Person
Burnside, Kennedy Byron (1913 - 1983)
- Born
- 9 December 1913
Eaglehawk, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 1983
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Surgeon and Urologist
Summary
Kennedy Burnside was a surgeon who, for most of his career, worked at the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne. In 1956, having become expert in the use of endoscopic surgical techniques, he established the Alfred's first urological unit. He was consultant urologist during the 1970s and 1980s. Burnside served with the Royal Australian Army during WWII. From 1942 he was a prisoner-of-war in Changi. Here he operated the pathology laboratory, concentrating on the detection and control of malaria and dysentery. In this he had assistance from fellow prisoners, including in his efforts to produce a vaccine for dysentery. The incidence of both diseases diminished considerably over time. Burnside kept a diary, investigated the nutritional content of the prisoners' rations, and compiled notes on malaria produced in a 1944 typescript Principles of malaria. Both the diary and Principles survive in the Australian Museum War Memorial.
Details
Chronology
- 1937
- Education - MB BS, University of Melbourne
- 1938 - 1939
- Career position - Resident Medical Officer and Registrar, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne
- 1941 - 1945
- Military service - Served with the Royal Australian Army
- 1942 - 1945
- Military service - Prisoner of war, Changi, Singapore
- 1947
- Education - Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons
- 1948 - 1956
- Career position - Honorary Surgeon to Outpatients, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne
- 1948 - 1983
- Award - Fellow, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
- 1956 - 1973
- Career position - Surgeon in Charge, Urology Department, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne
- 1973 - 1974
- Career position - President, Urological Society of Australia
- 1973 - 1983
- Career position - Consultant Urologist, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Ariotti, Kate and Roberts-Pederson, Elizabeth, 'Prisoner of war pathology in Changi, 1942 - 1945', Medical journal of Australia, 222 (3) (2025), 125-9, https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52581. Details
- Brand, Victor, 'Kennedy Byron Burnside', Medical Journal of Australia, 140 (3) (1984), 169, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.5694/j.1326-5377.1984.tb103954.x. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 16 September 2025