John Thomson Gunther

John Gunther entered The King’s School on an Old Boys’ Union Scholarship as a boarder firstly in Thomas and then Macarthur House, where he was a House Monitor and a Lance Corporal in the Cadets. He graduated from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Medicine in 1935 and after a year of residency at Sydney Hospital took a position with Lever Bros in the Solomon Islands where he developed a particular interest in tropical medicine and health. In 1938 he moved to Mt Isa where he became chairman of the Medical Board and researched plumbism, a life threatening hazard of some mining communities.

Commissioned as a Flight Lieutenant in the RAAF Medical Branch during WWII, John was eventually posted to Papua in 1942 where he worked to prevent malaria. Obtaining a diploma from Sydney University in tropical medicine and public health, John became the Commanding Officer of the 1st Australian Tropical Research Field Unit.

In 1946 John’s appointment as Director of Public Health for Papua and New Guinea was the beginning of a long period of service in which he dedicated himself to the public health and wellbeing of the PNG community. This involved implementing programs for the control of malaria and tuberculosis and the introduction of training in health procedures from the villages up the chain to district and regional hospitals. John’s drive and exceptional organisational skills were tested in 1951 after the eruption of Mt Lamington where resources were stretched in the face of a natural disaster. For his work in the recovery process he was awarded an OBE in 1954.

With the ever increasing demands on the expanding PNG administration, John was appointed Assistant Administrator, a position that influenced the political development of the country. He was the leader in the Legislative Council and chairman of the select committee which recommended the creation of a parliament based on universal suffrage. When the House of Assembly was opened in 1964 John was its leader.

From 1966-1972 John was Vice Chancellor of the newly established University of Papua and New Guinea, a position which drew together the three strands of his working life, to provide better health, better administration and better education for the people of PNG as they worked towards taking control of their own future.

John’s service to the people of Papua and New Guinea was recognised by the awarding of the Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1965 and the Cilento medal for achievement in tropical health. Knighted in 1975, John was the recipient of honorary doctorates from the Universities of Papua New Guinea (1972), Monash (1973) and Sydney (1973) all of which paid testament to John as a physician, administrator and educator.