John Samuel Yu (; born 12 December 1934) is a Chinese-born Australian paediatrics doctor who served as CEO of the

Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children The Children's Hospital at Westmead (formerly Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) is a children's hospital in Western Sydney. The hospital was founded in 1880 as "The Sydney Hospital for Sick Children". Its name was changed to the "Royal Alex ...

from 1979 until 1997. He was the Australian of the Year for 1996.

Early life and education

Born in

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

(now Nanjing, Jiangsu Province), China, he attended Fort Street High School and 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 ...

in Sydney, Australia. John Yu discovered his passion for paediatric care and after starting work at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children in 1961 now called the New Children's Hospital, he eventually rose to become Head of Medicine in the hospital and later Chief Executive in 1979.

Career and later life

He was the chief executive officer of the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children at the time of its relocation from inner-city Camperdown to Westmead in western Sydney in 1995 (The hospital now uses the name The Children's Hospital at Westmead in addition to its official title), and served as the chancellor of the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

from 2000 to 2005. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

in 1989 and was named Australian of the Year in 1996. He was promoted to

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 2001. In 2019 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales. Yu, as CEO of the

, publicly supported a bill introduced by Alan Corbett in the New South Wales Legislative Council to protect children from abuse and excessive physical chastisement. The bill passed in 2001, banning parents striking children above the shoulders (thus preventing neck, head, brain and facial injuries), and requiring that any physical force applied leave only trivial and short-lived signs such as redness (that is, no bruising, swelling, welts, cuts, grazes, internal injuries, emotional trauma, etc.).

References

1934 births Living people Australian paediatricians Australian chief executives Companions of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal Society of New South Wales Australian of the Year Award winners Chinese emigrants to Australia Chancellors of the University of New South Wales University of Sydney alumni People educated at Fort Street High School {{Australia-med-bio-stub