Adventist Physician Is Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia

Long-serving obstetrician and gynecologist Gordon Campbell has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in recognition of his decades of service to women’s health in Australia and overseas.

A Seventh-day Adventist from Cooranbong, New South Wales, Campbell was one of 949 Australians recognized nationally in the 2026 Australia Day Honours List.

Reflecting on the honor, he said the moment was deeply emotional. “When our adult daughters each hugged me, I wept,” he said. “I felt I did not deserve such an award.”

Born in Papua New Guinea, Campbell grew up immersed in mission life. His parents spent 33 years serving as missionaries, an experience that shaped his outlook from an early age. “Our first language was Pidgin English,” he said. He was homeschooled by his mother, whom he described as exceptionally hardworking despite suffering repeated bouts of malaria throughout her life.

At 18 Campbell was selected for a cadetship from the Department of Health in Port Moresby to study medicine at Sydney University. After graduating, he was posted to Vanimo, which he described as “a very beautiful tropical paradise on the north coast of PNG, three hours by canoe from Irian Jaya.”

One early experience left a lasting impression. Soon after his arrival a villager reported that a woman who had delivered triplets had died, and the babies were about to be buried with her. With no neonatal facilities available locally, Dr. Campbell arranged for the infants to be transported to Wewak, where appropriate care was available. Months later the father returned with three healthy babies. “Each village had lactating mothers and grandmothers, and the triplets thrived,” he said. “The father named the babies Gordon, Ann (Campbell’s wife’s name) and Akaw!”

Campbell later specialized in obstetrics and gynecology, serving for 30 years at Sydney Adventist Hospital and 34 years at Hornsby Hospital. Over that time, he delivered hundreds of babies. One of the most significant moments of his career involved a high-risk breech delivery at Hornsby Hospital, where urgent intervention was required to save the baby’s life. Drawing on skills developed in PNG, he performed a symphysiotomy—a procedure unfamiliar to many staff at the time—with a successful outcome for both mother and child.

Now retired, Campbell said delivering babies can be stressful for both the mother and the doctor, but for the vast majority, the outcome is pure joy. “The miracle of the safe arrival of every new baby is a magical moment I never grew tired of experiencing,” he reflected.

Alongside his hospital work, Campbell maintained a strong commitment to humanitarian service. In 1980 he volunteered in a refugee camp on the Thai and Cambodia border during the aftermath of the Pol Pot regime, serving with a medical team under the umbrella of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). Tens of thousands of displaced people passed through the camp, many receiving medical care for the first time in years.

“I felt humbled to have had the privilege to have served along with many others and made a difference when the need was so great,” he said.

Campbell also volunteered in women’s health programs in Nepal, Singapore, and Fiji. In Nepal he was involved in surgical programs addressing utero-vaginal prolapse, a debilitating condition affecting hundreds of thousands of women. Across multiple visits, teams completed dozens of life-changing procedures.

“To change an expected lifetime of poverty, and dragging pain because of prolapse, for a woman for the rest of her life is a privilege and priceless gift for the giver, and an untold blessing for the receiver,” he said.

Whether overseas or at home, Campbell’s contribution has been widely felt. Sydney Adventist Hospital (affectionately called “the San”) CEO Brett Goods paid tribute to his service.

“On behalf of the entire San community, we congratulate Dr. Campbell on this well-deserved achievement,” he said. “Dr. Campbell served the San as a dedicated gynecologist and obstetrician for more than 30 years, providing exceptional care to women and families during life’s most significant moments, while also mentoring many of our specialists along the way. His commitment, compassion, and professionalism have left a lasting impact on our hospital, and this recognition is a fitting tribute to an outstanding career of service.”

The original version of this story was posted on Adventist Record.