Konrad was born in Hamilton, Victoria in 1875, the youngest of a family of seven, of Charles George Hiller, a Lutheran pastor and his wife, Henrietta Petschel, both having emigrated from Germany. Soon after Konrad was born the family moved to Murtoa, to serve a farming community largely settled from Germany. Here young Konrad was educated at the local school, until at age sixteen he went by himself to Melbourne to qualify for the University. Having achieved this, he returned to Murtoa as a school teacher. He then decided to do medicine, so back to the University in 1897, aged twenty-two. He was given a bicycle by one of his brothers, on which he would ride home to Murtoa (some 300 kilometres) or to Sorrento for a weekend (75 kilometres).

Konrad Hiller graduated in 1901 with first-class honours in medicine and was RMO at the Melbourne Hospital 1902 and Children’s Hospital 1903. The following year he graduated MD. Following this he went to London and the Continent with his friend BT Zwar, later a surgeon, returning to Melbourne in 1906. He applied for a vacancy on the staff of the Melbourne and was appointed physician to outpatients, and in 1923 physician to inpatients, which he held until his retirement in 1934. He served on the committee of management until 1963 and died in 1965. He was president of the section of medicine, BMA Congress in 1937.

He was elected to the council of the College in 1938, and served until 1945. In his will he made a bequest to the College to endow a lecture to be given biennially on ‘that Cinderella of medicine, polyarthritis of unknown origin (rheumatoid arthritis) or allied conditions’.

Konrad Hiller married in 1912 Muriel Kate, daughter of Sir Matthew and Lady Davies (d. 1963). A son, Henry George Hiller, is a Fellow of the College, and practised radiology.

Konrad Hiller was a dignified gentleman, apparently aloof, but really with warm concern and sympathy for his patient, and a challenging twinkle in his eyes. An excellent teacher at the bedside, insisting on using the physical senses - sight, hearing, touch, to elicit signs. ‘What do you see?’ was his favourite phrase. He was a member of the Melbourne Club, and the MCC. He took up golf late in life and enjoyed playing at the Peninsular Club, of which he was a member. His life was dedicated to medicine, and he continued to read his medical journals with interest and pleasure, and enjoyed discussing medical problems, until his death at ninety years of age.