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Upcoming Meetings:

August 27^th, 2026

Annual General Meeting

The next meeting of the SAMHS will be held on Thursday, 27^th of August at the Dulwich Community Centre, 14 Union St, Dulwich at 6:00 pm.

We are pleased to invite you to the Annual General Meeting of the South Australian Medical Heritage Society, to be held on 27 August 2026.

This month, we welcome A/Prof Peter Speck, who will present: "Phages, or: how I learned to stop worrying and love viruses".

Peter completed his PhD on herpes simplex virus at the University of Adelaide, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge and Northwestern University in Chicago. He returned to Adelaide in 2001 and joined Flinders University in 2007. His current research explores bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, as a possible alternative to antibiotics. His work has investigated the use of phages to treat chronic sinus infections and infected diabetic foot ulcers, and to develop infection-resistant surgical mesh. Peter has also served as Secretary of the Australasian Virology Society and has been active in promoting collaboration and public advocacy among Australia's scientific and medical societies.

Peter's talk will begin at around 6.15 pm, following a short Annual General Meeting.

Associate Professor Peter Speck - "Phages, Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Viruses"

As always, guests are welcome; however, please register them ahead of the meeting if possible.

Membership fees

Annual membership fees become due at the August meeting. The fee remains $30 and may be paid:

• in cash to the Treasurer, David Buob, at the August meeting or any subsequent monthly meeting; or
• by bank transfer to:
  Bendigo Bank
  BSB: 633-000
  Account number: 148 713 993
  Account name: South Australian Medical Heritage Society Inc.
  

If paying by bank transfer, please include your name as the payment reference.

Election of officers

One of the items of business at the Annual General Meeting will be the election of officers and committee members. The relevant provisions of our constitution are reproduced below:

10. Elections
    Nominees for office must be financial members of the Society at the date of nomination.
1. Nominations of eligible candidates must be proposed in writing by a financial member and submitted to the Secretary at least seven (7) days prior to the Annual General Meeting.
2. Elected members of the Committee shall hold office for one year, terminating at the Annual General Meeting, and shall serve a maximum of five (5) consecutive years in office. However, if appointed to the Executive, the conditions specified in Section 9 apply.
3. If more candidates are nominated than required, a secret ballot shall be held. If only one candidate is nominated for a position, that candidate may be elected without ballot.
4. The person chairing the election process must declare successful individuals elected or appointed, either progressively or collectively at the end.
5. In the event of committee positions remaining unfilled after elections, or if a position becomes vacant by virtue of promotion to executive office, resignation, incapacity to continue or death, the Committee may appoint a suitable person to fill the position until the next Annual General Meeting.

Please let the Secretary know if you are considering standing for office. As nominations must be received at least seven days before the AGM, they should be submitted to the Secretary by 20 August 2026.

Vale Professor Wayne Sampson

Some of you will have heard the sad news of the death of Professor Wayne Sampson, former SAMHS President, former Head of Orthodontics in the University of Adelaide School of Dentistry, and founder of the Begg Dental Museum.

Joy Copland has kindly provided the following tribute:

"Wayne was highly committed to SAMHS and was a committee member for many years. He took on the role of President after Chris Hughes resigned in 2015. At the time, he was also a member of the RAH Heritage Committee, chaired by Dr Peter Hetzel. Until the building was vacated, SAMHS committee meetings were held in the boardroom of the University of Adelaide School of Dentistry, where Wayne was still working as Head of Orthodontics. He retired as Emeritus Professor of Orthodontics but continued to supervise students for some years. By nature, he seemed quiet and unassuming, but he happily encouraged David Close and others to introduce change and supported the “field trip” events. As caretaker of the Begg Museum, Wayne was enormously single-minded and successful in establishing the museum in new premises on North Terrace and securing funding. His hobbies included growing orchids. He had more than 150 plants at one point. A good man, all round."

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