In a quiet corner of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital, formally located on North Terrace on the western side of the driveway by the East Wing, there was a small garden with the most beautiful roses. For nearly 30 years this garden was developed and cared for by Dr Allan Campbell. Established in 1976, the garden featured roses personally selected and donated by Dr Campbell. He also volunteered his time to prune and care for the plants well into retirement.
Although Dr Campbell was a keen golfer, his demanding hospital responsibilities required him to stay close to home. Gardening, and particularly rose-growing, proved to be the perfect alternative.
I soon discovered that the important thing was to be available. It wasn’t the days of mobile phones, and I’d be called away from golf mid-round. I thought I’d better indulge in something that didn’t take me away from the phone. So I took up gardening.
(Dr Allan Campbell, Oral History, 4 July 2002)
Dr Campbell’s interest in roses was encourage by Sir Philip Messent, a senior figure in both the Rose Society of South Australia and the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Sir Messent had served as Honorary Surgeon from 1933 to 1953. He not only encouraged Dr Campbell to grow roses, but also to exhibit them competitively.
That was the worst thing anyone could have done to me [Campbell laughed] because I got hooked.
(Dr Allan Campbell, Oral History, 4 July 2002)
Royal Adelaide Hospital Rose Garden
Before leaving to work at Flinders Medical Centre, Dr Campbell donated roses to help establish a garden at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He was directly involved in the selection and planting of the roses and personally maintained the garden for many years. This voluntary service was eventually recognised in 2006, when the hospital’s Heritage and History Committee installed a commemorative plaque, acknowledging his long term dedication.
Although the original garden was removed during site redevelopment, many of Campbell’s roses were saved. These were preserved and replanted in a bed near the hospital’s North Terrace entrance.
Life and Career
Allan Gordon Campbell (1916–2011) was a distinguished South Australian surgeon, naval officer, educator, and horticulturist. Born in Adelaide, he graduated in medicine from the University of Adelaide in 1939. Dr Campbell began his internship at the Royal Adelaide Hospital just as World War II began.
In 1942, he enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve, serving as a Surgeon Lieutenant in the Mediterranean, particularly Greece, for which he received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).
After returning to Adelaide in 1945, Campbell completed surgical training at Royal Adelaide Hospital. He fellowships from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The Royal Adelaide Hospital appointed him Honorary Assistant Surgeon in 1953, and he later became Honorary Surgeon and eventually Senior Visiting Surgeon.
He contributed significantly to trauma surgery in South Australia and taught anatomy and surgery at the University of Adelaide. In 1976, he joined the newly opened Flinders Medical Centre, where he worked until his retirement from public practice in 1981.
Contributions to the Rose
Dr Campbell horticultural activities extended far beyond the Royal Adelaide Hospital. At his home in Fisher Street, Myrtle Bank, his garden eventually grew to accommodate over 800 rose bushes, along with camellias, orchids, hydrangeas and fruit trees. His passion for roses led to several leadership roles within the rose-growing community. He served as:
- President of the Rose Society of South Australia (1974-1976)
- President of the National Rose Society of Australia (1975, 1981)
- Delegate to the World Federation of Rose Societies,attending international meetings in Oxford, Toronto, Baden-Baden, and Christchurch, among others.
I’ve been to them all – Dr Campbell said of his attendance at international rose conferences.
(Dr Allan Campbell, Oral History, 4 July 2002)
In recognition of his service to rose cultivation in Australia, he received two of Australia’s highest honours in the field: the TA Stewart Memorial Award in 1976 and the Australian Rose Award in 1981.
Cultivating Community through Gardens
Dr Campbell’s gardening expertise extended far beyond his own backyard. He also contributed to the establishment and maintenance of other rose gardens in South Australia. Dr Campbell consulted on the development of gardens at Ashford Hospital, St Chad’s Anglican Church (where he and his wife were long-time members) and Pineview Retirement Village, where he also authored a monthly rose care newsletter. He later published his collected notes in a booklet title “Pineview Roses -A Rose Lover’s Handy Guide” with proceeds benefiting the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
Dr Allan Campbell passed away peacefully at home on 29 June 2011, aged 95.
Written by Margot Way, CALHN Health Museum