Person

Coates, Albert Ernest (1895 - 1977)

Kt

Born
28 January 1895
Mount Pleasant, Victoria, Australia
Died
8 October 1977
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Neurosurgeon

Summary

Sir Albert Coates was one of Australia's earliest neurosurgeons. For over 45 years he was closely associated with the (Royal) Melbourne Hospital. He held several positions in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Melbourne, playing a central role in the establishment of the chairs of Medicine and Surgery, and served a 5-year term on the University Council. In 1940 he was a founding Member of the Society of Australasian Neurosurgical Surgeons. Coates in particularly known for his work while a prisoner-of-war in camps in Sumatra, Burma and Thailand, where he tended to the medical needs of his fellow prisoners with virtually no facilities.

Details

Chronology

1914 - 1918
Military service - First World War. Australian Imperial Force as medical orderly and in the intelligence section
1918 - 1919
Career position - Interpreter, Commonwealth Censor's Office
1924
Career position - Resident Medical Officer, Melbourne Hospital
1924
Education - MB BS, University of Melbourne
1925
Career position - Stewart Lecturer in Anatomy, University of Melbourne
1926
Education - MD, University of Melbourne
1926 - 1928
Career position - Acting Professor of Anatomy, University of Melbourne
1927
Education - MS, University of Melbourne
1927
Career position - Fellow, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
1927 - 1935
Career position - Honorary Surgeon to outpatients, Melbourne Hospital
1934 - 1947
Career position - Member, Dental Board of Victoria
1935 - 1954
Career position - Honorary Surgeon to Inpatients and Neurosurgeon, Royal Melbourne Hospital
1936 - 1940
Career position - Lecturer (part-time) in surgical anatomy, University of Melbourne
1936 - 1948
Career position - Member of Council, Victorian Branch, British Medical Association
1940 -
Career position - Foundation Member, Society of Australasian Neurosurgical Surgeons
1941
Career position - President, Victorian Branch, British Medical Association
1941 - 1945
Military service - econd World War. Served with the 2nd Australian Imperial Forces
1945 - 1954
Career position - Honorary Surgeon to inpatients, Royal Melbourne Hospital
1945 - 1971
Career position - Medical Officer to Country Fire Authority
1946
Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Military) (OBE)
1947
Career position - President, Victorian Branch, British Medical Association
1947 - 1977
Career position - Member, Board of Management, Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital
1949 - 1956
Career position - Stewart Lecturer in Surgery, University of Melbourne
1950
Career position - Australian delegate, International Red Cross Meeting, Monte Carlo
1953
Award - Elected Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons, London
1953 - 1958
Career position - Member, National Council of Australian Red Cross
1953 - 1958
Career position - Member of Council, University of Melbourne
1954 - 1971
Career position - Consulting Surgeon, Royal Melbourne Hospital
1955
Award - Knight Bachelor (Kt)
1956 - 1976
Career position - Chairman, Board of Management, Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital
1962
Award - Doctor of Laws (LLD), honoris causa, University of Melbourne
1971
Life event - Retired

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Books

  • Coates, Albert and Rosenthal, Newman, The Albert Coates story: the will that found the way (South Yarra, Vic.: Hyland House, 1977), 190 pp. Details

Book Sections

Journal Articles

  • Russell, K. F.; and Dunlop, Edward, 'Sir Albert Coates', Medical Journal of Australia, 1979 (1) (1979), 276-7. Details
  • Webb, Rowan, 'Sir Albert Coates KB, OBE, LLD (Hon), MD MS, FRCS (HON), FRACS, 1895 - 1977', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery, 58 (1988), 419-22. Details

Resources

See also

  • Curtis, J. Bryant, Miller, Douglas and Simpson, Donald, 'The Neurosurgical Society of Australasia: the first forty years', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery, 50 (4) (1980), 434-7. Details

Helen Cohn

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