Rob Christie was a consultant surgeon at Hutt Hospital, in New Zealand. Born in Wanganui on 10 May 1930, Rob was the son of Harry Kenrick Christie, an orthopaedic surgeon, and Mollie Christie, an obstetrician and general practitioner. After secondary education at Wanganui Collegiate School and Victoria University, Wellington, he entered Otago Medical School. After qualifying in 1954, he did house surgeon posts in Palmerston North and Dunedin, before going to England to specialise in surgery. There he worked at the Leicestershire Royal Infirmary and at Ashford Hospital. After passing the FRCS, he returned to New Zealand in 1963, to the post of senior surgical registrar at Hutt Hospital. He was appointed a full-time surgeon in 1966. There he remained until he retired in 1991, after 28 years of service to the hospital and its local community. He was an indefatigable worker, never ruffled, and an enthusiastic teacher. He married Cathryn McIver of Dunedin, an anaesthetist, in 1961 when they were both in London doing postgraduate studies. He was interested in astronomy - he built his own backyard observatory - and studied for an honours degree in geology. He was preparing a masters thesis on underwater volcanoes when illness overtook him. He died on 9 April 2000, after a long illness. He is survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter. There are five grandchildren.