James Jamieson (New Zealand doctor)

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]

Jamieson died in Nelson on 18 January 1963.[1][2]

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]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oliver, Juliet. "James Peter Speid Jamieson". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wright St Clair, Rex (2013). Historia nunc vivat : medical practitioners in New Zealand, 1840 to 1930 (PDF). Christchurch: Cotter Medical History Trust. p. 203. ISBN 9780473240738.
  3. ^ "50 years ago". Shetland Times. 5 June 1992. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ Jamieson, James (1930). Notes on eclampsia. Thesis (M.D.) University of Edinburgh.
  5. ^ a b c "Obituary DR. J. P. JAMIESON". Press. 23 January 1963. p. 7. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  6. ^ a b Wright St Clair, R. E. (1987). A history of the New Zealand Medical Association. Wellington: Butterworths. pp. 133–135, 165, 172. ISBN 0409787795.
  7. ^ "New service". Nelson Evening Mail. 30 October 1934. p. 4. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  8. ^ "Empire aerial mail". Greymouth Evening Star. 1 February 1936. p. 7. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  9. ^ "No. 40789". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 31 May 1956. p. 3144.
  10. ^ "Queen's Birthday Honours". The Press. 31 May 1956. p. 10. Retrieved 27 September 2025.

Further reading

  • Obituary. New Zealand Medical Journal 62, No 367 (March 1963): 146–147
  • Obituary. BMJ 1963; 1: 666
  • Sutherland, T. 'The boy with a dream about trees'. New Zealand Listener. 14 Feb. 1964: 12
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