Montgomery Spencer Memorial Lecture


Photo of Dr Montgomery Spencer

Honouring a legacy in child health

The Montgomery Spencer Memorial Lecture is the only named paediatric lecture hosted by the RACP Aotearoa New Zealand.

It honours the life and legacy of Dr Frederick Montgomery Spencer, a pioneer in paediatrics whose commitment to children's health reshaped care standards across Aotearoa NZ.

A distinguished speaker delivers the lecture on a topic related to child health—celebrating not only the advancements in the field but also the lecturer’s contributions to paediatric research and service.


The 2025 Montgomery Spencer Memorial Lecture

Speaker

Dame Teuila Percival, DNZM, QSO, FRACPHM (Hon)

Date

4 - 7 November 2025

Location

Due Drop Events Centre

Manukau, Ki Taamaki Makaurau

Aotearoa NZ 

Event host

Paediatrics Society of New Zealand  (PSNZ)  Annual meeting

Past lectures

This lecture has featured leaders in paediatrics delivering thought-provoking presentations that continue Dr Spencer’s legacy of advocacy, evidence-based care, and equity for children.

View a full list of speakers from 1948 to today

On a subject relating to the health of children

 Year Recipient  Theme  Venue 
1948 S L Ludbrook   Auckland
1950 T F Corkhill   Wellington
1952 G P Fitzgerald   Dunedin
1955 I M Allen    Wellington
1958 J F Landreth   Christchurch
1961 W E Henley   Auckland
1964 R H Caughey The foetus and his environment Auckland
1967 A W Liley The foetus in control of his environment Auckland
1970 J M Watt Inborn effors of metabolism Dunedin
1972 R B Elliot Child health in the Cook Islands Auckland
1975 F T Shannon The genesis of chronic pyelonephritis Christchurch
1978 H J Weston Children in a materialistic age –current difficulties and hopes for the future Wellington
1982 B G Barratt-Boyes KBE, FRACS  Coarctation of the aorta – a 25-year experience Auckland
1985 J G Mortimer  Paediatric bequests – legacies of childhood
Dunedin
1992 David Becroft  Childhood and perinatal mortality 1959-1992: Will you do as well in the next 33 years? Auckland
1994 Mont Liggins  Fetal patients Dunedin
1992 Prof. Peter Gluckman Birth asphyxia Christchurch
1999 John Neutze  Cardiology and healthcare in the young: What is the key for continuing improvement? Wellington
2001

Assoc. Prof. David Holdaway

Children and ethics in medicine  Auckland 
2003

David Barry 

Iron and infection  Queenstown 
2005

Prof. Keith Grimwood

Early cystic fibrosis lung disease: An Anzac view from a myopic microbiologist Wellington
2006

Prof. Ed Mitchell Nelson

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome – What we have learned and what we should do now  
2007 Prof. Diana Lennon The state of New Zealand child and youth health: Progress?   
2008

Leo Buchanan

Time past and time future are both contained in time present  
2009

Barry Taylor

  Dunedin
2010 Jane Harding   Auckland
2011

Prof. Spencer Beasley

The challenge of change Auckland 
2012 Dr Archie Kerr  Yesterday, today and tomorrow

Palmerston North 

2013

Dr John Werry

  Dunedin 
2014 Dr Kevin Pringle   Dunedin
2015 Professor Brian Darlow One thing leads to another: Clinical research in neonatology Christchurch
2016 Dr John Newman   Auckland 
2017 Professor Innes Asher   Auckland/held in Christchurch 
2018 Dr Paul Taylor   Nelson 
2019 Dr Rosemary Marks   Auckland
2020 N/A    
2021 Dr Johan Morreau   Rotorua 
2022 Dr John Doran   Taranaki
2023 Prof. Dawn Elder  Keep asking why Wellington/Held in Rotorua 
2024 Turid Peters Children in Aotearoa flourish in health and well-being - The role of Allied Health and Te Wai Pounamu Lived Experience group in supporting this vision  

Contact

For more information or to nominate a speaker, contact the RACP Aotearoa NZ Office via AoNZ_Paeds_Child_Health@racp.org.nz

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