Maxwell James Coleman (‘Max’) was a visiting medical officer at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney from 1979 to 2006. He was born in Randwick, New South Wales, on 6 June 1944. His father, Maxwell John Coleman, was a journalist; his mother, Betty Joan Coleman née Blair, was a secretary. He studied medicine at the University of Sydney. In 1964, he won the Wolfe Solomon Brown prize in anatomy, and in 1968 he was awarded the St Vincent’s Hospital medals for medicine and surgery. He qualified in 1969. He was a junior and senior resident medical officer at St Vincent’s Hospital in 1969 and 1970. He then decided to do a period of research and was appointed as a teaching fellow at the professorial department of surgery. He was supported by a National Health Medical Research Council fellowship and worked in the Garvan Institute of Medical Research with David Byrnes, studying gastrointestinal hormones. At the time, the Garvan had developed the first radioimmunoassays for the hormones gastrin, secretin and cholecystokinin. During this period Coleman also worked with John Sutton studying the role of androgens in exercise. When Sutton left for Canada to take up a post at McMaster University, Coleman filled in for two years as medical director of the Sydney Human Performance Laboratory. Following three years of research, he was appointed as a surgical registrar at St Vincent’s Hospital. During this time he worked in the specialities of head and neck surgery, vascular surgery and gynaecology. His next post was at the ANGAU Memorial Hospital in Lae, Papua New Guinea. This was particularly valuable time owing to the volume of surgery (over 600 cases in six months), the variety of clinical conditions (often unusual and advanced) and the degree of responsibility given to him by the surgeons, Derek Berg and Basil McNamara. This period was followed by six months cardiothoracic surgery, developing confidence in managing the chest, experience which would prove invaluable to his interest in surgery of the oesophagus. The final posts were in gastrointestinal surgery and colorectal surgery at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital. In view of his three years spent in research, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons allowed him to sit for the fellowship examination after three years’ training instead of four. He became a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in March 1977. Tom Hugh then arranged for a registrar position for him at Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK, working with Tom Rowntree, who had vast experience in general surgery with a particular focus on parathyroid and thyroid surgery and choledochoscopy. This was followed by two months as a locum registrar and an honorary lecturer in urology. He then took up a post at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol working with Colin Davidson, who had trained at the Lahey Clinic in Boston, and Roy May, who had been a senior registrar to Norman Tanner. While in the United Kingdom he visited John Goligher in Leeds and the Visick Post-Gastrectomy Clinic in York. Before returning to Australia, he became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. In March 1979, he was appointed as a visiting surgeon to St Vincent’s General Hospital, a position he held until 2007. He then became an honorary surgeon. From 2006 to 2008 he was programme director of surgery at St Vincent’s General Hospital. He was a member of the Bruce Hall department of gastroenterology and chairman of the department of general surgery. He served on numerous committees of St Vincent’s General Hospital including the finance committee and, from 1980 to 2008, the research ethics committee. He was chairman of the department of gastrointestinal surgery from 1997 to 2008. He also chaired the centenary committee of St Vincent’s Private Hospital. He was a member of the board of general surgery at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) from 1993 to 1999 and chairman from 1997 to 1998. He was a member of the New South Wales state committee of RACS from 1992 to 2002, and a member of the council of RACS from 1997 to 2002. He had an interest in cancer and from 1999 to 2000 was a member of the New South Wales Cancer Council’s strategic research advisory group and a member of the clinical cancer registries subcommittee. He was on the editorial advisory panel of the *Medical Journal of Australia* from 1983 to 1988. He served on committees of the National Breast Cancer Centre and was on the editorial board of *Clinical Update*. He was a member of the working parties for *Guidelines in breast cancer pathology reporting* and *Guidelines in fine needle aspiration cytology*. He published 34 journal articles in peer-reviewed journals, numerous abstracts and, with Tom Hugh, two films on surgical techniques. Outside his professional life, he enjoyed golf, squash, tennis, swimming, walking, mountaineering, running and, in later life, painting. In 1972 he married Sandra Isobel Hill, a nurse. They had six children – Sarah, Rebecca, Maxwell, Alexandra, Victoria and James. He died on 18 March 2024 at the age of 79.