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As per the request on WP:AWNB by Mattinbgn, perhaps we can list CMOs prior to 1997 that we are aware of/remember/stumble across here and combine the edits to build up a list. The role seems to have been called Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer earlier, so a Trove search for that term in the Canberra Times and Commonwealth Gazette may yield some clues. --Canley (talk) 05:16, 15 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

• David de Souza (mid-1980s)
• Tony Adams (late 1980s)

care needs to be taken if at all using trove - Victoria and other states had them but do not clearly label them as such unless you check closely... the problem is the federal/national CMO's are not easily identified - for anyone wanting to go to the depths of time - the flu pandemic of 1918 + was where the national attention was on the Australian cmo of the time - JarrahTree 06:33, 15 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

There was a Chief Medical Officer at Australia House in London in the early twentieth century - see:

"RETURN OF DR. E. W. MORRIS". Port Adelaide News. South Australia. 21 January 1927. p. 6. Retrieved 15 June 2020 – via Trove.

There was Chief Medical Officer in Victoria before 1901 and after, who get lots of trove coverage, - see:

Victoria. Chief Medical Officer; McCrea, W. (William) (1866), Quarantine : report of the chief medical officer, Govt. pr, retrieved 15 June 2020

The British position has a good history - see:

Sheard, Sally; Donaldson, Liam J; Nuffield Trust for Research and Policy Studies in Health Services (2005), The nation's doctor : the role of the Chief Medical Officer 1855-1998, Radcliffe, ISBN 978-1-315-38500-6 {{citation}}: |author3= has generic name (help)

In effect the first national/federal position that is a precursor of todays CMO's was Cumpston - his attitude in his position during the 1918/1919 era is what perhaps any competent CMO would implement - although his position may not have had the title of CMO he was in effect that - see http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cumpston-john-howard-lidgett-5846

the wikipedia article completely omits his role during the 1918/1919 time - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cumpston

and perhaps the clearest item about his thinking was in https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-192064587/view?partId=nla.obj-192083405

to have an understanding of leadership and designated government roles - cumpston's role in 1918/1919 was basis of what has become cmo of oz. JarrahTree 08:52, 15 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The current CMO role was created after the first director-general of Health without a medical background was appointed in 1982.[1] Hack (talk) 09:43, 15 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]