Person
Girdlestone, Tharp Mountain (1823 - 1899)
- Born
- 1823
Norfolk, United Kingdom - Died
- 6 July 1899
Sunningdale, Berkshire, United Kingdom - Occupation
- sanitary reformer and Surgeon
Summary
Tharp Girdlestone was a surgeon who, after migrating to Australia, worked in several regional Victorian towns where he became involved in the management of local hospitals before being elected to the Victorian Parliament. He established a practice in Melbourne in 1862 and came to be regarded as 'probably the best surgeon in Melbourne'. Girdlestone played a central role in the management of the Melbourne and Alfred Hospitals, and served on the staff of the latter. He was outspoken on the poor sanitary conditions in Melbourne, and argued that Melbourne's water supply was polluted at its source. Among his medical innovations were the use of kangaroo tendon as suture material and the need for aseptic conditions for surgery.
Details
Chronology
- 1845
- Career position - Member, Royal College of Surgeons
- 1849
- Career position - Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons, United Kingdom
- 1850
- Life event - Migrated to Victoria
- 1854
- Career event - Registered with the Medical Board of Victoria
- 1861 - 1862
- Career position - Mayor, Ararat Council, Victoria
- 1862 - 1866
- Career position - Member of the Legislative Assembly of Victoria
- 1866 - 1870
- Career position - Member, Melbourne Hospital Committee
- 1867
- Career position - President, Medical Society of Victoria
- 1868
- Career position - Founding Member, Executive Committee, Alfred Hospital
- 1868 - 1885
- Career position - Medical officer (part-time), City of Melbourne
- 1871 - 1876
- Career position - Honorary Surgeon and Chairman of medical staff, Alfred Hospital
- 1876 - 1883
- Career position - Assistant Honorary Surgeon, Melbourne Hospital
- 1878 - 1883
- Career position - Treasurer, Medical Society of Victoria
- 1879 - 1882
- Career position - Member, Melbourne Hospital Committee
Related entries
Published resources
Book Sections
- Browne, Geoff, 'Girdlestone, Tharp Mountain (c.1823-1899), Surgeon, Politician and Sanitary Reformer' in Australian dictionary of biography: supplement 1580 - 1980, with a name index to the Australian dictionary of biography to 1980, Christopher Cunneen, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2005), pp. 145-146. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10181b.htm. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21538399. Details
- 'Girdlestone, T M (1823-18990706)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-565840. Details
Helen Cohn
Last modified: 15 August 2019