Dick Bennett: [26] It might be appropriate if I have a few words. Bernard was obviously a remarkable man in terms of his vision, determination, powers of persuasion and personality. All of these things have been emphasised by others and I agree with them. He was a remarkable person. Perhaps in line with Laurie's comments about his phone calls, I can just recount the first time I had any contact with Bernard. It was shortly after I was appointed to the Chair of Surgery.

I came from Adelaide, I was fairly young, and I didn't know anyone in Melbourne, St Vincent’s or the University of Melbourne and nobody knew me, I guess. I came over in the latter part of 1965. It must have been about August, September or October, something like that, before I took up the appointment in January, 1966. I had met the various members of the [St Vincent’s] Advisory Committee, the Mother Rectress, some of the teachers and I had retired to my little room in the clinical school where they were putting me up.

At about 10.30 that night I had a phone call and you can guess - it was Bernard. It wasn't after Mass I’m sure (laughter) but it was after the day. And Bernard wanted to tell me that he was very keen to continue with some research he was undertaking. It involved microsurgery and work with tendons.[27] He was anxious to gain support from the new Professor of Surgery to help as best he could to develop this research. I thought that was great, but I did have to explain that I was still fairly new to the hospital and had not yet taken up the appointment. The Department of Surgery, as a Department had absolutely nothing except an appointment without any money, without any accommodation, and without facilities, staff or patients. When I came to St Vincent’s that was the situation. So I really didn’t have any opportunity to say to Bernard, 'Yes, I’ve got a laboratory, I’ve got technicians and money’ and all that sort of thing, because I didn’t have it. But I did indicate that my wish was to support the work and the research activities of members of the staff as best I could while I was developing an academic unit within this clinical school. So I think that’s about where we started.

He explained to me then and in subsequent conversations, that he was doing work in the old animal [operating] theatre which we had at St Vincent's Hospital. The facilities there had been made available to him through the then Sister Superior, Mother Alphonsus.[28] He was doing a lot of work there and he had the assistance of Professor Crock, using various ophthalmalogical instruments and techniques.[29] He was hopeful of pursuing that work and getting financial support from outside philanthropic bodies. Now, in this regard, there was a problem which confronted me and also Bernard. If I’ve got it wrong I’m sure Bryan [Egan][30] will put me right. But I think it’s an historical fact that when Bernard returned from overseas, he was on the staff for a time but in 1961 he wasn’t reappointed. Now it’s very hard to imagine that, but it is an historical fact that he was not on the staff when I came as a young guy from Adelaide. So I was a little reluctant to put all my eggs – such financial eggs as I didn’t have or any other eggs that I might have been able to find – into his basket if, at that stage, the hospital had not seen fit to re-appoint him to a position which he had previously held.

Now this was a difficult situation because obviously he was a competent, capable, enthusiastic and energetic plastic surgeon. But the decision was made well before I came here. This was the situation that existed at the time of my arrival. On the other hand, it was also clear to me that he had the energy and the ideas, the vision and the ability to get people to work with him. And so it was my wish to help him as best I could. I discussed this with Bill Keane,[31] the Medical Superintendent, with Syd Sunderland,[32] who was the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and others. Syd was at that time Chairman of the Medical Research Advisory Committee of the NHMRC, having been a Councillor and member of this subcommittee since 1953. He was also a member of the Australian Universities Commission and Governor of the Potter Foundation.

It was my view, and everyone agreed in these discussions, that it would be difficult for me to promote his applications for financial support to outside bodies, unless he had some sort of association with my Department and this could only happen if he was reappointed by the Hospital. If bodies are going to make large sums of money available for research, they want to know that it's going to an institution with a proper administrative infrastructure, and financial controls and an academic environment in which to work. We agreed, that if he were reappointed to the staff it would open the way for me to appoint him as a research assistant, not a paid research assistant, only a part-time one, but it would give him an appropriate academic association. He really did need such an association and, of course, a hospital appointment.

Following these discussions and some lobbying, he was reappointed as an Acting Assistant Plastic Surgeon by the Medical Advisory Committee of the Hospital in March 1968 and then he was appointed in a more permanent capacity in 1969 by the full Electoral College.[33] Now that was at the end of '68. That at least opened the way for me to appoint him as a research assistant, a low-key job but it gave him a start and a real opportunity to pursue outside grants to help in the further development of his work.

Figure 7

Bernard O’Brien (L) and Maureen Walters (R) host visiting Victorian MP, Frank Wilkes. Used with the permission of the Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery.

Witness to the History of Australian Medicine