Dr Arthur John Metcalfe (26 June 189524 March 1971) was a senior Australian public servant, best known for his time as

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...

of the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...

Life and career

Metcalfe was born in Newcastle on 26 June 1895 to English-born parents. In October 1947, Metcalfe was appointed Commonwealth Director-General of Health, having been Acting-Director-General for more than a year prior after the illness and death of former Director-General Frank McCallum. He led the Department implementing the ''

National Health Act 1953 The ''National Health Act 1953'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, which administers pharmaceutical, sickness and hospital benefits, alongside medical and dental services. The Act was passed in 1953 in the Fifth Menzies Ministry, ...

'', which consolidated the hospital, pharmaceutical and medical benefits schemes operated by the Australian Government. He retired from the position in 1960. In 1961 he took on an appointment as consultant to Lederie Laboratories Products. Metcalfe died on 24 March 1971 in Sydney, aged 76.

Awards

In 1947, Metcalfe was awarded a

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

scholarship and spent four months studying national health schemes in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Europe. Metcalfe was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1954 for services as Director-General of health and quarantine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalfe, Arthur 1895 births 1971 deaths Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Newcastle, New South Wales Secretaries of the Australian Government Health Department