Allan Smith was director of surgery at Nambour Hospital, Queensland. He was born in Adelaide, South Australia on 6 May 1951, the son of Pauline and Frank Smith. Allan was an only child and spent his formative first years growing up in the community of Dublin, South Australia, just outside of Adelaide. Pauline and Frank owned and ran the Dublin pub and Allan became known affectionately as ‘Young Frank’ to all the locals. By the time ‘Young Frank’ reached grade five, his parents felt spending his time trialling his developing sense of humour on the customers at the pub was not how he would receive the best education, and he was sent to Rostrevor College, a Catholic boys school in Adelaide, where he boarded and was educated through to year 12 matriculation level. Allan excelled in both Australian Rules Football and cricket, far more than in his academic pursuits during his school years. He played for the local football club and for the school, and was known to be pretty good at handball too. Receiving what he felt were rather average matriculation results, the University of Adelaide obviously saw his potential and he was accepted into the Adelaide school of medicine, which he attended the following year. Allan thought at this time that he might become a country GP one day. Allan finished his medical studies in 1974 and married Brenda after the final exams. They set off on a short honeymoon before he started his first hospital position. Two weeks later, Allan had to be in Brisbane to register with the medical board, before heading north to his first placement, at the Rockhampton Base Hospital. They spent one year in Rockhampton, where they made lifelong friends, before his first stint at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane. Russell Strong remembers Allan as quiet and reserved at first, almost querying whether he was meant to be a trainee in surgery. This gradually dissipated over time as he became more involved and embraced the vagaries of this new venture. llan and Brenda’s first daughter, Kellie, arrived in 1978, and later that year they returned to Rockhampton again for a short time before a three-month commitment at the Ipswich Hospital, Queensland, where their second daughter, Shona, was born in November 1979. They went back to the Princess Alexandra Hospital for three years, settling into their home in Tarragindi and welcoming their third daughter, Allana, in 1981. Allan had been training in surgery and qualified in 1982. Michael Bailey, consultant surgeon at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford, remembers very clearly the day that Allan arrived at the hospital on a two-year surgical rotation from the Princess Alexandra Hospital. That day, Bailey realised two things: firstly, that Allan was dedicated to his profession with a total commitment to his patients and, secondly, that Allan had tremendous wit and a great sense of humour. Time proved Bailey right in both respects. Allan was also extremely keen to learn as much as possible of the ‘English’ way of doing things and Allan certainly did so. During his first year in Guildford, he passed the fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons at the first attempt. He rotated through the surgical firms at the Royal Surrey County Hospital and his surgical talent was obvious to all. One day Bailey went into the operating theatre whilst Allan was operating and for once he did not quite approve of the way Allan was doing the procedure. He said to him: ‘Allan, if you do not aim for perfection you will never achieve it.’ The next week he again went into the operating theatre and asked Allan what he was doing. Allan immediately replied in his laconic way: ‘I am just aiming for perfection Mr Bailey’! Bailey describes Allan as a superb and popular surgeon and the two became lifelong friends, visiting each other’s countries many times. On his return to Australia in October 1984, Allan spent two months at the Gold Coast Hospital, before taking up a permanent position at Nambour Hospital in 1984, where he would become director of surgery for 18 years. In those days, Nambour was an agricultural town. With the sugar mill and local farming community, it was the hub of the Sunshine Coast. The hospital was going through many changes in structure and growth. With the new block being opened, it was beginning to change from a small cottage hospital into a tertiary facility. Nurse unit manager Ruth Melville recalls the way Allan nurtured many of the theatre nurses and had respect for all in the theatre. Ruth recalls that he always had time to teach and had an amazing knack of reinforcing learning with his humorous sayings during procedures. Allan instigated the education half day session at Nambour Hospital, where the multidisciplinary teams would have in-service training on surgical procedures. Kellee Slater, a one-time student of Allan’s, described Allan as her greatest supporter throughout her career. She remembers fondly his humour – ‘the dressings always had to be perfect because it was the only part the patient sees’ – and other lessons in how attention to detail makes you a good doctor. In recognition of his achievements as director of surgery, and as a highly qualified and capable surgeon, Allan was awarded an esteemed Australia Day medal for his services to Queensland Health. In 1999, Allan commenced his private practice based at Noosa Hospital. Felicity Adams, a former student of Allan’s, described him as a personality around the hospital and in the broader community. He worked with the Noosa Hospital to improve their services and patient care. He was chairman of the medical advisory committee and served in that role for many years. He also served on numerous other hospital committees. One of his greatest pleasures was getting hospital administrators to step out of the confines of their offices and into the theatres and wards, to mix with patients and staff and understand the real hospital environment. One of his other great pleasures was establishing Noosa as a teaching hospital. He spent countless hours training young surgeons in improving their surgical skills and professionalism. His passion for care of the patients left a lasting mark on those he treated. This was clearly demonstrated by the gifts hung proudly on his wall from patients, to emotional letters and cards he kept in his office as a sign of respect to those patients who had taken the time to express their gratitude for his care. Always a country boy at heart, Allan genuinely cared for all his patients. He was a truly unique individual with a dry, wry humour, an overwhelming generosity towards others, who took pleasure in organising social outings for hospital staff, particularly trips on the Noosa Ferry, and had a passion for Australian Rules Football and cricket. Allan’s cup of life was full, and it is those who are left behind who now feel a massive loss of his huge presence in their lives – at home, at work and in the lives of his patients.