History of anaesthesia: Overview

Abstract It took 6 months for the news of anaesthesia to arrive in Australia in 1847, and the first anaesthetics occurred almost simultaneously in Sydney and Launceston. Information on anaesthesia in the following years came mainly from British medical journals. The Australian Society of Anaesthetists was founded in 1934 in Hobart, and a year later, there were 34 members. It is now one of the oldest medical organisations in Australia. The first anaesthetic department was established in 1930. The Faculty of Anaesthetists, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons was formed in 1952. The first Chair was the Nuffield Professor of Anaesthesia at the University of Sydney in 1962. The journal Anaesthesia and Intensive Care was founded in 1972. In 1992, the independent Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists was established with the headquarters opening in Melbourne in 1994. The Faculty of Pain Medicine was established in 1998. Initially, the College had a Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine which became the College of Intensive Care Medicine in 2010. In 2025, a Chapter of Perioperative Medicine was established. Australian anaesthetists have been major contributors and leaders in the development of our speciality, both nationally and internationally for over 100 years.

Abstract Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a tropical low-middle income country in the Pacific with a population of over 11.8 million. Only 14% of the population live in urban areas and only 33% have access to essential health services. The country became independent in 1975. The first recorded anaesthetic in 1871 was fatal. The mainstay of anaesthesia services in PNG, especially in more remote provincial hospitals, are the nonphysician anaesthesia providers. The Anaesthesia Technical Officer apprentice style course started in 1967 and ran until 2003. This was replaced by the Diploma of Anaesthesia Science course within the University of PNG, which is now training Anaesthetic Scientific Officers.

Before 1951, all doctors were expatriates, mostly from Australia. The Papuan Medical College graduated its first class in 1964 and closed in 1970. The first graduates of the medical faculty of the University of PNG were in 1972 and a specialist Masters in Medicine course was commenced in 1974. However, there were no anaesthesia graduates in this course until 1991. Since then 47 physician anaesthetists have graduated.

The anaesthetists of PNG are becoming more prominent in global low-resource medical education through the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists and other avenues.