Harold Turbott

Harold Bertram Turbott (5 August 1899 – 16 March 1988) was a New Zealand medical doctor, public health administrator, broadcaster and writer. For four decades he broadcast a weekly talk on health on the radio.

Early life Turbott was born in Auckland on 5 August 1899, moving to Hamilton as a child where he attended Hamilton High School. He was dux of the school and went on to study medicine at the University of Otago, qualifying in 1923 after topping the class in midwifery.

Career Turbott's first job was as a house surgeon at Waikato Hospital; he intended to become a surgeon. While in China he spent three months researching hookworm for the Rockefeller Foundation, followed by a course in radiology in Beijing (Peking). The community was resistant to the project so Turbott sought the assistance of Sir Āpirana Ngata who was Minister of Maori Affairs. Turbott was able to instigate isolation shelters for the home treatment of tuberculosis patients. In the 1959 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the Imperial Service Order.

Personal life Turbott married his first wife Eveline Arthur in 1923. After their divorce he married Robinetta Jamieson in 1938. He had one daughter and two sons, one of whom was Harry Turbott, a New Zealand architect.

Turbott died on 16 March 1988 in Hutt Hospital, Lower Hutt.

Publications