School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine

The Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine in Townsville, maintained by the Commonwealth for research and teaching in association with the Universities of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, began operations in 1909. It also conducted a course for the Australian Diploma of Tropical Medicine. With advances in medical science and the radical changes brought about by the World War I, a 1926 Royal Commission on Health adopted the suggestion of the Commonwealth Director of Health and recommended the establishment of a School of Preventive Medicine and Tropical Hygiene at the University of Sydney.

The School was established in 1930 by an agreement between the Commonwealth Government and the University of Sydney. The Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine was incorporated with the School on its establishment. The proposal was endorsed by the State Governments and the Australian Universities. The agreement, "...was first entered into in 1927 for a period of 25 years and this was reviewed and extended in 1952 for a further period of 35 years from 1 January 1948" [Letter from WD Refshauge, Director General of Health, to Sir Stephen Roberts, Vice-Chancellor, 10 August 1965, G2/13/288].

The agreement between the Commonwealth and the University provided for the University to set apart some of its land for the erection of the School. The Commonwealth erected and maintained the building, provided all equipment and appointed the staff of the School, including professors, teachers and research officers. The University received all fees paid by students, and any gifts received by the University for or in connection with the School became the property of the University. The discipline of the students and teaching staff was under the control of Senate; the instruction at the school was directed, prescribed and supervised by the Faculty of Medicine; the courses of instruction were the diploma of public health and/or the diploma of tropical medicine. [Typescript dated 15/11/1962, G3/13, 288]

The School was opened on 4 March 1930; its first Director and Chair of Preventive Medicine and Public Health was Professor Harvey Sutton. Following Sutton's retirement in 1947 the Commonwealth Department of Health advised that it had appointed Dr Ford as Director of the School upon recommendation of a Joint Committee composed of three representatives of the University and three representatives of the Department of Health. All staff were officers of the Commonwealth Public Service engaged in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. 

The School’s purpose was the training medical graduates and students in the subjects of Public Health and Tropical Medicine; it initially offered units in preventive medicine, tropical medicine, bacteriology and pathology, biochemistry, medical entomology and parasitology, and expanded to include industrial health, vital statistics, environmental health, molecular biology and nutrition. Over time its functions grew to provide post-graduate training for the Diplomas offered by the school; provide fifth-year undergraduate training in certain subjects; provide various courses of instruction for doctors, health workers, nurses and others; advise on tropical hygiene, industrial medicine and child health; provide consultative practice in connection with the previous functions; provide library service and films; conduct analytical examinations for the ACT; train Health Laboratories personnel; conduct basic and laboratory research; carry out field research in the tropics; provide consultative pathological services for Health Laboratories and tropical territories.

In 3 March 1980 the School was renamed the Commonwealth Institute of Health. The name change recognised the expanded role of the School first acknowledged in June 1975 by a Committee of Review chaired by Dr Sidney Sax and supported by the Bailey Report in 1976. In May 1979 the Government, after first referring the recommendations to the Tertiary Education Commission gave its approval in principle to the changes. The recommendations for change included renaming the School as the Commonwealth Institute of Health and its development as a national institute of health.

On 21 August 1984 the Minister for Health, The Hon N Blewett, announced the establishment of the Australian Institute of Health, to advise the Government on the administration of health, in particular, public health. The agency took over the functions of the Commonwealth Institute of Health, which was renamed the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. On 16 November 1984, the Department of Health issued an establishment variation authority which changed the Institute's name to School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. The School did not lose any functions with this re-titling. On 1 July 1985, the Occupational Health Section of the School was transferred in full to the newly established National Occupational Health and Safety Commission.

The School was finally closed on 1 April 1987 and its functions split between different institutions. The tropical health functions were transferred to the Universities of Queensland and James Cook. The Genetic Toxicology Unit was transferred to the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission while the majority of the other public functions were transferred to the University of Sydney where they were incorporated into the Faculty of Medicine. All remaining functions were taken over by the Australian Institute of Health in Canberra. 

In 2017 Sydney School of Public Health carried on the work of the old school in the field of public health.