Chief Minister's Reception Australian of the Year 1996
13 August 1996
The Australian of the Year was Dr John Yu AC. As part of the role, he travelled Australia accompanied by officers of the Australia Council. Dr Yu was a Paediatrician and Hospital Administrator. He was considered an inspirational choice as Australian of the Year. Born in China, John Yu was smuggled out of Nanking as a 2-year-old, shortly before the city fell to Japanese forces. With his mother and sister he immigrated to Australia as a refugee, joining relatives that had lived in Australia since the Victorian Gold Rush. Yu studied at the University of Sydney and embarked on a successful career in paediatrics, rising to the position of Head of Medicine at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children in Camperdown. In 1978 Yu was appointed Chief Executive Officer and was the driving force behind the hospital’s relocation to Westmead in 1995. An expert on the decorative arts of South East Asia, Yu’s vision was to create a best practice paediatric hospital that integrated art, design and high-quality medical care for the benefit of young people. Accepting his Australian of the Year award, Yu said, ‘I am proud of my Chinese heritage but even prouder to be an Australian.’ The Chief Minister Shane Stone held a Reception in honour of Dr Yu. Photographed Minister Daryle Manzie MLA (il later years in retirement Daryl Manzie was eected Chairman of the Australia Council NT)member of the Australia Council in the NT Dr Rao (a local ENT Specialist and member of the Territory Sri Lankan community), Dr John Yu AC, and Mr Howard Glenn, Executive Director Australia Council.
- Document type: Photo
- Time period: Legislative Assembly NT
- People: Howard GLEN, Daryl MANZIE, John YU
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