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 ...

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

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

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 g ...

from 1951 to 1966.

Biography

Gunther was born on 2 October 1910 in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, 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 (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 ...

. He subsequently studied medicine at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, and represented the university at boxing and rugby. Following a year of residency at

Sydney Hospital Sydney Hospital, historically known as the Rum Hospital, is a major hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Macquarie Street in the Sydney central business district. It is the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788, and has been at ...

, 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 Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and su ...

, going to work as a medical officer in

Gavutu Gavutu is a small islet in the Central Province of 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. More p ...

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 1896 t ...

in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

.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 mines in world history, based on co ...

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

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

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 ...

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 around the Pacific Ocean. The organisation's hea ...

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 celebra ...

. 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 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 a town in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It sits on a mountain which overlooks the southern Sunshine Coast communities. The name "Buderim" is usually believed to be derived from a local Gubbi Gubbi people, ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, before moving south to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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

Honours

Gunther was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

1954 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday 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. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

. 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 '' Lo ...

he was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG),Australia list: and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

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 ...

.Papua New Guinea list:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunther, John 1910 births 1984 deaths 20th-century Australian medical doctors Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian expatriates in the Solomon Islands Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian public servants 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 University of Papua New Guinea Vice-chancellors of universities in Papua New Guinea