Robert Thomson Paton (16 March 1856
– 17 February 1929) was a medical doctor who served as Director-General of Public Health for
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
from 1913 to 1921.
Biography
Paton was born at historic
Portobello Castle,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
,
a son of John Govan Stewart Paton, carver and gilder, and his wife Catherine Paton, née Thomson.
[
The family claimed descent from Captain John Paton, a martyr to the ]Covenanter
Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...
cause, and closely related to the Paton family of Alloa
Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; , possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to ...
, cotton spinners, later Paton & Baldwins Ltd.
He completed one year of a medical course at the Edinburgh University
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...
before in 1876 leaving for Australia, where he worked as a doctor's assistant in Bathurst Bathurst may refer to:
People
* Bathurst (surname)
* Bathurst Bellers Mann (1858–1948), Irish-born rugby union player in Wales
* Bathurst Peachy (1893–1953), American college head baseball coach
Places and jurisdictions Australia
* Bat ...
and Wallsend
Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne.
History Roman Wallsend
In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...
[ and sailed extensively through the South Sea Islands in a yacht which he part-owned.][
In 1884][ he returned to Edinburgh and completed the course, becoming an ]FRCS
Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional certification, professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an wikt:intercollegiate, ...
and LRCS.
He returned to Australia and entered into general practice, then joined the public service as a medical officer at Trial Bay prison. Subsequent appointments include:
*Government Medical Officer and Vaccinator for Sydney, replacing Dr. Strong, 1891.
*Police Surgeon and Government Medical Officer (1895).
*Medical Officer, Darlinghurst Gaol; certified the death by hanging of Stuart Wilson Christopher Briggs in 1899 death by hanging of Jimmy Governor
Jimmy Governor ( – 18 January 1901) was an Indigenous Australian who committed a series of murders in 1900. A total of nine people were killed by Governor or his accomplices. Governor and his brother Joe evaded police for fourteen weeks befor ...
on 18 January 1901, and the death in custody of George Harris in 1905.
Paton and Dr J. B. Nash MLC were sent to Wollongong hospital by special train immediately after the Mount Kembla
Mount Kembla is a suburb and a mountain in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia.
The suburb, a semi-rural township of Wollongong, gets its name from the mountain, located on the Illawarra escarpment, is derived from an Aborigin ...
coalmine disaster of July 1902 to help treat miners suffering from "afterdamp" (a carbon monoxide mixture) inhalation,
the cause of most of the 93 deaths.
*Inspector General of Hospitals and Charities (1912)
*Director-General of Public Health 1913–1921, when he retired, then became medical superintendent for Anthony Hordern
Anthony Hordern & Sons was a major department store in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With 52 acres (21 hectares) of retail space, Anthony Hordern's was once the largest department store in the world. The historic Anthony Hordern building, w ...
, a position he held until his death.
*Commissioner under Venereal Diseases Act of 1918 (1919)
He was awarded the CMG in 1922.
His remains were ashed at Rookwood Crematorium
Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, Australia. It is the largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest remaining operating cemetery from the ...
and presumably disposed of "in the most economic manner possible" as directed in his will.[
]
Family
Paton married Janet Tritschler (born 1857) in Leytonstone
Leytonstone ( ) is an area in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, Stratford to the south-west, Leyton to the west, and Walthamstow to the nor ...
, Essex, on 1 July 1886.[ Their children included:][ Wentworth Street, ]Point Piper
Point Piper is a small, harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, east of the Sydney CBD, in the local government area known as the Municipality of Woollahra.
Location
The suburb of Point Piper sits ...
in 1929.[
]
Notes and references
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paton, Robert
1856 births
1929 deaths
Australian health officials
British emigrants to the Colony of New South Wales