Our two school houses were named to honour two members of our
community who have made significant contributions to children’s health and
hospital services in the collective histories of the Mater and Royal Children’s
Hospitals.
In their sporting activities and competitions, students at QCHS
represent the school houses: Doyle (after Sr Angela Mary Doyle) and Pearn
(after Professor John Pearn):
Doyle House is green
(representative of the Mater Children's Hospital)
Pearn House is purple
(representative of the Royal Brisbane Children's Hospital)
Left: Sr
Angela Mary Doyle and Professor John Pearn enjoying some friendly competition
at the QCHS Sports day, 2019. Right: Michelle Bond (Executive Principal) with Sr Angela Mary Doyle (2019).
Sr Angela Mary
Doyle AO
When Sister Angela Mary Doyle arrived in
Australia from Ireland in 1947, she joined other Sisters of Mercy to begin her teaching career in Brisbane.
Soon after, she went on to become a nurse at the Mater Hospitals in Brisbane.
In 1966, Sister Angela Mary Doyle was appointed Administrator of the three
Mater Hospitals in Brisbane – a position she held for 21 years.
Awards and recognition include:
- Queenslander of the
Year (1989)
- Officer of the
Order of Australia (AO) (1993)
- Premier's Qld
Greats (2001)
- Inductee of the Qld
Business Leaders Hall of Fame (2009)
Emeritus Professor John Pearn AO RFD
John Pearn was born in Brisbane in 1940, and has
had an extensive and diverse career as a paediatrician, surgeon, military
physician and academic. Early in his career, John enlisted as a Captain in the
Royal Australian Army Medical Corps, and in 1998 was promoted to Major General,
serving as one of the Australia’s most senior doctor-soldiers. In the same
year, John was appointed Surgeon General to the ADF, where we served until his
retirement in early 2001.
John worked for over 40 years as a clinician at
the Royal Children’s Hospital and Queensland Children’s Hospital, and as a keen
scholar of medical history, he founded the Australian Society of the History of
Medicine. John Pearn is an emeritus professor of Child Health and Paediatrics
at The University of Queensland.
Awards and recognition include:
- Member of the Order of
Australia (AM) (1979)
- Officer of the Order of
Australia (AO) (2009)
- Knight of the
Order of St John
- Centenary
Medal for distinguished service in paediatrics and other medical fields
(2003)
- Reserve Force
Decoration