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History

College House
254 - 260 Albert St
East Melbourne
Victoria 3002 Australia

+61 3 9417 1699 (t)
+61 3 9419 0672 (f)
ranzcog@ranzcog.edu.au

College History

History, past Presidents & crests

History of the RANZCOG
Past Presidents and Chairmen
Crests of the former Australian and New Zealand Colleges

History of the College

The RANZCOG

The present College, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG), was formed on 23 October 1998 with the amalgamation of the RACOG and the RNZCOG.

The Royal Australian College

The Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists was formally established in August 1978. The prefix 'Royal' was acquired in 1980 and the College become the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RACOG). The new College replaced the former Australian Regional Council which had been governed by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in London.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College

In October 1998, the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RACOG) amalgamated with the Royal New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RNZCOG) to form the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG).

Previous governing bodies

The Australian council of the RCOG was formed in 1947. Known as the Australian Regional Council it replaced the Australian Reference Committee which existed from 1932 to 1946. The Australian Regional Council was established by the RCOG to "further the objects of the College in Australia" (Super Ardua: The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Australia, 1929-79, McDonald, Cope & Forster).

College House

In 1983 the College moved to its current headquarters - 'College House' at 254 Albert Street, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

College House was built in 1873. The extension, including the Frank Forster Library, was added in 1988.

Full College Chronology

College chronology

13 February 1929	Formation of the British College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in UK (later the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists)
1932	The British College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists established the Dominion Reference Committees in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa. In Australian and New Zealand the committees were named the Australian Reference Committee and the New Zealand Reference Committee
3 December 1938	The British College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists renamed the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)
27 February 1947	The Australian Regional Council (later Australian Council) of the RCOG provisionally appointed. This council replaced the Australian Reference Committee.
October1948	The New Zealand Regional Council of the RCOG was provisionally established.
May 1949	Official formation of the Australian Regional Council of the RCOG.
1951	Inauguration of the New Zealand Regional Council of the RCOG.
25 August 1954	Official opening of College House, 8 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, the Australian Regional Council headquarters.
20 March 1966	Name of the Australian Regional Council, RCOG changed to Australian Council, RCOG.
6 May 1977	Formation of Steering Committee of the Proposed Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
29 August 1978	The Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists formally established. Inaugural Ceremony held.
12 December 1980	The Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists granted the prefix ‘Royal’ and renamed The Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RACOG).
9 December 1981	Purchase of property at 254 Albert Street, East Melbourne, as a future headquarters of the RACOG.
January 1982	The New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists formed and registered as a company.
24 November 1983	Official opening of new College House at 254 Albert Street, East Melbourne.
March 1984	The New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists granted the prefix ‘Royal’ and renamed The Royal New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RNZCOG).
1986	Implementation of RACOG Continuing Certification Program.
23 July 1988	Celebration of Tenth Anniversary of the RACOG and the official opening of College House extensions (including the Members Room incorporating the Library).
7 January1991	Purchase of property at 260 Albert Street.
24 March 1991	Official opening of 260 Albert Street, East Melbourne. 19 July1995 The Library officially named the Frank Forster Library.
21 June 1997	Official opening of the College House renovations, including the Eric Mackay Function Room.
24 October 1997	Official opening of the Museum.
23 October 1998	The Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists amalgamated with the Royal New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to form The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG).
26 Oct 2001	Revised June 2002, Aug 2002, Sep 2004.

Past Presidents

Past Presidents and Chairmen

Peruse the list of past Presidents and Chairmen ( 40KB ) from 1947 when F A Maguire was Chairman of the Australian Regional Council right through to the current President of the RANZCOG, Dr Christine Tippett.

The Crests

The New Crest

On 24 July 2004, Council passed a motion to adopt the new College crest to replace the twin crests of the former Australian and New Zealand Colleges.

The Australian Crest

The College Crest was granted on 11 April 1983.

The central feature of the crest is the shield which has four eight-pointed stars (mullets) representing the Natal Star of Bethlehem and the Southern Cross - the two shades of blue represent night and day (i.e. labour and the work of the obstetrician can occur regardless of the hour). The shield is bordered by the flames of the Australian sun.

The helmet above the shield represents the responsibility of the profession and is capped by a coronet indicating Royal patronage, with the Asian Phoenix rising from the flames, representing the birth of the new College. The Phoenix carries the ancient symbol of healing, the green Rod of Aesculapius.

The two supporters - the platypus on the dexter (right) side of the crest and the ubiquitous kangaroo (female) on the sinister (left) side represent Australia. The platypus is unusual, being one of only two monotremes in the world (the other, also in Australia, is the echidna), and the female kangaroo with joey could not be more apt.

The bed of wattle needs no explanation and the motto 'ab umbris ad lumina vitae' - from shadows to the light of life - symbolises not only the emergence of our new College and the work of the obstetrician, but the miracle of birth.

The New Zealand Crest

The New Zealand College Crest was granted on 4 December 1985.

The central feature of the New Zealand crest is the shield. The tau cross with the loop at the centre of the shield is an Ankh, an Egyptian symbol of generation or enduring life. The four five-pointed stars (mullets) encircling the Ankh represent the Southern Cross, a New Zealand national emblem. The arms of the crest bear the sun and the crescent moon.

The supporters on either side of the shield comprise a caucasian woman on the sinister (left) side, bearing an infant in her arms and a Maori woman in a traditional cloak on the dexter (right) side, with a child wrapped in her shawl. The Maori woman's cloak is of the korowai design (ornamented with black thrums) bordered with a taniko pattern (taniko is the term for the top border design).

The two figures stand united on a grassy mound strewn with fronds of the silver fern leaf, a New Zealand national emblem.

The motto 'accipere fidem' means accept the trust.