Wellington celebrates Otago Medical School 150th anniversary

There were warm smiles and heartfelt greetings as more than 150 current and former staff and alumni reunited with old friends at a celebration of the Otago Medical School’s 150^th anniversary in Wellington on 21 October.

The event, held in the Nordmeyer Theatre, was a celebration of 150 years of training doctors in Aotearoa and almost 50 years of medical and health science education and world-class Otago research in Wellington.

Attendees were able to watch a digital screening of photos of the medical school through history as they arrived. They were then greeted with a mihi whakatau from Toa Waaka, Rautaki Hononga Māori – Māori Strategic Framework Project Manager and a welcome from Dean and Head of Campus Professor William Levack.

OMS 150^th Committee Chair Emerita Professor Dawn Elder, a former Deputy Dean of the Wellington campus and Head of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, spoke about the 150-year history of the Medical School with a special focus on Wellington and on women working in medicine.

A previous Dean of the Wellington School of Medicine Professor John Nacey (CNZM) introduced former long-standing professional staff member and Wellington theatre identity Ewen Coleman (QSM), who entertained the audience with tales of his working life on campus. Ewen retired in 2017 after more than 40 years on staff. His stories and anecdotes about the early days were met with nods of recognition, with the audience able to feel part of the progression through history.

Ewen’s talk was followed by a presentation from William on the earliest beginnings of medical training, with a look at future challenges and opportunities. He told the audience that professionalism, communication, problem solving, a focus on service, impact and social accountability would always remain. Looking ahead, the School would build on its history of innovation, with teachers moving from ‘knowledge holders’ to ‘learning facilitators’, with more use of simulation, an individualisation of learning, and the development of the community as a classroom.

One of the special guests at the event was Otago alumna Lynne Pōmare (BSc, Biochemistry), the widow of the late Professor Eru Pōmare, a former Dean of the Wellington School of Medicine and a trail blazer in the field of Māori health and research in whose honour the Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare (the Eru Pōmare Māori Health Research Centre) is named.

Among the Medical School alumni at the event were pioneers in the field of sexual and reproductive women’s health, Dame (Dr) Margaret Sparrow (DNZM, MBE), and Dr Carol Shand (CNZM). Dame Margaret is one of four leading medical graduates who is to be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science to mark the 150^th anniversary.

One of the first members of faculty in Wellington, Dr Ron Mackenzie (QSO), also attended the Pōneke celebrations.

Following the speeches, an anniversary cake was cut by William and Dr André Cromhout, the Chief Medical Adviser at Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora – Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley, symbolising the long-standing partnership between the University and Health New Zealand in the work of training doctors.

The Wellington event followed a commemorative event held on the Dunedin campus at King’s Birthday weekend.

-Kōrero by Cheryl Norrie, Communications Adviser, Wellington campus