Andrew Houison (1 January 1850
rahs.org.au Retrieved 31 July 2011. – 22 August 1912"Death of Dr. Andrew Houison." in ''

The London Philatelist ''The London Philatelist'' was first published in January 1892
by philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

. He was one of the "Fathers of Philately" and entered the

Roll of Distinguished Philatelists The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a Philately, philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921 to honour those who have advanced philately through research, expertise, or service. ...

in 1921.

Early life

Houison was born in

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

to James and Ann Houison, both from Scotland. His father was a successful builder and architect in Parramatta. Andrew was the youngest of ten children, five girls and five boys. He attended Mr Mills' Briar Cottage Academy in Parramatta and then

The King's School, Parramatta The King's School is an Education in Australia#Non-government schools, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, Pre-school education, early learning, primary school, primary and secondary school, secondary day and boarding school, bo ...

in 1858. He commenced at

Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...

as a foundation student in 1863 and is number 10 on the roll of students. In 1865 he was the college's first

Dux ''Dux'' (, : ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux'' coul ...

.Newington College Register of Past Students 1863-1998 (Syd, 1999) pp 93 He enrolled at the University of Sydney in February 1866 and gained a BA degree in 1869.

Medical career

Houison continued his education at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

where he graduated in medicine, M.B. Ch.M. (M.Surg). He did post-graduate research in antisepsis with Professor

Joseph Lister Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (5 April 1827 – 10 February 1912) was a British surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist and pioneer of aseptic, antiseptic surgery and preventive healthcare. Joseph Lister revolutionised the Sur ...

and was offered a position as Lister's research assistant. Instead, he returned to Sydney where after a period in private practice he became Secretary to the New South Wales Medical Board. He was elected Honorary Physician to the ''Sydney Hospital'' and enjoyed a successful medical career.

Philately

Houison began collecting stamps in about 1865. He was a specialist in the

postal history Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and Cover (philately), covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal system ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and was President of both the New South Wales and Australian Philatelic Associations. He was specially commissioned by the Government of New South Wales to produce a history of the Post Office and stamps of the territory which was prepared within a very short period of time and published in 1890.

Australian history

Houison was the founding President of the

Royal Australian Historical Society The Royal Australian Historical Society, formerly Australian Historical Society, is a voluntary organisation founded in Sydney, Australia in 1901Helen Doyle, "Royal Australian Historical Society" in Graeme Davison, John Hirst and Stuart Maci ...

in 1901, his interest in history being variously attributed to philately, genealogical research in Scotland and his father's work in the development of his home town, Parramatta.

Death

Houison died on 22 August 1912 in Sydney. He was survived by a daughter and two sons. His wife had pre-deceased him.

Selected publications

*''History of the Post Office, together with an historical account of the issue of postage stamps in New South Wales.'' Sydney: C. Potter, Government Printer, 1890.

References

External links

Genealogical information.Mail to Andrew Houison.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houison, Andrew 1850 births 1912 deaths People from Parramatta People educated at Newington College University of Sydney alumni Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Philately of Australia Australian philatelists 19th-century Australian medical doctors Fathers of philately