Welcome to our tribute site for Philip Macqueen, who was loved by many and who inspired many more.
We hope that this site can provide a space for family, friends, colleagues and patients to enjoy and share their memories with Phil. While you are here take the time to look through the picture gallery of the adventures he shared with many of you or share with us some of your own memories of Phil on the ‘your thoughts‘ page.
A celebration of his Life
On Friday 22nd of August, The Many Royal Queensland Yacht Club was overflowing with Phil’s family, friends, colleagues and patients, who came to say farewell but to also celebrate the wonderful life he lived. A beautiful memorial was given to Phil buy his sister and brother in law, Rev Katherine and Rev Jack Hammer and was followed by tributes, speeches, poems, songs and fireworks – a true celebration of the memories that we had all shared. Some of the heartfelt tributes to Phil can be found below as well as in the photo gallery. Thank you to everyone who came to honour Phil, it was a touching show of what a amazing man he was and how many lives he touched.
Tributes to Phil Macqueen from some special people in his life.
From Professor Ian Harnett in Japan, life long friend from through their childhood in New Zealand and mining partner at Lightning Ridge
Too bright, too strong for this life, you travel on, always ahead, leading the way
We follow in your wake, in your light, in your love,
Phil Macqueen, you have been the best of the best.
Some saw you as an acupuncturist
And that may be true, While others saw you as a sailor
Crossing the ocean blue
And others still as a singer of songs, a story teller, father, friend, > and lover.
But, for all of us, no matter how the cake is cut, the dice are tossed,
You were always a bright star capturing all the colors of the rainbow, in your life, an opal man
The best opal has a black background, and black is the email that
brought the news this morning you were gone, far too soon, and for far too long.
The best opal burns at its core with a crimson light and that red heart was your song, your spirit,your soul, and the country you called your home.
The best opal has an orange warmth Like an Australian outback campfire,
Just like the orange warmth your life, Shared and shed so widely in the world.
The best opal has a yellow sparkle, like your hair, like your personality,
like your smile, like the songs you sang, and the stories that you told.
The best opal traps an ocean waves of green and blue, stone in motion, and you were a sailor upon those ancient crystal seas.
The best opal has purple and indigo,
the color of royalty, you were a true-born poet prince
of the people and for the people.
But the best opal is never classified color frame by color name,
and the same holds true for you, Phil Macqueen, Black Opal Man.
You were a living rainbow, The best jewel Lightning Ridge ever produced, And you have flashed
through our lives, leaving behind rolling thunder.
From Tony Scott a dynamic person who connected with Phil like soul mates and who spent many hours
by Phil’s bedside in ICU sending him energy to return to us
Phil’s Voyage
by Tony Scott,
I am a soul, immortal and strong, My spirit, on the wind, Hear me in song.
Alive within heart, Within mind, Inside every breath, Our bodies aligned,
Treasure Internal, External nature, Astonishing realm the Captain and Creator.
Focus, Extra for you, eyes cannot see, I’m close, All around, Feel me – ENERGY
Complete, some qualities, YOU adore in me, May be found in others, in-dividually,
Life, Days keen, some weaker, Moments as a Teacher, Student, Leader
Help, A sense of right and wrong,
Trust Sing with me and dance along.
Phil’s Song
Written and sung by Clive Powell – Colleague, friends and Partner in making music.
He found new ways to practice
Knew the body inside out
Innovations that were fearless
He never had any doubt
CHORUS
Acupuncture,
That was his passion
Every night and day
Acupuncture
He showed us
There was another way
Friends and colleagues wondered
At his skill and technique
Insights that were wondrous
His procedures were all unique
A passion for exploring
So many new ways to heal
The work was all invented
Never once did he steal
Phil Macqueen
Tribute by Sandy Sandaver published British Acupuncture Council
It is with great sadness that I have to inform of the passing of Australian practitioner Phil Macqueen on the 14 August.
I was aware that Phil was gravely ill and was in contact with his beloved partner Julie, who always filmed and recorded his seminars. Phil had a very busy practice in Brisbane in Queensland as well as teaching musculoskeletal seminars in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Europe and filming acupuncturists around the world to build up a large acupuncture video library. In the UK he taught his seminars at the Northern College of Acupuncture in York, Reading University, London and at Sue Church’s practice near Pangbourne.
Although not a BAcC member Phil was a force for good in the acupuncture world and worked very hard all his life towards getting things done and improving things for patients and colleagues alike. He was a Board member of the Australian Acupuncture Association (AAA) from 1984 to 1993 and president from 1998 to 1991: he worked on moving forward the registration of acupuncture in Australia and helped create their own Acupuncture Awareness Week in the early ‘80s.
He was born in the UK in 1947 and moved to New Zealand in 1957, where he went through school/college and then did a BSc in science at Auckland University. He followed this with a BAc at Brisbane College of Traditional Acupuncture and then a BAc from the International College of Oriental Medicine (ICOM) in the Netherlands. He also had diplomas in Swedish massage, western herbal medicine, Bowen technique and a senior first aid certificate with Brisbane St Johns Ambulance.
There is a longer tribute to him and a link to his description of his time as the AAA president on the BAcC forum under ‘Phil Macqueen passes away’, where he describes the unifying of acupuncture practitioners and state registration in Australia.
A warm, generous, lively presence in every way and will be missed by many.
Sandy Sandaver
Member: Herefordshire
Phil Macqueen
AACMA Fellow and Former President, Phil Macqueen, sadly passed away on 14 August from complications of influenza following treatment for leukaemia.
Phil Macqueen joined AACMA in June 1982 after graduating with a Bachelor of Acupuncture from the Brisbane College of Traditional Acupuncture. He ran a busy practice in Brisbane’s bayside as well as a business in acupuncture videos and DVDs.
Phil’s passion for his profession permeated every aspect of his professional life. He joined the AACMA board in the 1980s (then the AAcA –Australian Acupuncture Association Ltd) and became President the early 1990s, a position he held until 1993. During his time on the AAcA board, the association moved to serviced offices in Indooroopilly and faced its first major challenge – the emergence of HIV/AIDS and its association with ‘needles’ – and the wholesale shift from re-usable to single-use use acupuncture needles. As a direct response to the difficulties facing the profession, Phil and other board members organised the association’s first Acupuncture Awareness Week in Brisbane and the profession’s first major (and successful) publicity campaign. Phil had also joined AESO during that time and eventually went on to become AESO President in 1995 – in so doing played a key role in the amalgamation between these two big acupuncture associations – with AACMA as the end product.
To read more about this aspect of Phil’s life, read his interview on pages 20 – 21 of the AACMA 40th Anniversary Commemorative Book, available on AACMA website Publications page.
Phil also recognised the importance of professional development and keeping a record – and Acupuncture Videos Australia was born. Over many years, he built an extensive resource of recording on DVD of acupuncture clinicians from around the world. He also assisted AACMA by recording AACMA seminars and conferences, most recently at AACMAC Melbourne 2014.
Phil understood and embraced life-long learning. He is credited with developing numerous new and unique musculoskeletal treatment protocols, combining acupuncture with his developed physical therapies to get positive results for his patients and other therapies to get positive results for his patients.
Outside of his clinical work and business interests, Phil was an accomplished musician. Members who attended WFAS 2013 and AACMAC 2014 may recall Phil and friends entertaining guests at the social nights.
He also had a passion for sailing. Those who knew him would not be surprised that his funeral and celebration of life was held at the Royal Queensland Yacht Club … and in true Phil fashion, a fireworks display marked the end of the proceedings.
In his final months, friends and colleagues maintained a daily vigil while he was in ICU. Phil’s partner of 20 years, Julie Geldard, would like to deeply thank all members of the profession for their support, wishes, and treatments though this time of shock and sorrow and loss to us all. Julie will carry on Phil’s memory with his passion for history so future practitioners will be able to learn his treatment protocols through his videos which will still be available on line.
One of Phil’s great strengths was his capacity to bounce back from adversity, and to do it with a smile. He was a loving partner and father, a loyal friend and a great loss to our profession.
The AACMA Board and staff extend our deepest sympathies to his partner Julie, their families, friends and colleagues for their loss.
May He Rest In Peace.