Readers interested in medical history may like to know about the Australian Medical Pioneers Index (AMPI), which is the first major Australian medical history website, and the first published encyclopaedia of Australian medical biography.

AMPI aims to provide basic personal and professional information on every doctor resident in Australia, or professionally connected with Australia, up to the year 1875. This includes medical officers on immigrant and convict ships, doctors who practised in Australia, and doctors who pursued other occupations here. Over 3000 pioneer doctors are listed.

In addition to biographical data, the website provides interesting material on the medical profession in colonial times, including a picture gallery containing rare images of pioneer medical life (Box). There is also a section on sources of information about early doctors.

The original compiler of AMPI was Dr David Richards (1937–1998) of Nottingham, England, whose card file was computerised at the Geelong Hospital Library. The website was developed in conjunction with the State Library of Victoria as a community service. Anyone with additional data about a particular doctor is encouraged to contribute to the project.

Colonial medical transport. Dr S R Robinson adopted this modern mode of transport when most of his colleagues still kept horses and buggies. (Geelong Heritage Centre — reproduced with permission.)