James Jamieson (New Zealand doctor)
New Zealand doctor and lobbyist (1880–1963)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Peter Speid Jamieson CBE (9 February 1880 – 18 January 1963) was a New Zealand medical doctor and political lobbyist.
Biography
Jamieson was born in Cruisdale near Sandness in the Shetland islands of Scotland on 9 February 1880.[1] Following his parents who were both teachers he planned to become a teacher and attended the University of Edinburgh to study arts. Encouraged by his brother Edward who was already studying medicine, he changed to medicine.[1] Edward Jamieson was the author of a book on anatomy, and another brother, J. K. Jamieson, was a professor of anatomy at Leeds.[2] His sister, the suffragist and writer, Christina Jamieson, joined him in New Zealand in 1935; she died in 1942.[1][3]
Jamieson graduated MB ChB in 1905.[1][2] In 1930, he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of Edinburgh.[4] From 1907 to 1908, he was in South Africa as medical officer for a mining company, where he met his future wife, nurse Janet Milligan Boddon.[1][5] They married in 1908 and had two daughters and two sons, one of whom was Dr E. S. Jamieson.[1][2]
Jamieson emigrated to New Zealand, initially working in Collingwood and then in Eketāhuna.[1] In 1915, he became a surgeon and medical superintendent of Nelson Hospital until 1920 when he went into general practice.[1][2] He was an examiner in surgery for the University of Otago.[2][5]
While holding several positions in the New Zealand Branch of the British Medical Association (NZBMA), Jamieson lobbied against the Labour government's social security reforms.[1][2] He was chairman of the National Health Insurance (NHI) committee from 1935 to 1941, president from 1938 to 1939 and chairman of council 1943 to 1944.[1][2] The NZBMA opposed the government's proposal to introduce free medical care, though the proposal was later amended to allow doctors to charge for services.[1][6] He was also the first chair of the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Committee set up under the Medical Practitioners Amendment Act.[6]
Jamieson was president of the Nelson Aero Club and became a founding director of Cook Strait Airways in 1934.[1][7][8] He took an interest in forestry, particularly Pinus radiata cultivation, and hosted the British Commonwealth Forestry Conference in 1957.[1]
Honours and awards
In 1950, Jamieson was the first person outside of the United Kingdom to receive the gold medal of the British Medical Association.[2][5] In the 1956 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, in recognition of his services as a medical practitioner.[9][10]