Robertson, James (1822 - 1862)

Summary

James Robertson was a medical practitioner who in 1854 migrated to New South Wales seeking a better climate to mitigate his tuberculosis. He joined the private practice of Bartholomew O'Brien in Sydney. Appointed Honorary Surgeon at St Vincent's Hospital in 1856, Robertson resigned several years later in a sectarian dispute. He then became Honorary Surgeon at Sydney Hospital. Robertson was particularly interested in public health. He advocated the use of iron (not lead) pipes for carrying drinking water (many of his patients suffered from lead poisoning), and was critical of the discharge of sewage into the Harbour in central Sydney. It was his initiative which saw the foundation of the Australian Medical Association in 1859, as a professional association and to provide benevolent funds for members when needed. The Association did not survive long after his death in 1862 from TB.

Details

Chronology

1843

Education - Member, Royal College of Surgeons, London

1848

Education - Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons, London

c. 1848 - 1854

Career position - Surgeon and physician, Hitchin Infirmary, United Kingdom

1850

Education - MB, University of London

1854

Life event - Migrated to New South Wales

1856 - 1862

Career position - Member, Philosophical Society of New South Wales

1856 - 1862

Career position - Examiner in Medicine, University of Sydney

1857 - 1858?

Career position - Honorary Surgeon, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney

1859

Career event - Founded Australian Medical Association

1869 - 1862

Career position - Honorary Surgeon, Sydney Hospital

Related entries

Published resources

See also

• The University of Sydney School of Medicine online museum, Dramatis personae - Examiners: the Examiners other than those who were Fellows of Senate, Faculty of Medicine Online Museum and Archive, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2024. https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine/museum/mwmuseum/index.php/Dramatis_Personae_-_Examiners. Details