The 2021 recipient of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine’s (ACRRM) Life Fellowship award is Dr Louis Peachey whose service to the College and the profession of rural generalism has extended well over 30 years.

As the most prestigious award of ACRRM, Life Fellowship is reserved for FACRRM who render outstanding and meritorious service to the College or who have made a contribution of international significance to Rural and Remote Medicine.

As a Founding Fellow and former College Board member, Dr Peachey is currently a Senior Medical Officer at the Atherton District Hospital in Queensland, where he works as a Rural Generalist Anaesthetist and runs a regular clinic at Lotus Glen Correctional Centre.

ACRRM President Dr Sarah Chalmers says, “Dr Peachey is an amazing, committed and dedicated legend of ACRRM who epitomises the inspirational model of rural generalism that this College was founded on.”

Dr Peachey is a strong supporter and promoter of rural generalism through his teaching and by example. As a highly respected clinician, Dr Peachey provides outstanding service to the profession as an educator and supervisor while also mentoring and supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors and medical students.

“I hope I am able to truly honour those who made the path for me, by passing forward the things I have learned to this next truly extraordinary generation of rural doctors,” Dr Peachey says.

As a Girrimay man from the Djirribaligan language group (Rainforest People) of North Queensland, Dr Peachey is a strong advocate for rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. He was the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Fellow of ACRRM and was instrumental in establishing the College’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members group.

Having not only co-written the original ACRRM Cultural Awareness course, Dr Peachey is also one of the founding members of the College’s Advanced Life Support course which he continues to instruct across the country.

“It would be easier to list what Dr Peachey hasn’t achieved, because his extensive list of contribution to our college ranges from clinical and teaching excellence to being an outstanding role-model and mentor to so many of our Fellows, registrars and staff. I cannot think of a more worthy recipient of this Life Fellowship award,” says Dr Chalmers.

Extremely humbled when advised of the award, Dr Peachey reflected he was, “initially in stunned disbelief, but as it sank in so did the reality of my good fortune so far.”

Dr Peachey remarks: “as an Aboriginal child born in Far North Queensland in 1966, it would have appeared that destiny held nothing for the likes of me.”

The University of Newcastle’s decision to train Indigenous Australians to be Doctors in 1984 is what set Dr Peachey on the ‘roller coaster ride’ to become a Rural Generalist.

In the early 90s I went to see the Medical Superintendent at Toowoomba Hospital, Dr Denis Lenox (Honorary Fellowship 2008). After we had spoken for a while, Denis took me to the Cunningham Centre and introduced me to Vicky Sheedy, who in turn introduced me to Dr Tom Doolan (Life Fellow 2009), Dr Col Owen (Life Fellow 2010), Dr Mark Craig (Life Fellow 2017) and Dr Jack Shepherd (Life Fellow 2003). I feel I have a small inkling of what Sir Isaac Newton meant about standing on the shoulders of giants,” says Dr Peachey.

Life Fellowship is limited to 10 Fellows at any one time.