Arthur Dixon was born in Melbourne on 14 April 1922; the eldest son of R H E Dixon, and was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne. He entered the State Savings Bank as a clerk at the Croydon branch in 1939, living with his family at Lillydale. In 1941 he was conscripted to the Commonwealth Military Forces with other members of the Melbourne University Rifles and in 1942 he joined the Australian Imperial Forces; he served in the Northern Territory and was discharged with the rank of Warrant Officer in 1945. He then began to study medicine under the Commonwealth Training scheme, graduated from Melbourne University in 1950 and served as a resident at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. In November 1950 Dixon became a partner in a practice at Boxhill conducted by H G Judkins. After some years he travelled with his wife and children to England to study surgery and took the opportunity to tour widely in Europe. In 1962 he obtained his English Fellowship and was elected to the Australasian College in 1969. In England he acted for some months as full-time medical officer at Australia House before returning to Australia as medical officer in an immigrant ship. On return to Melbourne he took his place as a surgeon in his old practice. He married Margaret Lewis in November 1950 and was a devoted family man and a generous host, fond of good wine, good food and good company. His chief interest, which lasted all his life, was fishing. He died at the Royal Melbourne Hospital at the early age of 50, leaving his wife and three children.