Campbell, Allan (1836 - 1898)

Summary

Allan Campbell was a prominent medical practitioner in Adelaide, having arrived in 1867. During his career he had a major influence on public health, being largely interested with the provision of medical services to the poor and to increasing general understanding of sanitation. In 1867 he established the Adelaide Homeopathic Dispensary with Henry Wheeler, treating patients there for the next 27 years. A smallpox outbreak prompted Campbell and his brother William to start the Children's Outpatient Dispensary, often giving their services free. Concerned for the quality of life and high premature death rates among destitute and poor children, Campbell advocated the establishment of the Adelaide Children's Hospital. In this endeavour he was supported by a group of prominent Adelaide citizens and members of the medical profession. The Hospital admitted its first patients in 1879. Another of Campbell's initiatives was to set up, with the assistance of the Rev. B.C. Stephenson and Edith Noble, a home-nursing service in Bowden, one of Adelaide's poorest suburbs. From this beginning he helped establish the District Trained Nursing Society. From 1879 to 1891 Campbell was a member of the Board of the Adelaide Hospital. Elected to the South Australian Parliament in 1878, Campbell was a strong advocate for improvements for several local hospitals and for improving the working conditions for women in sweated labour industries. He was instrumental in drafting the Health Act of 1898. For many years he contributed regularly to the South Australian register in an attempt to increase public knowledge of sanitation.

Details

Chronology

1864

Education - Licentiate, Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh

1866

Career position - Resident Medical Officer, London Homeopathic Hospital

January 1867

Life event - Arrived in Adelaide

1867 - 1894

Career position - Founder and medical officer, Adelaide Homeopathic Dispensary

1878

Career event - Established the Adelaide Children's Hospital

10 September 1878 - 30 October 1898

Career position - Member for The Province, Legislative Council, Parliament of South Australia

1879 - 1891

Career position - Member of the Board, Adelaide Hospital

Related entries

Published resources

Book Sections

• Edgar, Suzanne, 'Campbell, Allan (1936 - 1898), medical practitioner and administrator' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 7: 1891 - 1939 A-Ch, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1979), p. 542. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/campbell-allan-5482/text919. Details

Resources

• 'Campbell, Allan (1836 - 1898)', History of Homeopathy in Australia, Centre for Australian Homeopathic History, 2024, https://www.historyofhomeopathy.au/people/item/39-campbell-dr-allan.html. https://www.historyofhomeopathy.au/. Details

Resource Sections

• Adelaide AZ, 'Allan Campbell uses homeopathy to advance Adelaide public health and to start the children's hospital', Adelaide, 2024. https://adelaideaz.com/articles/dr-allan-campbell-brings-homeopathic-philosophy-to-improve-public-health--start-children-s-hospital. Details

Theses

• Jennings, Reece, 'The medical profession and the state in South Australia, 1836-1975', M.D, University of Adelaide, 1998. https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/handle/2440/38334. Details

See also

• Women's and Children's Hospital, History of the WCH, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide, 2024, https://www.wch.sa.gov.au/about/wch-history. Details