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Chronicle
2015-2016
Charles Naughton
Derek Taylor
4361
Aged 95
Derek, as he was known, was born in
Christchurch on 16 October 1918. He was a
boarder at Christ’s College from 1933 to 1936 and
was in School House. On leaving school Derek
studied medicine at Otago University, graduating
in 1943. He joined the army while at university
and at the end of World War 2 was sent to Japan.
It was from his experiences there, working as
a young doctor in the army, that he developed
what became a lifelong interest and passion in
preventive medicine, which led to a career at
district, national and international level.
On return from Japan, Derek joined the
Department of Health and began his career in
preventive medicine. He was sent to the London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1948
to study the Diploma in Public Health. After
returning, he married Margaret Low, known as
Margot, from Nelson, whom he had met while
they were both at Otago. They moved to Auckland
where Derek became Deputy Medical Officer of
Health for the region. He became Medical Officer
of Health in both Gisborne and Palmerston North
before transferring to head office in Wellington.
Derek began to feel that one of the most
important aspects of preventive medicine
was health education. He felt that educating
the public could help solve a problem of any
magnitude. He was given a World Health
Fellowship to study at the University of
California, Berkeley, where he earned a Master
of Public Health in Health Education in 1958. The
idea of introducing fluoridation in New Zealand
became a passionate cause for Derek and he was
at the forefront early in the campaign.
He became Director, Division of Public Health in
1967 and then Deputy Director-General of Health
in 1971. Throughout his time at Head Office he
was very involved with the Red Cross, where he
served on their professional committee, and
the St John Ambulance, becoming their Deputy
Chief Commissioner for New Zealand from 1971
to 1978.
Derek retained a link with the army after the
war, becoming Consultant in Health for the New
Zealand Army in 1967 leading to Consultant in
Community Health to the Armed Forces in 1975.
It was in this year that he was appointed to the
position of Chief, Health Education Unit for the
World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva,
Switzerland. This followed consultancies for
WHO in Taiwan, in health education and Ghana,