Page 32 - RCPA Annual Report 2016-17

30
Obituaries
Alison Kinnear Garven
1923 - 2017
Unusual for her time, Alison completed medical studies at Sydney University in the 1940s and went on to gain a Diploma in Clinical Pathology in 1951. She was a dual Fellow, FRCPA and FRACP and also held the Australian Association of Biochemists MAACB.
Accepting an appointment at Footscray Hospital in Melbourne in 1955 she was made Director of Pathology a year later, Alison Garven was a rarity in the 1950s and 1960s – a senior female member of the medical staff employed on a salary at the hospital.
Alison was known to run the pathology department on a shoestring because the hospital was always short of funds. She was a wonderful teacher and ran a very good, reliable pathology department. She hired a laboratory manager who introduced technology and took the clinical photographs that Alison used in her department. Alison was very astute and was able to garner support from a lot of non- medical people.
In 1983, she retired as director of pathology at Footscray Hospital after almost 30 years’ service to the hospital. Alison had many interests including a wonderful collection of art. In her will she bequeathed gifts of money and art to various institutions. The College was the recipient of a valuable painting by Australian artist Conrad Martens. A watercolour painted in 1847, it is titled ‘Harbour shore’ and is now on display in Durham Hall. The exact wording for the plaque beneath the painting was included by Alison in her will.
Joan Lorraine Faoagali Gwynne
1940 - 2017
Joan was born in Ashburton, NZ, eldest child of Alice and Les Wilson. She spent her formative years in Dunedin living in North East Valley, Opoho and Lookout Point. Joan was educated at North East Valley School which her mother also attended, then Otago Girls high school. She trained as a radiographer at Dunedin hospital then was accepted in the Otago University medical course in 1960 graduating MBChB in 1966.
Joan married her rst husband Malaki Faoagali in 1964, gave birth to their rst child Susan. After graduation from Otago University, she moved to Invercargill (Kew Hospital) for her intern years. In 1968 the family including second child Kathryn, travelled to Samoa. Joan realised quickly that the local doctors were very effective however a skill that was needed was pathology. The family returned to
NZ in 1969 where she took a job as a pathology registrar at Kew hospital and then moved to Dunedin to nish her microbiology training so she could also enjoy her growing clinical interests. In 1974 the family, now with ve children moved to Christchurch where Joan had been appointed Director of Microbiology at Christchurch hospital.
ANNUAL REPORT • 2016 - 2017