A BRIEF HISTORY OF AOA

In 1936, two orthopaedic surgeons, Edmund Vance and Alexander Hamilton, conceived the idea of a specialty group for Australian members of their profession. A series of meetings with eight other surgeons followed over the next six months and at a meeting on 27 April 1937, fifteen orthopaedic surgeons were declared Foundation Members of the Australian Orthopaedic Association.  At this inaugural meeting Edmund Vance was elected President, Alexander Hamilton was elected Secretary and a constitution was adopted.

Membership of the new association was restricted to the very few who practised orthopaedic surgery exclusively. This caused some controversy in the early years of the association 'as it meant that some surgeons, whose private practice was confined to orthopaedic surgery were debarred from full membership because of the terms of their appointments to public hospitals, where they were constrained to do some general surgery' (Orthopaedics in Australia,  H M Barry).

The first Annual General Meeting was held on 21 March 1938. At the end of the meeting scientific papers were presented to the group and so the first Annual Scientific Meeting was held. Thus began the tradition of holding the ASM at the same time as the AGM.

In 1946, steps were taken to establish regional committees and in 1964, discussion groups and specialist bodies began to form within the umbrella of the AOA.

In 1971 the Association was granted arms by the Earl Marshall under the authority of the Kings of Arms. The official arms and the Royal Charter of the Association now hang in the foyer of AOA's Head Office in Sydney.

With the growth of the association, space was purchased in the William Bland Centre at 229 Macquarie Street in 1977 (with the purchase of an additional lot on the same floor in 1981), to house the AOA Secretariat. In December 2003, these rooms were refurbished and Head Office returned here from premises in Culwalla Chambers where it had been since 1992.

 A detailed history of the Australian Orthopaedic Association and of orthopaedics in Australia can be found in Orthopaedics in Australia by H M Barry (published by the Australian Orthopaedic Association in 1983). Copies may be purchased from Head Office.

 

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