Halford and students dissecting in 1864
Halford and students dissecting in 1864
From the discovery of germs to the invention of the bionic ear, we have been at the centre of medical life in Australia for almost 150 years. The School of Medicine was founded in 1862, in the face of strong opposition and without its first Professor, George Halford, who did not arrive until the following year. Although armed with impeccable testimonials, for many years he had to make do with inadequate conditions, teaching few students, indeed he conducted the first dissection in the back shed of his Carlton home in 1863 along with the first three students and two prominent Melbourne medical identities. From these humble beginnings, by Federation in 1901, we had become the Faculty of Medicine and were well on the way to dominating health and medicine in Victoria, also training many Western Australians, Queenslanders and Tasmanians in this period.
In the 1950s, Australian life was transformed, together with the public expectations of medicine and health. Medical advances in surgery and the introduction of new therapies, such as antibiotics, meant that Australians demanded an expansion in medical services. The mood for change was accelerated when the Murray Committee reported in 1956 on the inadequacies of the nation's tertiary education sector. This led to a significant increase in funding for medical education and we were central to this movement to medicalise society through the expansion of medical services. The current medical building on Grattan Street is a monument to the leading role we played in that revolution. During the decades after the Second World War, we also played an important mentoring role in the establishment of the Monash Medical School in Victoria and, uniquely in Australia, in the establishment and nurturing of a number of medical institutions in South-East Asia.
Along with educating the doctors of the nation, we were a leading institution in Australian intellectual and public life throughout the twentieth century. The Medical School's foundation had coincided with the biomedical revolution in Western medicine and we have played an important part in the innovations and research, both in the laboratory and the clinic, accompanying this revolution.
In 1989 we began the expansion into other areas of health science practice and research which has made us the largest educational institution for health professionals in Australia, when the university's Faculty of Dental Science amalgamated with Medicine to become the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. This expansion continued with the inclusion of Physiotherapy, Psychology and Nursing.
In 2001 we established Australia's first School of Population Health, a landmark in the development of inter-collegiate study and research, and the following year, the School of Rural Health, a strategy aimed at addressing the crisis in rural health throughout the nation.
The most recent additions to our stable of expertise are Social Work and Global Health. Social Work moved from the Faculty of Arts and the Nossal Institute for Global Health was established to build on the programs and resources of the Australian International Health Institute. The Nossal Institute has a combined focus on development assistance, research and teaching, working internationally across South and South East Asia, the Mekong, Southern Africa and the Pacific to address global health challenges in regions where public health needs are greatest.
As a leader in innovation, we have also attracted a large number of world class research institutions to our immediate vicinity, thus making the Parkville biomedical precinct known across the globe-all beginning with one Professor and three students.
Ross L Jones, author Humanity's Mirror: 150 Years of Anatomy in Melbourne
View a list of Deans from 1876 to the present.
The University of Melbourne has the oldest medical school in the English-speaking southern hemisphere. Its history spans the modern history of biomedicine, from chloroform to molecular medicine and is a valuable resource for teaching and research.
The faculty's online medical history resources are designed to support students and researchers, both within and beyond the university community. Find out more about the faculty's medical history resources.