Henry Byrne was an orthopaedic surgeon in Melbourne, Australia. He was born in Ballarat, Victoria, on 15 August 1932, the eldest of five children of Henry Byrne, a grazier, and his wife Martha. He was educated at Ballarat State School and Ballarat College, before studying medicine at the University of Melbourne and Prince Henry's Hospital. After graduating in 1956 he spent two resident years at Prince Henry's, followed by a year as a surgical registrar, part of which time was spent in the orthopaedic department with W G Doig. He then spent a year as a demonstrator in the anatomy department of the University, combined with a clinical attachment in surgery at Prince Henry's. He went to England in 1961 to work at St Olave's Hospital and as resident surgical officer at the Bolingbroke Hospital, both in south London. In 1963 he was a casualty and orthopaedic registrar at Guy's Hospital with Stamm, Batchelor and Patrick Clarkson, plastic surgeon, with whom he wrote a paper on 'The burnt child in London'. He passed his fellowship during this time. On his return to Melbourne, he was appointed second assistant to the orthopaedic department at Prince Henry's Hospital and also held an appointment at the Western General Hospital, Footscray. He relinquished both posts when he was appointed orthopaedic surgeon to the district hospital at Box Hill, a suburb of Melbourne. He also had a successful private practice. He married Elizabeth Penman, the daughter of Frank Penman, head of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, in 1959. There were four children of the marriage (Andrew, Timothy, Vanessa and Simon) and seven grandchildren (Beatrice, Henry, Charlotte, Eliza, Sam, Amelie and Kate). His eldest son, Andrew, studied medicine and became an orthopaedic surgeon in Ballarat. Henry Byrne was cheerful, enthusiastic personality and a notably rapid operator. He had many interests, including music, astronomy, collecting antiques and Australian paintings. He was also keen traveller and visited places as remote as Tibet and the Antarctic. He died suddenly, on 4 August 2003 from a dissecting aneurysm of the thoracic aorta.