eMJA: The upsurge of interest in Indigenous health in the 1950s and 1960s. Barry Christophers' letters to the MJA editor about Indigenous health

Letters

The upsurge of interest in Indigenous health in the 1950s and 1960s. Barry Christophers' letters to the MJA editor about Indigenous health

Barry E Christophers

Retired General Practitioner, 1/12 Tollington Avenue, East Malvern, VIC 3145

To the Editor: I write concerning the recent article about my letters to the MJA in the 1950s and 1960s drawing attention to Indigenous health issues.1

Mention is made in the article of the campaign waged by the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders concerning the exclusion of Queensland Aboriginal patients with tuberculosis from the generous allowance paid to other TB patients.

This campaign was successful. The Tuberculosis Act was amended so that Aboriginal people were not excluded from receiving this allowance. The Australian Medical Association supported this campaign. Without its support it would have failed.

Thomas DP. The upsurge of interest in Indigenous health in the 1950s and 1960s. Barry Christophers’ letters to the MJA editor about Indigenous health. Med J Aust 2004; 180: 521-523. <eMJA full text> <PubMed>