Bryan Egan: He was an entrepreneur.

Laurie Muir: We haven't used that word yet today.

Dick Bennett: I would agree that he was a great entrepreneur. He was excellent at what he did. But he also enthused people. He had ideas, and he could sell them. He would go around and meet more people. New ideas, which hadn't been thought of by anybody before. All of a sudden you’d find you wished you’d thought of it before. He would raise the money to do it, get friends to help him. He had all the drive and commitment to achieve what he set out to do.

Ken Knight: I can put that into the NHMRC context. Years ago, you always had to have interviews to get the grants. These days, it's a written response. I think that was Bernie O’Brien’s forte in that he was able to sell the innovation that was apparent in a project. I think that was in no small part the reason for the success we had.

Dick Bennett: He would take along instruments, a book, an article. He'd be asked a question and he’d take over the interview. 'Well now, these are the instruments, and this is how we’ve done it,’ he’d say.

Ann Westmore: Do you recall going into a grant interview with him?

Dick Bennett: I went to one NHMRC interview with him and that's what I remember him doing. I stood in for him once at the Anti-Cancer Council when he was away somewhere. There was no doubt about his ability to interest the interviewers, and take over the interview by selling his ideas.

Ann Westmore: It's a fairly remarkable combination of skills as Maris pointed out, the ability to have the ideas and sell them, support the research and bring it to practical use.

Laurie Muir: There's a phrase for it these days, and I’m accused of being it. A control freak. (laughter) That was Bernie.

Maris Williams: Yes, but not a nasty control freak.

Laurie Muir: No. Not at all. Ann, there's a topic that we haven’t quite covered. I think you should interview Gerard Crock. He’s been there right from the start and was one of Bernie’s closest confidantes and friends, a superb scientist, doctor and researcher in his own right. When we were talking about instruments before, this was Gerard’s very special area. Perhaps you [Dick Bennett] could tell us a little bit about the work in China, the new systems you adopted. He [Gerard Crock] used to claim some of the credit, but it was only because he was on our Board, I think.

Dick Bennett: I can't tell you anything in great detail or with confidence. But when Bernard started his work here, he had significant help from Gerard and his Department and his instrument maker, and worked with him in the old morgue or animal research theatre. He was a very important part of the team which developed new techniques. Like you, I know something happened in China, but I can’t give you an accurate run-down on that.

Witness to the History of Australian Medicine