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Dorothy Roseby MBE (1932) BSc, Honorary FRACP

Dorothy Roseby (1932), the Secretary of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians for 36 years from its foundation in 1938 until her retirement in December 1974, was an important and influential figure during the College’s early development and its growth.

Dorothy Roseby enrolled at MC School at the age of 10 on 4 February 1925, the same day her two elder sisters were also enrolled: Hazel Morey (Roseby, 1926) was 16 and Janie (Rita) Cadogan (Roseby, 1930) was 12.

Dorothy's leadership qualities were evident while at School where she also had an excellent scholastic and sporting record. She was Dux of the School in 1931, and in 1932 she was a Senior Prefect, Captain of the 1st Netball team and the winner of the School Prize.

Dorothy contributed to the 1936 Â鶹ÊÓƵ School publication Jubilee, where she reminisced that “One who has gone through the School can never forget the gentle insistence upon the fine ideals which have been instilled in her from childhood: honesty and integrity, devotion to duty, and courtesy. … In our class work the highest principles were set, and in consequence the highest standards were achieved.”

Outstanding Leaving Certificate results led to Dorothy winning an exhibition (scholarship) to study Science at the University of Sydney, graduating with a BSc in 1936. Dorothy then completed a secretarial and typing course while doing part-time teaching at the University.

In July 1938 she was offered the position of secretary of The Royal Australasian College of Physicians. She was the first, and for quite some time, the only employee of the young College. She quickly demonstrated a high standard of work. Already a perfectionist in her attention to detail, she soon learned further administrative and communication skills from her association with office bearers of the College.

The December 1940 edition of Excelsior announced Dorothy’s engagement to Flying Officer Terence Harry Gordon-Glassford, a RAAF pilot. On 21 January 1943, during a Flying Battle in the western Mediterranean Sea, Terry died at the age of 27 with five of his No. 179 Squadron crew-mates. It was suspected that the aircraft was shot down by a German U-boat. He was never found.

Dorothy coped with this tragedy by focussing on her work. She devised a sound records system and administrative structure which served The Royal Australasian College of Physicians well for many years. Before too long, Dorothy was the holder of all the details of the College organisation and procedures. She also became a masterly composer of letters and reports with a clear exposition, a logical flow of argument and excellent English expression. Many such ‘drafts’, as she called them, would be accepted and signed by office bearers without alteration. 

Dorothy attended all meetings of the Council and the Executive Committee and had regular and frequent discussions with the office bearers, hence her knowledge of the College was considerable. In addition, she developed an excellent understanding of the policies developed by the College and the reasons behind them so her advice was often sought on wide range of College matters.

As the RACP grew, Dorothy was tasked with selecting and interviewing new staff. She had a capacity to choose the right people, and then to train and develop them to her standards. As a result she built up a first-class team who worked well together and admired and respected Dorothy.

Dorothy had an exceptional capacity for making friends. During her years with the College she met many people and formed and maintained friendships in many places. When travelling she was always warmly welcomed wherever she went. Her outgoing personality gentle humour, air of confidence and ability to mix easily with all kinds of people made her an excellent representative of the College and deeply impressed those she met.

In 1964, Dorothy was awarded an MBE¹ for her services to medicine, and in 1975 the College expressed its thanks to her by making her an Honorary Fellow², its highest award that is granted to very few. She accepted the award with great pride. Soon after her retirement the College Council appointed Dorothy the honorary archivist. With her knowledge of the history of the College she was able to do much to ensure that important records were preserved for historical purposes.

Dorothy remained in contact with her many friends and was physically active until a few years before her death on 22 January 1992. She was survived by her brother, his wife, her brother-in-law and five nieces, one of these being (Patricia) Sue Morey, a distinguished Fellow of the College and the first president of the Australian Faculty of Public Health Medicine within the College.

In 1992, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Council resolved to establish a memorial to Dorothy in the form of a staff development award titled ‘The Dorothy Roseby Award’.

The Roseby family in Australia has a strong tradition of service to the community and to education in keeping with its Congregational and Methodist background. Dorothy upheld and furthered that tradition.



Footnotes

1. Equivalent of today's AM

2. Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, abbreviated as the post-nominal initials FRACP, is a recognition of the completion of the prescribed postgraduate specialist training programme in internal adult or internal paediatric medicine of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.


Reference

Rennie HM ed. Dorothy Roseby MBE BSC (Syd) FRACP (Hon) The First secretary of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. RACP 1975 (unpublished). Sydney Morning Herald, 23 January 1992.