Person

Dunlop, Ernest Edward (1907 - 1993)

AC Kt KCSJ FRCS FRACS FAMA(Hon) FPS(Hon) FACS FRCSEd(Hon)

Born
12 July 1907
Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia
Died
2 July 1993
Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Physician
Alternative Names
  • Dunlop, Weary

Summary

Sir Ernest Edward Dunlop or Weary Dunlop as he was most commonly known, was a renowned surgeon who during World War II treated and cared for over one thousand prisoners of war. He is legendary for his medical skills, compassion and dedication and has received a multitude of honours and awards. Initially, Dunlop studied pharmacy, but soon after graduating he took up medicine at the University of Melbourne. After completing his studies, Dunlop joined the Citizen Military Forces and then the Royal Australian Military Corps where he was appointed Captain. He worked as a ship's surgeon on his way to England where he undertook postgraduate studies. In 1939 WWII broke out and Dunlop enlisted with the Royal Australian Military Corps where he was appointed specialist surgeon with the Emergency Medical Services at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, UK. Then was the appointed the Medical Liaison Officer between the British and ANZAC forces in Greece, followed by postings with the 2/2 Australian Casualty Clearing Station in Tobruk, then in Palestine and Indonesia. In 1942 his hospital in Java was captured by the Japanese and all were made prisoners of war (POW). For the next three years Dunlop and thousands of other POW worked on the Burma-Siam Railway.

Following WWII Dunlop was heavily involved in organisations that supported prisoners of war and their families, serving as President for several such organisations. His medical practice included appointments as honorary surgeon to out-patients (and later in-patients) at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and consultant at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and Peter MacCallum Clinic during the 1950s and 1960s. Wider involvement in medical organisations included holding executive office in the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria and the Victorian Foundation on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

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Details

Chronology

1929
Education - Bachelor of Pharmacy, Victorian College of Pharmacy
1934
Education - Bachelor of Medicine (MB) and Bachelor of Surgery (BS), University of Melbourne
1935
Life event - Appointed Captain, Australian Army Medical Corps
c. 1935
Career position - Ship's Surgeon on vessel sailing for London
c. 1935
Education - Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS)
1937
Education - Master of Surgery (MS), University of Melbourne
1938 - 1942
Education - Postgraduate studies at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London
1939
Career position - Specialist Surgeon of Emergency Medical Services at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, UK
1939 - 1945
Military service - Served with the Australian Imperial Force
1942 - 1946
Life event - Prisoner of War
1942 - 1946
Career position - War service with the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps in Tobruk, Palestine and Asia
1946 - 1989
Career position - President, Victorian Branch, Ex-Prisoners of War Relatives Association
1947
Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) - Army - Distinguished service in the SW Pacific
1948
Award - Elected Fellow, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
1965
Award - Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) - In recognition of service to medicine
1968 - 1977
Career position - Chairman, Prisoners of War Trust Fund
1969
Award - Knight Bachelor (Kt) - In recognition of service to medicine
1970 - 1982
Career position - President, Victorian Foundation on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
1972 -
Award - Honorary Fellow of the Indian Association of Surgeons
1972 - 1973
Career position - President of the Ex-POW Association
1974 - 1980
Career position - President of the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria
1976
Award - Australian of the Year
1980 - 1993
Career position - Foundation member of the International Society of Diseases of the Oesophagus
1981 - 1993
Award - Foundation Fellow of the International Medical Sciences Academy
1982 -
Career position - Patron of the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria
1985 -
Award - Sir Edward Dunlop Medical Research Foundation founded
1985 - 1993
Award - Honorary Fellow of the College of Surgery, Sri Lanka
1986 - 1987
Career position - President of the Ex-POW Association
1987
Award - Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) - In recognition of service to Australian prisoners of war
1988
Award - Doctor of Laws (LLD), honoris causa, University of Melbourne
1988
Award - St John Jerusalem Cross Merit
1990
Award - Valiant Freedom Award
1991
Award - Fellow of the Imperial College, London
1992
Award - Knight commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (KCSJ)

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Books

  • Ebury, Sue, Weary: the Life of Sir Edward Dunlop (Melbourne: Viking/Penguin, 1994), 709 pp. Details
  • Edwards, Hazel, Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop (Frenchs Forest: New Frontier Publishing, 2011), 89 pp. Details
  • Geddes, Margaret, Remembering Weary (Ringwood, Vic.: Viking, 1996), 448 pp. Details
  • Murray, James, Lifework: Heroes of Australian Health (Edgecliff, NSW: Focus Publishing for [Medical Benefits Fund of Australia Ltd], 1997), 160 pp. Details

Book Sections

Resources

Annette Alafaci and Helen Cohn

Created: 22 May 2006, Last modified: 24 August 2023

EOAS ID: biogs/P004696b.htm

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