James Wright (doctor)
{{Short description|Australian medical practitioner (1927–2022)}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{infobox person
| name = James Wright
| image = James_Franklin_Wright.png
| birth_name = John Franklin Knight
| honorific-prefix =
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}}
| birth_place = Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1927|12|12}}
| death_place=
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2022|11|27|1927|12|12}}
| education = University of Sydney
| occupation = {{hlist|Medical doctor|media personality|author}}
}}
John Franklin Knight {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|AM}} (12 December 1927 – 27 November 2022), known professionally as Dr James Wright, was an Australian medical professional who was notable for his books, television and radio appearances, and regular newspaper and magazine columns. He was also sometimes nicknamed "the Merry Medic".{{cite news
| last=Thompson | first=Peter
| title=Dr James Wright
| url=http://www.abc.net.au/talkingheads/txt/s1455819.htm|url-status=dead|
archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108182623/http://www.abc.net.au/talkingheads/txt/s1455819.htm
| archive-date=8 January 2014
| work=Talking Heads
| date=12 September 2005
| format=transcript
| agency=ABC (Australia)}}
Wright was known for his ability to demystify complex medical issues for a nationwide audience. He took TV camera crews into hospital medical theatres and neonatal intensive care clinic. He taught the nation about emerging diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C, whilst destigmatising prejudices and hysteria surrounding these diseases.
Early life
Wright was born on 12 December 1927 in Brisbane, Queensland. When he was six months old his family moved to Sydney. He was raised on Fox Valley Road in Wahroonga, a northern Sydney suburb. His father was a Seventh-day Adventist minister. He had a "very strict, disciplinarian upbringing. (He) used to get a hiding pretty regularly". As with most Seventh-Day Adventism members, his family were strict vegetarians. His mother lived to 100 and his father to 90. He was educated at North Sydney Boys High School.NSBHS Leaving Certificate 1945 After graduating, he originally wanted to pursue a career in journalism, before deciding to become a doctor and studying medicine at the University of Sydney.
Personal life
Wright was a committed Seventh-day Adventist. He was a vegetarian, did not smoke or drink alcohol and exercised daily. In 1955 he married Noreen Westlake.{{cite web
| title=About Dr James Wright
| url=http://www.docwright.com.au/index.php?p=about
| publisher=docwright.com.au
| accessdate=26 November 2012}}
Wright made a fortune in the millions of dollars through property investments, mainly on the Queensland Gold Coast. In the early 2000s Wright was swindled out of A$57 million by a friend, New Zealander Derek Turner.{{cite news
| title=Celebrity doctor ripped off by scamster| url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Celebrity-doctor-ripped-off-by-scamster/2006/02/18/1140151836827.html
| accessdate=26 November 2012
| date=18 February 2006
| newspaper= The Age
| agency=Australian Associated Press}}{{cite news
| url=http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/article/8290731/celebrity-doctor-battle
| title=Celebrity doctor battle
| work=A Current Affair
| publisher=Nine MSN
| date=26 August 2011
| accessdate=26 November 2012
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330054704/http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/article/8290731/celebrity-doctor-battle
| archive-date=30 March 2015
| url-status=dead
}} "Turner had been his neighbour for 10 to 15 years and was a trusted acquaintance", Wright said.{{cite web
| title=Merry medic down $50m but looking up
| url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/merry-medic-down-50m/2006/02/21/1140284050274.html
| work=The Sydney Morning Herald
| accessdate=26 November 2012 |date=21 February 2006}} He also owned a motel and a funeral director's company for forty years, also a printing company.
Wright had surgery for throat cancer and in February 2017 surgery for bowel cancer.{{cite news|last1=Deare|first1=Steven|title=Dr James Wright, or Dr John Knight, recovering from surgery|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/northern-district-times/dr-james-wright-or-dr-john-knight-recovering-from-surgery/news-story/5ae6a0277e70c7456996b7fbbc376dcf|accessdate=12 February 2017|work=Northern District Times|date=10 February 2017|ref=d-tele-bowel}}
Medical career
Wright studied medicine at the University of Sydney and first practised as a general practitioner (GP) in Tottenham, a small town in the Central West very close to the geographic centre of New South Wales.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ga.gov.au/education/geoscience-basics/dimensions/centre-of-australia-states-territories.html#nsw |title=Centre of Australia, States and Territories-NSW |accessdate=27 November 2012| publisher=Geoscience Australia |date=23 November 2010}} As the only GP within a radius of 160km, he took on several duties including as obstetrician, surgeon, counsellor, dispensing pharmacist and vet.
Media career
=Television and radio media=
Wright, whilst running his private practice, started his media career, as the local correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where his stories were sent to the ABC by Morse code.
On television he appeared on The Mike Walsh Show and continued when that series was replaced by The Midday Show, where he became resident doctor during the tenure of both Ray Martin and Kerri-Anne Kennerley, spanning a period of 25 years, starting from the black and white era through to the transmission of colour.
Wright appeared on radio at 2GB and 2UE where he had his own radio show for almost 18 years which was beamed across Australia via the Macquarie Radio Network.
=Printed media=
Wright had newspaper columns including in the Herald Sun (Melbourne), the Sunday Telegraph (Sydney), the Sunday Mail (Adelaide and Perth), the Brisbane Sunday Mail, the Sunday Territorian and the Sunday Tasmanian.
Wright also had regular column in magazines including Woman's Weekly, Women's Day, Dolly and Cleo.
Medi Aid Centre Foundation
In 1971, Wright and his wife Noreen established the charity Medi-Aid. It grew from an idea in Wright's teenage years to a national foundation that provides aged care accommodation for more than 700 elderly people.{{cite news
| last=Kennard | first=Robert
| title=John Knight celebrates Dr James Wright's legacy
|url=http://northern-district-times.whereilive.com.au/news/story/celebrating-his-legacy/
| accessdate=26 November 2012
| newspaper=Northern-District Times
| date=15 June 2011
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911090104/http://northern-district-times.whereilive.com.au/news/story/celebrating-his-legacy/ |archive-date=11 September 2011 |format=Archived by the WayBack Machine}} The foundation has several villages in Sydney, and one on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Its prime aim is to provide housing for the older community across all socio-economic levels.
Death
Awards
In 1998, Wright was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his media outreach and the work of his foundation.{{cite web |title=Name: Dr John Franklin KNIGHT {{!}} Award: Member of the Order of Australia |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/872449 |website=AUSTRALIAN HONOURS SEARCH FACILITY |access-date=4 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026214830/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=872449&search_type=simple&showInd=true |archive-date=26 October 2017 |format=Archived by the Wayback Machine}} In 2003, he was one of the three finalists in the "Australian of the Year" awards. Wright was awarded as the 2017 New South Wales Senior Australian of the Year.{{cite web |title=Dr John Knight AM, NSW STATE RECIPIENT SENIOR AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR 2017 |url=https://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/dr-john-knight-am |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327062750/https://australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/dr-john-knight-am |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 March 2022 |website=Australian of the Year |access-date=4 December 2022 |language=en}}
Bibliography
- Dr Wright's family medical guide. James Wright Sydney: Golden Press, 1985. 566 p {{ISBN|0855581972}}
- Family medical care : a five-volume illustrated series covering all aspects of health care. James Wright, Signs, 2007. {{ISBN|9781876010966}} (set)
- "Parenting". {{ISBN|9781876010911}} (v. 1)
- "Parenting". {{ISBN|9781876010928}} (v. 2)
- "Major systems of the body and emergencies". {{ISBN|9781876010935}} (v. 3)
- "Marvels of the human frame".{{ISBN|9781876010942}} (v. 4)
- "Special organs and the skeletal structure". {{ISBN|9781876010959}} (v. 5)
- Understanding tummy troubles : the recognition and treatment of peptic ulcers, and other common disorders of the stomach and intestinal system. James Wright, Golden Press, 1984. 72 p. : ill {{ISBN|0730200132}}
- Everything a teenage boy should know. John F. Knight, Signs Publishing Co., First published 1973, revised 1980 and 1983. : ill. {{ISBN|0959996494}}, {{ISBN|0949809519}}
- Everything a teenage girl should know. John F. Knight, Signs Publishing Co., First published 1973, revised 1980 and 1982. : ill. {{ISBN|0959996486}}, {{ISBN|0949809527}}
- So you're a teenager : vital facts for girls. James Wright, Signs Publishing Co., 2003, 192 p. : ill. {{ISBN|1876010665}}
- So you're a teenager : vital facts for boys. James Wright, Signs Publishing Co., 2001, 192 p. : col. ill. {{ISBN|1876010266}}, {{ISBN|1876010363}}
- Dr. Wright's fabulous fitness book. James Wright, Horwitz Grahame, c1987. 173 p. {{ISBN|0725520116}}
- Alternative medicine James Wright, Golden Press, 1982. 280 p. : ill ; {{ISBN|0855583789}}
- Women's problems. James Wright, Golden Press, 1981. 175 p. : ill. {{ISBN|0855587776}}
- Baby & childhood illnesses. James Wright, Golden Press, 1981. 278 p. : ill. {{ISBN|0855587938}}
- A medical guide to good health.James Wright, Medi-Aid Centre Foundation, 1978. 303 p. {{ISBN|0959528008}}
- Successful slimming, incorporating "The great Australian diet' Golden Press, 1981. 215 p. {{ISBN|0855587857}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.mediaid.org.au/}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, James}}
Category:People educated at North Sydney Boys High School
Category:Australian non-fiction writers
Category:Members of the Order of Australia
Category:Medical doctors from Sydney
Category:Seventh-day Adventists in health science
Category:Australian Seventh-day Adventists
Category:20th-century Australian medical doctors