Cecil Purser (16 December 1862 – 13 January 1953) was an Australian

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and served terms as chairman of

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School a ...

and vice-chancellor and deputy chancellor of the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

Birth and education

Purser was born at

Castle Hill, New South Wales Castle Hill is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, located 34 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 9.5 kilometres north of Parramatta. It is within the Hills District region, split between the loc ...

, the eldest son of bootmaker and later orchardist James Purser, and his Scottish wife Mary Ann, née Kyle. He attended school locally in Castle Hill and later at

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

(1879-1881). At the end of 1881 he was named Dux of the College and received the inaugural Schofield Scholarship. In 1882 he went up to the University of Sydney and was a resident of St Andrew's College. Whilst at university he was captain of the cricket XI and was a noted athlete. He graduated as a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1885 and as a Bachelor of Medicine and Chemistry in 1890.

Medical career

After appointments as a resident medical officer and a medical superintendent at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Purser began private practice in Petersham in 1893. In the same year he married Louisa Victoria Brierley in the Congregational church. Louisa's sister Florence was Mrs A.B. Shand. Purser became an honorary at Royal Prince Alfred in 1896, and from 1912 until his death he was a consultant physician with rooms in

Macquarie Street, Sydney Macquarie Street is a street in the central business district of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Macquarie Street extends from Hyde Park at its southern end to the Sydney Opera House at its northern end. Apart from connecting these two ...

. The prevention and treatment of

pulmonary tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

was his speciality. He was a member of the Tuberculosis Advisory Board and the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Board of Health and of the councils of the War Memorial Hospital, Waverley, and

Crown Street Women's Hospital Crown Street Women's Hospital (now-closed) was once the largest maternity hospital in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was located at 351 Crown Street (corner of Crown and Albion Streets), Surry Hills. The hospital was one of severa ...

. He joined the board of the RPAH in 1909 and was vice-chairman for three years before his appointment as chairman in 1924. During his term of office the Rockefeller Building was constructed on the hospital campus. In 1933 he resigned as chairman of Prince Alfred due to his annoyance at the shortage of government financial support. On the foundation of the

Royal Australasian College of Physicians The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is a not-for-profit professional organisation responsible for training and educating physicians and paediatricians across Australia and New Zealand. The RACP is responsible for training both ...

in 1938, Purser was appointed a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

Educational appointments

Purser was elected to the

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

of the University of Sydney in 1909 and was

vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

in 1917, 1918 and 1923. In 1924 and 1925 he served as deputy chancellor. He was an examiner within the faculty of medicine for 19 years from 1911. Purser served on the councils of St Andrew's College, Wesley College, (where the Cecil Purser Wing (1943) is named in his honour), The Women's College, Newington College, and was for a term president of the Old Newingtonians' Union.

Community involvement

From 1893 he was a member of the Royal Society of New South Wales and for a term chaired the public health and kindred sciences section of the Society. Purser was honorary

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the

Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian coloni ...

Reserve.

Portrait

* Jerrold Nathan - held by the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purser, Cecil 1862 births 1953 deaths Australian hospital administrators People educated at Newington College Members of Newington College Council University of Sydney alumni Australian pulmonologists Vice-Chancellors of the University of Sydney Australian Army officers Colony of New South Wales people