Born in Australia in 1923, he was educated at Sydney University. He qualified in 1945 and held resident posts for two years at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He next held a teaching fellowship in the Anatomy School of the University, taking his doctorate with a thesis on the role of the vertebral

William Eric Swaney, known as 'Bill' to his colleagues, was head of orthopaedics at Royal Melbourne Hospital. As head of a very busy orthopaedic unit, he mentored many young orthopaedic surgeons and trainees in the early days of the Australian orthopaedic training programme. Bill was born in Foot