About Dr June Canavan

Dr Canavan was a much loved and respected sports physician and family doctor living and working on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia. June treated athletes from all over Australia, and was team Doctor for several Australian swimming and triathlon teams during the 1990s and 2000s. In 2000 she received the Australia Sports Medal from the Prime Minister in recognition for her services to Australian sport.

June was a Wangaratta girl, attending Wangaratta High School and representing country Victoria in netball. She left Wangaratta in her early 20’s to pursue her netball career in New Zealand. She completed her medical degree at the University of Queensland in 1979 and opened her first medical practice in 1986. In 2006 she lived in Lausanne, Switzerland while completing a Master of Sport Management degree.

June was a passionate philanthropist, giving her time and money to causes close to her heart. These causes are reflected today in the June Canavan Foundation Giving Framework.

In 2009 June embarked on a major fundraising campaign to raise $50,000 for the School of St Jude in Tanzania. She called the project “Klocking up the Ks” with the plan being to walk/climb five significant “K”s. She started with Kiel Mountain (on which she lived), then headed south to walk Mount Kosciuszco, and on to the peak of Mount Kinabulu in Borneo. The Kokoda Track in August was to be her fourth “K”, and she planned to finish the project by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro before personally delivering her $50,000 to the School of St Jude in nearby Arusha, Tanzania.

June’s life was cut short in August 2009 when the plane she was travelling in to reach the start of the Kokoda track crashed into the rugged mountains surrounding the airport.