Dr Jacob George, former Consultant Psychiatrist at Royal Derwent Hospital and former Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service of Tasmania, has been recognised for his service to the community of Tasmania.
“I was pleasantly surprised when I learnt of this honour,” Dr George told Indian Link. “My daughter, a lawyer in Melbourne, nominated me.”
Dr George trained in Addiction Medicine and has had a lifelong career in Drug and Alcohol related issues.
As director of the Jacob’s Clinic, he provided outpatient addiction treatment for substance use disorders such as opioid dependence, alcohol dependence, diazepam dependence, cocaine misuse.
He was also the former Advisor to the Health Minister on Alcohol and Drug issues and Senior Lecturer of Alcohol and Drug Studies at the University of Tasmania.
During his career, Dr George was devoted to community mental health-related activities such as Men’s Shed and held many leadership positions.
As President for the Rotary Club of Howrah in Tasmania from 1992-1993 and 2012-2013, he was the Inaugural Committee Member of the Howrah’s Men’s Shed.
“I was always interested in community activities, so was in the Rotary Club for 45 years, becoming a Paul Harris Fellow in 1996. I helped organise the first weekend camps for underprivileged children at Howrah.”
A devout Christian, Dr George was also deeply involved in church activities, serving as Parish Councillor for the Anglican Parish of Clarence South from 2012-2019.
Originally from Kerala in India, Dr George served a five-year stint in England before moving to Australia. Alongside devoting himself professionally and raising a family in those early days, Dr George also felt the need to associate with others from a South Asian background to keep alive his connection to culture. The Indian Cultural Society of Tasmania provided a welcome forum for this, and he happily took on its presidency in 1977.
Dr Jacob George belongs to an early class of Indian settlers in Australia who paved the way for future migrants. With their professional expertise and commitment, their devotion to family, and the community platforms they set up to keep rooted to their original culture, they deserve our congratulations and our regard for establishing those stepping stones to our own successful integration today.
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