Biographical entry Abbie, Andrew Arthur (1905 - 1976)

Summary

Andrew Abbie migrated to New South Wales (NSW) with his family in the early 1920s. He enrolled at Sydney University in 1924 and completed his BS in 1929. This lead him to a successful and decorated career in medicine, anthropology and education. Dr Andrew Abbie worked at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (NSW), University Collage London, The University of Sydney, in the Australian Imperial Force and at the University of Adelaide where he was appointed the Elder chair of anatomy and histology in 1945 and emeritus professor in medicine,1971. Abbie was a foundation and life member of the Anatomical Society of Australia and New Zealand, a life member of the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and served as Chairman of the South Australian Board of Aboriginal Affairs for 10 years.

Details

In December 1941 Andrew Arthur Abbie served as Captain in the Australian Military Force. He was later transferred to the Australian Imperial Force (1942) and underwent training at the Chemical Warfare Physiology School at the University of Melbourne. In 1943 Abbie was appointed to train medical personal in treating casualties of chemical warfare and then in 1944 was sent to Townsville and Papua with the school to study the physiological effects of chemical warfare agents in tropical conditions. In December of the same year he left the military service and moved to South Australia. As Elder chair of anatomy and histology at the University of Adelaide, Abbie was involved in planning the new medical school building, he was the principal lecturer, and continued his research in neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. In the 1950s his interest moved to the anthropology of Aborigines and he conducted many expeditions to aboriginal communities in South Australia and the Northern Territory. He progressed through the ranks at the University and retired in 1970, after having published over 120 papers and several resource and academic text books. His service to the University of Adelaide are commemorated annually through the Abbie Memorial Lecture in neuro-anatomy and related fields.

Apart from research and academia, Abbie was also heavily involved in many professional societies and committees. He was a foundation and later life member and president of the Anatomical Society of Australia and New Zealand, a life member of the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland, President, Anthropological Society of South Australia, Chairman, South Australian Board of Studies in Physiotherapy, Chairman, South Australian Board of Aboriginal Affairs, and University of Adelaide representative on the South Australian Aboriginal & Historical Relics Advisory Board.

Events

c. 1920

Education - Bachelor of Medicine (MB) completed at the University of Sydney

c. 1920

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc) completed at the University of Sydney

1929

Education - Bachelor of Surgery (BS) completed at the University of Sydney

1930 - 1931

Career position - Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney

1932 - 1934

Career position - Travelling Fellowship received from Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research to work as a Medical Research Fellow at University College, London

1934

Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) completed in London

7 November 1934

Life event - Married Frieda Ruth Heighway at the Moore Theological College Chapel in Newtown, NSW

1935 - 1941

Career position - Senior Lecturer in Anatomy at the University of Sydney

1936

Education - Doctor of Medicine (MD) received from the University of Sydney

1940

Career position - The Principles of Anatomy - an undergraduate text book, published in Sydney

1941

Career position - Human Physiology - an undergraduate textbook, published in Sydney

1941

Education - Doctor of Science (DSc) received from the University of Sydney

1941 - 1942

Career position - Captain in the Australian Military Forces

1942 - 1944

Career position - Major with the Australian Imperial Force

1945 - 1970

Career position - Elder Chair of Anatomy and Histology at the University of Adelaide

1948

Career position - President of the Anthropological Society of South Australia

1949

Career position - Associate Dean at the University of Adelaide

1950 - 1952

Career position - Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Adelaide

1950 - 1966

Career position - Chairman of the South Australian Board of Studies in Physiotherapy

1951

Career position - President of the Anthropological Section of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science

1951 - 1966

Career position - Council Chair of the Presbyterian Girl's College in Adelaide

1955 - 1959

Career position - Associate Dean at the University of Adelaide

1959

Career position - President of the Anthropological Society of South Australia

1963 - 1972

Career position - Chairman of the South Australian Board of Aboriginal Affairs

30 December 1963

Life event - Death of first wife

1964

Career position - Acting President of the Anatomical Society of Australia and New Zealand

1965 - 1967

Career position - President of the Anatomical Society of Australia and New Zealand

14 February 1967

Life event - Married Audrey Katherine Allen Simpson at the Unitarian Christian Church in Adelaide

1969

Career position - The Original Australians published

1971 -

Career position - Emeritus Professor at the University of Adelaide

1971

Career position - Life member of the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland

Related entries

Archival resources

Barr Smith Library, Special Collections, The University of Adelaide

• The Papers of Professor Andrew Arthur Abbie, 1905-76, 1933 - 1974, SR 572.994/A124m; Abbie, Andrew Arthur (1905 - 1976); Barr Smith Library, Special Collections, The University of Adelaide. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

• Elmsie, Ronald; Nance, Susan, 'Abbie, Andrew Arthur (1905-1976), Anatomist and Anthropologist, and Frieda Ruth Heighway (1907-1963), Gynaecologist', in John Ritchie (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 13, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1993, pp. 1-2. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130001b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• Abbie, A. A., 'Sir Grafton Elliot Smith', Bulletin of the Post-Graduate Committee in Medicine, University of Sydney, 1949, pp. 101-151. Details
• Abbie, A. A., 'The History of Biology in Australia', Australian Journal of Science, vol. 17, 1954, pp. 1-9. Details
• Crowther, W.E.L.H., 'Introduction to Professor Abbie's Survey of the Aboriginal Collection in the Tasmanian Museum', Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, vol. 98, 1964, pp. 63-71. Details

Online Resources

• National Library of Australia, 'Abbie, A A', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-617073. Details