Sir John Thomson Gunther (2 October 1910 – 27 April 1984) was an Australian public servant who spent most of his career in the

Territory of Papua and New Guinea The Territory of Papua and New Guinea, officially the Administrative Union of the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea, was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered territories of Papua and New G ...

. Holding several key roles in the territory's civil service, he was also a member of the Legislative Council and

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...

from 1951 to 1966.

Biography

Gunther was born in Sydney in 1910, the son of Cyril Maynard Gunther, a chemist with the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, and Jean Graeme (née Thomson).Gunther, Sir John Thomson (1910–1984)
Australian Dictionary of Biography The family moved to the Tweed River area when Gunther was a small child, but returned to Sydney in 1917. He attended Cranbrook School and was then a boarder at the King's School in

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

. He subsequently studied medicine at 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 ...

, and represented the university at boxing and rugby. Following a year of residency at Sydney Hospital, in 1935 he joined the Pacific Plantations branch of

Lever Brothers Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making p ...

, going to work as a medical officer in

Gavutu Gavutu is a small islet in the Central Province of the Solomon Islands, some in length. It is one of the Nggela Islands. History The first recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña on 16 April 1568. Mo ...

and

Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 1 ...

in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

.Sir John Gunther
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', June 1984, p73 In 1938 he married Grace Rickard-Bell and left his job with Pacific Plantations to become chair of a medical investigation into lead poisoning at

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, base ...

. The couple went on to have two children. He then joined the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

in 1941, serving as a medical officer. He spent time in the

Territory of Papua The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the a ...

focusing on malaria prevention and was awarded diplomas in public health and tropical medicine from the University of Sydney in 1944. His wife was killed in a car accident in 1942. The following year he married Elvie Phyllis Hodge, with whom he had another two children. He became commanding officer of the 1st Australian Tropical Research Field Unit in 1944, holding the post until 1946. Following the war, Gunther was appointed Director of Public Health in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea in 1946.''Members of the House of Assembly'', p29 In this role he was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1951, and also became a member of the Executive Council and later the Administrator's Council. He became the first chairman of the

South Pacific Commission The Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories. The organisation's headquarters are in Nouméa ...

Research Council in 1948 and was involved with the local branches of the Red Cross and St John's Ambulance. He was awarded an OBE in the

1954 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1954 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1954 to celebrat ...

. In 1957 he was promoted to Assistant Administrator, and after chairing the Legislative Council's Select Committee on Constitutional Development in 1962, he became an official member of the new House of Assembly in 1964. In the

1965 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1965 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lond ...

he was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. In 1966 Gunther resigned as Assistant Administrator to become Vice-Chancellor of the new

University of Papua New Guinea The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is a university located in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. It was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired ...

. He retired from the role due to ill health in 1972 and returned to Australia, initially living in

Buderim Buderim ( ) is an urban centre on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. It sits on a mountain which overlooks the southern Sunshine Coast communities. In the , the urban area of Buderim had a population of 54,483. The name "Buderim" i ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, before moving south to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. He was knighted in the

1975 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1975 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were published on 6 June 1975 for ...

. He died in Melbourne in 1984, survived by his wife and four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunther, John 1910 births 1984 deaths 20th-century Australian medical doctors Australian expatriates in the Solomon Islands Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian public servants Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Bachelor Medical doctors from Sydney Members of the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea Members of the Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea Papua New Guinean civil servants People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney People educated at The King's School, Parramatta University of Sydney alumni