Thomas Heron Steel
Doctor
7-3-1912- 13-12-2000
Tom Steel was a dedicated physician whose life was built around service to his patients and the medical profession. To Tom, the patient was sacrosanct and nothing was too much trouble. His was the generation of home visits, a practice he maintained well into his 80s. A subsequent glass of whisky was often appreciated on such occasions.
Tom was proud of his family heritage and ancestors who had been prominent early Melbourne citizens. He grew up in Malvern, a twin and the eldest of six children to David and Marion Steel. Educated at Scotch College and Melbourne University, he graduated in medicine in 1935 and took up a residency at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He then completed his Doctor of Medicine in 1938.
A year as a resident medical officer at the Royal Children's Hospital was followed by a period as medical officer at the Austin Hospital. During the war Tom served in the 4th AGH in Australia and the Middle East. He specialised in the treatment of chemical warfare injuries, and survived a shipwreck in the Mediterranean en route to Tobruk. He was discharged in 1946 after serving in New Guinea However, his twin brother did not survive the war; he had died in a PoW camp in Thailand.
Tom married his university colleague Dorothy Wellington while on leave in 1942. Shortly after the war he was awarded a Nuffield Fellowship to study in London towards membership of the Royal College of Physicians. On his return from England, Tom specialised in diseases of the chest. As consultant to both Heidelberg Repatriation and Heatherton Sanatorium, he made a major contribution to the virtual eradication of TB in Victoria in the 1950s.
Tom Steel joined the Alfred Hospital as an honorary physician in 1946 and provided dedicated service for more than 36 years. Here he made an outstanding contribution to both the teaching and practice of medicine. In 1962 he was appointed to the board of management and in 1975 was made vice-president of the board of directors. He retired from the Alfred in 1983, but practiced into the mid-1990s.
A committed family man, he followed in the footsteps of his father, serving as an elder in the Armadale Presbyterian Church and later the Uniting Church. Here he could combine his love of music (and opportunity to sing) with the duty of worship. He loved to visit relatives and friends at Portarlington, Portsea and various rural areas around Victoria. He placed great importance on education and took great pride in the accomplishments of his immediate and extended family.
He is survived by his wife Dorothy, his three children, seven grandchildren and one great- grandchild.
This obituary was prepared by Tom Steel’s three children, Elizabeth, Richard and Margaret.
As published in "The Age", Tuesday February 27, 2001 – Today p. 7
See also:
Encyclopedia of Australian Science
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