It is not a service or Government sponsored medal, but a medallion of excellence within the area of Australian health services. Other recipients of the medal include: Chiefs of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), the Australian Museum, the Australian War Memorial, Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Macleay Museum and Fisher Library at University of Sydney, National Museum of Australia, the editorial board of The Journal of the Defence Health Service, the RAAF Museum (Point Cook) and the Head of Defence Health Service (Department of Defence). John White was born about 1756 and trained during a time of improving ethical and clinical standards in medicine. He entered the Royal Navy on 26 June 1778 as third surgeon's mate on HMS WASP and received his diploma of the Company of Surgeons on 2 August 1781. The next five years of his naval service took him as far as the West Indies and India. On 26 June 1786 he became surgeon of the IRRESISTIBLE and four months later, he was appointed chief surgeon onboard the CHARLOTTE, part of the first fleet sent to establish a convict settlement at Botany Bay. Thanks largely to White and nine other surgeons who accompanied the fleet, only forty out of more than 1,300 people died on the voyage. White set up his portable canvas hospital at Sydney Cove and dealt with many outbreaks of scurvy and dysentery, a consequence of having minimal fresh provisions. White accompanied Governor Phillip on several expeditions and kept a journal in which he noted the colony's natural history and daily activities. His greatest crisis came in June 1790 when the Second Fleet arrived with 500 sick and dying people. In spite of insurmountable problems such as the lack of medicine and accommodation, White and his assistants managed to nurse more than half of them back to health. An almost identical crisis came with the arrival of the Third Fleet and 600 suffering convicts in September 1791. At the end of 1792, 436 had died. White recommended the use of good wine mixed with essence of malt as a source of Vitamin C and like most doctors of the day, was a keen naturalist. He was Australia's first Doctor to direct the search for native plants as a way to protect the colonists against scurvy. In December 1792, White applied for leave and commented on the strenuous lifestyle in Australia. In the meantime, he continued to pursue his interest in natural history and compiled numerous drawings over the next two years with the help of the convict artist Thomas Watling, assigned to him in October 1792. White was granted 100 acres, which he named Hamond Hill Farm, near the present day suburb of Leichhardt and another thirty acres at White Bay. He was eventually granted leave and sailed for England in December 1794, leaving behind a son, Andrew, by Rachel Turner and an adopted Aboriginal boy, Nanbaree. In August, White resigned rather than return to NSW, and went on to serve on various ships during 1796 to 1799. In England around 1800 he married and reared four children, including his son Andrew from New South Wales. White was the surgeon at Sheerness dockyard and later at Chatham dockyard from September 1803 to January 1820. He retired on half-pay and died at Worthing on 20 February 1832, aged 75 leaving an estate valued at £12,000. SignificanceThis 24-caret gold gilded copper medal represents the contribution of professionals to the Australian health service and the significance of Surgeon-General John White.