Sydney Michael Lewis Nade was foundation professor of orthopaedics at the University of Western Australia. His parents, Louis Nade, an electrical engineer from Warsaw Polytechnic, and Ludwika Nade née Kaftal, a law graduate, fled to Australia from Poland in 1938. Their first son, Sydney, named in honour of their adopted city, was born on 7 June 1939, just six weeks after their arrival. Syd proved to be an exceptional student and, after achieving his leaving certificate at Fort Street Boys' High, a selective school, he enrolled in the faculty of medicine at the University of Sydney in 1956. His subsequent academic career was outstanding: he graduated with a BSc and a MB BS with first class honours. His first postgraduate appointment was to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where he trained as a medical registrar. He subsequently attained fellowships of the English and Australasian Royal Colleges of Surgeons and of the Australian Orthopaedic Association. He also gained a doctorate in medicine from Sydney University, based on his work at the National Orthopaedic Hospital in London, and a doctorate in science from the University of Western Australia. Syd's first appointment in the UK was as a senior house officer at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, in 1967. He said that this was the most important event of his life because it was there that he met his future wife, Sally Pitman, a nursing sister. Within three months they were engaged and within a year they were married. He subsequently worked in Oxford as a research fellow and as a senior registrar at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Hospital and Radcliffe Infirmary. He was awarded the Moynihan prize and medal of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland in 1970. In 1971 he was appointed the Lord Nuffield scholar in orthopaedics and attained his membership of the Royal College of Physicians of London. He returned to Sydney in 1972 as a senior lecturer in orthopaedics at the Royal North Shore Hospital and was appointed as Hunterian Professor in 1976. In 1978 he accepted a chair as foundation professor of orthopaedics at the University of Western Australia. Syd said that this time in Perth was by far the most productive of his professional career. His final appointment was that of clinical professor of orthopaedics at the Westmead Hospital, Sydney, in 1986. On his retirement in 1999 he was made an emeritus consultant there. Syd was always passionate about medical education, especially the teaching of undergraduates. Up until a few months before his death he was still teaching anatomy, clinical medicine and orthopaedics to medical students. He wrote a book entitled *Career doctor: so, you want to be a doctor?* (Westgate, New South Wales, c.2004) as a guide for high school students contemplating a career in medicine. One of his final requests was for financial support for surgical education at Sydney University. He was also passionate about medical research, particularly in regards to children's disabilities. His special areas of interest were bone and joint infections, abnormalities of gait and motion, techniques of bone replacement and the application of ceramic technology to orthopaedics. He published over 100 scientific papers and three books on these subjects. He was popular and talented clinician, well respected by his patients, who benefitted from his broad experience as both a physician and surgeon. Syd had a deep knowledge and understanding of his discipline, and had been dubbed by one of his American colleagues an 'orthopaedic philosopher'. He was a member of the Court of Examiners of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons from 1982 to 1988. Syd had a great sense of community and affection for his colleagues. Amid the turmoil of final year medicine he accepted two onerous tasks on behalf of his fellow students - those of president of the Medical Society and editor of the 1962 senior year book, a publication of over 150 pages. His efforts on their behalf were not unrecognised and he was awarded the Robin May prize for 1962. This prize commemorates the drowning of five newly graduated doctors in 1948 following the sinking of the launch *Robin May*, and is regarded by many as the most prestigious prize awarded throughout the medical course. It is given, by popular vote, to the final year student deemed to be the most outstanding personality of the year. In the months before his death, despite his increasing incapacity, he edited a companion to his 1962 year book, which recorded the life journeys of his fellow undergraduates over the intervening 50 years. He also organised a 50-year reunion dinner for March 2013 - an occasion which, sadly, he was unable to attend. While at university Syd was secretary of the ski club and an intervarsity representative at soccer. He was a good swimmer and over the last 30 years of his life had been an enthusiastic tennis player and golfer. His sunny nature and lively conversation will be greatly missed by his former sporting companions. In his latter years Syd discovered another passion - music. He learned to play the clarinet and joined the local Lane Cove Concert Band. He said this experience gave him immense pleasure and that it was one of the great revelations of his life. His was a life well lived. He frequently spoke of his good fortune and of his love of his family. He was survived by his wife Sally, children Nicholas, Victoria and Rebecca, five grandchildren and his brother George. He was their pillar of strength, and his love and wise counsel will be greatly missed. Syd suffered from a lymphoma for a number of years but, mercifully, the more incapacitating aspects of the disease were not manifest until the final months of his life. He was always most appreciative of the care he received from his medical attendants. Syd died on 29 January 2013, aged 73. He bequeathed his body to the faculty of medicine at Sydney University.