Stanley Paris, of Monte Cristo Wines, provided an comprehensive account of his remarkable life this week.
Stanley attended Otago Boys’ High School (OBHS) and qualified in Physiotherapy at Otago University. Graduating, he particularly enjoyed applying ‘hands-on spinal manipulative’ skills to enable patients’ recovery from injury and he set out on a life-long pursuit in this field.
A NZ scholarship/grant enabled Stanley to travel to the UK, Europe and North America. In the USA he gained a PhD which led to a faculty position and scholarship at Boston University, but there he was banned from teaching, writing, or being associated in any way, with ‘spinal manipulative therapy’. This was considered a chiropractic profession which challenged ‘medicine’ at that time.
The medical profession controlled physiotherapy back then - its curriculum, examinations and registration, in the USA and in NZ. Stanley wanted his profession to grow so he set out to challenge the status quo to make that happen. He has always believed passionately in free speech.
Stanley resigned Boston. He moved to Bermuda where he bought a hotel and established a health resort incorporating physiotherapy, medical clinics and a better health focus including healthy menus, exercise and weight reduction.
Later he sold the hotel and moved back to the USA ending up in St Augustine, Florida where he opened clinics and strengthened his Training Institute that eventually became the fully licensed and accredited ‘University of St Augustine for Health Sciences’. Stanley’s drive and pathway to this eventuality was due to his pursuit of improving the quality and practice of physiotherapy education by breaking away from the medical domination that existed. His was the first private school of physiotherapy, wholly free of medical dominance and control.
Stanley was preparing to establish a physiotherapy school here in Queenstown when the Global Financial Crisis, with its implications, intervened.
Amongst his life achievements, Stanley has swum the English Channel. On listening to Governor General Lord Freyberg (visiting OBHS) talk about his 2 failures to swim the English Channel, Stanley was inspired to do so. This he achieved at age 45, after many attempts. He more recently (at age 75) participated in a relay that swam the channel.
Stanley was awarded an ‘Honorary Doctor of Laws’ degree from Otago University where his graduation address, to the Law faculty, was the story of his convictions and journey.
In retirement Stanley, and his sons Nicholas (Master of Wine) and Alan, have stablished ‘Monte Christo Wines’ at Clyde where they have restored the old brewery on site, built guest accommodation, established a wine cave and are developing a full winery operation.
Stanley was from a Dunedin Rotary family, his father once a member and President of the Dunedin Club. Stanley was a charter member of the then Dunedin North Club and has belonged to clubs overseas. Now living part-time in Queenstown with bis wife Catherine, he will be reuniting with Rotary by joining our Club. We welcome Stanley to Queenstown Rotary.
CHRISTMAS FUNCTION & END OF YEAR
