The Australian Association of Gerontology has officially achieved senior status with 2024 marking the 60th anniversary of the professional association that brings together researchers, practitioners and policy makers across the diverse field of ageing.
Over the decades we’ve grown and adapted through changes in structure and leadership from a small group of specialist medical professionals to today’s nation-wide multidisciplinary community of like-minded researchers, students and professionals committed to a shared goal of improving the health, wellbeing and lives of every person as we age.
AAG began, as many organisations do, with a small group of committed and enthusiastic individuals. Gerontology and geriatrics were still emerging areas of specialised healthcare in Europe and the United States in the 1950s and early Australian geriatricians were beginning to recognise the need for an organisation to specifically focus on medical care for older people.
Dr David Wallace, a physician from Goulburn in New South Wales, attended the 4th International Congress of Gerontology in Italy in 1957, and returned to Australia determined to establish an Australian Society of Gerontology.
The society was eventually formed in 1964 as an informal gerontological group, largely active in NSW. Sixty years on, the AAG has over 1,300 members nationally. These physicians, nurses, researchers, health practitioners, psychologists, social workers, palliative care and pastoral councillors, students, direct care providers and others support one another, share insights and discoveries, develop partnerships, and learn together within the ever-growing field of ageing-focused research, policy and practice.
60 years of accomplishments
As we celebrate this important diamond anniversary, we look back in appreciation at all who have come before us in shaping what AAG is today.
The inaugural national conference of the AAG was held at the Australian National University in Canberra in June 1964 with special guest Sir John Eccles, a Nobel Prize winner, providing the opening address on the physiology of ageing.
This first conference demonstrated what would become an enduring reputation for the organisation as Australia’s genuine thought leaders on ageing. Organisers invited research and input from all professions focusing on innovation in aged care. The conference presentations were documented and shared widely, leading to an annual publication of conference proceedings, research and insights.
With the introduction of the AAG International Fellow – now known as the Gary Andrews International Fellow in honour of the former president – AAG began to attract leading voices from across the globe to attend the annual conference, promoting the sharing of experience, knowledge and innovation across borders.
In the late 1970s, AAG adopted the banksia as its logo, symbolising the four life stages on a single plant: infancy, youth, the middle years and older age. The multitude of flowers on each spike reflect a philosophy of multidisciplinary collaboration and a holistic understanding of ageing.
The current design, launched in 2013 to reflect a more contemporary organisation with a refreshed, more modern and stylised look, portrays our commitment to collaboration, diversity and reach.
Among many milestones, we acknowledge AAG’s first female board president Glenda Powell (December 1980 – October 1985) followed by the first non-physician president Bess McRae – a nurse from Victoria (October 1985 – September 1988).
These appointments were at a time of marked professional gender imbalance, and we applaud these landmark progressive decisions. Most notably in the past decade, but not limited to, AAG has:
- evolved from an executive council to a national AAG board of directors
- introduced a chief executive officer
- been recognised for its expertise and the capability of members to assist the National Health and Medical Research Council in shaping the national agenda for ageing research while making significant contributions to ageing and aged care policy development
- formed the AAG Research Trust
- brought its flagship event, the AAG Conference, in-house and cemented its brand as a unique, top-tier event for researchers, educators, policymakers, health professionals, service providers, and advocates dedicated to improving the lives of ageing individuals
- partnered with the Australian Ageing Agenda to bring members more news and information about what is happening in the ageing and aged care sector.
Above left: Mark Butler, the late Baroness Sally Greengross and Ashton Applewhite – 52nd AAG Conference, Sydney; above right: AAG members Katie Moss (right) and Kathleen Lawson, who are longtime friends celebrating their first AAG conference together
A history of collaboration
AAG recognised very early on that it takes a village of different thought and expertise to make an impact, and this philosophy saw the organisation’s membership expand to individuals that brought a range of different lenses – sociological, psychological, direct care and more – enabling an extensive breadth of knowledge to impact the whole person, in all their diversity and differing life experiences, as they age.
By the 1990s, AAG was growing its presence throughout Australia. In April 1991, the AAG was proud to expand its reach into the Northern Territory with the introduction of the NT State Division. This important step supported the introduction of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing Committee in 2004 and later, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing Advisory Group – ATSIAAG – in 2006.
The original Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing Committee was an initiative of past AAG President Professor Tony Broe (2003-2006), whose long-standing involvement in the provision of health services to Aboriginal communities helped create opportunities for collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to inform and shape AAG policy and practice.
In 2018, the establishment of the Friends of ATSIAAG opened the door to interested non-Indigenous AAG members to participate and support the work of ATSIAAG. Now a key focus for AAG, we are pleased to support new, trusted collaborations in the NT, such as through the delivery of a first-of-its kind forum, the 2023 ‘Ageing at the Centre. Putting Elders and older people at the heart of our work’, in partnership with ATSIAGG, Friends of ATSIAGG and local service providers and partner organisations in Mparntwe Alice Springs.
Celebrating our diamond anniversary
Fast forward to 2024, AAG members prepare to come together once again from across the country and the world. In our 60th year, we will travel to Hobart in November, embracing the theme of Fresh Air – Fresh Thinking – a salute to the open minds and fresh, collaborative thinking that first brought AAG members together six decades ago.
Of course, the milestone of 60 years offers some fabulous themes and opportunities for celebration that will culminate in our special conference event. Meanwhile, we look forward to social media activities that share our proudest moments and best experiences over the years in that trademark spirit of warmth, friendship and collaboration that makes us who we are.
Christina Micallef is AAG’s policy, research and communications officer
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