Archie Kalokerinos

Archivides “Archie” Kalokerinos was a physician and author who was known for his work with Aboriginal communities in north-west New South Wales and for his advocacy of vitamin-C therapy. His medical career was interwoven with his opal mining career on the Lightning Ridge and Coober Pedy fields. He wrote two books about opal: In Search of Opal (1967) and Australian Precious Opal (1973).

Born at Glen Innes on 28 September 1927, Kalokerinos studied medicine at Sydney University, graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 1951. After several years in the United Kingdom he returned to New South Wales and was appointed medical superintendent at Collarenebri Hospital. From there he travelled weekly to Lightning Ridge to hold surgeries. His work drew him into the lives of Aboriginal families, where he observed alarmingly high infant mortality rates. Convinced scurvy and acute vitamin C deficiency were contributing factors, he experimented with high-dose vitamin C treatments. Though his methods were not widely accepted within mainstream medicine, they brought him international attention and enduring controversy.

In 1967 Kalokerinos left medicine for a time to try his luck on the opal fields in South Australia. Drawn by the colour and mystery of the stones he had first encountered at Lightning Ridge, he joined miners at Coober Pedy and had some success.

He also became deeply interested in the scientific and photographic study of opal, producing tens of thousands of images and publishing what was then one of the first detailed attempts at a classification system for Australian precious opal. His book combined mineralogical observations with a miner’s passion.

Kalokerinos spent the remainder of his career alternating between medical practice, research, and public speaking. He was a divisive figure, hailed by some as a pioneer in preventive medicine and criticised by others for promoting unproven theories, particularly his controversial opposition to vaccination.

Archie Kalokerinos was recipient of the Australian Medal of Merit (for outstanding Scientific Research) and selected as The Greek-Australian of the Century, 1900-2000.

Archie Kalokerinos died on 1 March 2012, aged 84. He is buried at South Head Cemetery, Vaucluse.

Article: Research by Russell Gawthorpe and Leisa Carney, edited by Russell Gawthorpe. LRHS research compiled by Len Cram and Barbara Moritz. Sources: In Search of Opal, Archie Kalokerinos, 1967; Australian Precious Opal, Archie Kalokerinos, 1973; ‘Archie Kalokerinos, MD’, Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame, The International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine.