History of the High Blood Pressure Research Council of Australia

History

The HBPRCA was formed in 1979 after consultation with senior members of the Australian hypertension research community, led by Professors Paul Korner and Austin Doyle. The initial Steering Committee consisted of A E Doyle (Chairman), P I Korner (Secretary), C I Johnston (Treasurer), B A Scoggins, D A Denton, P Kincaid-Smith, J P Chalmers, G W Boyd, G S Stokes, L Beilin, and R Gordon. The Constitution was adopted in 1980 and the Council became an Incorporated Association in 1993.

On 17 November 2022, HBPRCA was officially registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee with the new name of Hypertension Australia Ltd. This change was enthusiastically supported by the membership with the transitional Board leading the new mission and vision of the organisation. 

Hypertension Australia constitution v1 17 November 2022 to view the current constitution.

Presidents

The Council have been honoured by the distinguished persons who served as President.

Austin E Doyle 1979 -1983

John P Chalmers 1984 -1986

Paul Korner 1987 – 1989

Colin I Johnston 1990 – 1992

Lawrie Beilin 1993 – 1995

Warwick P Anderson 1996 – 1998

Judith Whitworth 1999 – 2001

Garry Jennings 2002 – 2004

Stephen B Harrap 2005 – 2010

Jaye Chin-Dusting 2011 – 2016

Michael Stowasser 2017 – 2019

Markus Schlaich 2020- 2022

November 2022 HBPRCA became Hypertension Australia Ltd.

Chairman of the Board

Markus Schlaich 2022 – 2023 (Transitional Board)

Annual Scientific Meetings

The Foundation Meeting of Council was held on 14 December 1979, at the University of Melbourne with Professor Austin Doyle acting as the inaugural Chairman. 47 Foundation members attended the inaugural meeting. Professor Alberto Zanchetti was the inaugural guest lecturer at the foundation meeting, and he became the first Honorary Life Member of the Council. The meeting has grown over the intervening years, but remains the premier meeting for the discussion of research on hypertension epidemiology, causes, mechanisms, prevention and treatment.
In 1991, the invited lecture presented by an international speaker was named the R D Wright Lecture in honour of Professor Emeritus Sir Roy Douglas Wright AK, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to research. The RD Wright named lecturer is an international researcher in hypertension, who is well known and respected.

In 1993, in honour of Professor Austin E Doyle, the inaugural Chairman of the Council, a lecture to be presented by an outstanding Australian or New Zealander was named the Austin Doyle Lecture in recognition of Professor Doyle’s outstanding contribution to hypertension research both in Australia and internationally. The Austin Doyle named lecturer is a national speaker and external to the field of hypertension. To commemorate the contribution to the Council of Dr Robert Vandongen, a ‘Bob Vandongen Travel Award’ was established in 1993 to facilitate the travel of young investigators from Western Australia.

The Foundation for High Blood Pressure Research Colin I Johnston Lectureship was introduced in honour and recognition of Colin’s leadership and contributions to the Council and Foundation. The Colin Johnston name lecturer is to be a young, but established, investigator with international success who is a current HBPRCA Member.

Named Lectureships