Frank Victor Gordon Scholes was born in the small country town of Barnawartha in north-east Victoria on 24 May 1885. He was educated at Grenville College, Ballarat, whence he gained a scholarship to Queen's College and studied medicine at Melbourne University, graduating MB BS in 1908. In 1910 he was appointed medical superintendent at Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital, with which his name became synonymous for the next thirty-eight years. Very early in his career he first used massive doses of antitoxic serum in the treatment of severe or `malignant diphtheria', and in spite of much opposition established it as sound and logical treatment. In 1912, only four years after graduating, he was awarded the MD for a thesis of outstanding originality on laryngeal diphtheria. Soon after this he travelled overseas with his friend, Dr Harry Featonby, and gained the Diploma of Public Health of Cambridge University.

During the 1914-18 War he carried on the work at Fairfield, often single-handed, and in 1920 published the first edition of his book Diphtheria, Measles and Scarlatina (with a second edition in 1927). This little volume illustrates his powers of accurate observation and logical deduction, and the clarity and conciseness of his presentation. It is a classic. As a teacher of students he was an acknowledged master, and his notes were preserved by his pupils for many years. He served on many commissions and committees advising on public health matters. His opinions were always sound, logical and forcefully presented. In 1937 when the great poliomyelitis epidemic struck Melbourne he was appointed to the Poliomyelitis Consultative Council. His wise and calm judgement and logical decisions played a prominent part in successfully containing this epidemic.

Scholes was interested in all sports, and would argue with experts on the finer points of most games. One of his greatest disappointments was that he did not excel himself. However, by assiduous practice while in college he became very competent at billiards. He was an artist of some merit, was passionately fond of good music and had a notable collection of classical and operatic music of which he made good use when he was so handicapped by peripheral vascular disease of the legs. He loved books and was a voracious reader - from classics to western thrillers.

He married Miss Nancye Millar and they had two sons of whom they were proud - one an aeronautical engineer and the other awarded a DFC as a bomber pilot. In his mid-thirties he developed symptoms of the vascular disease which became very disabling to him and which he faced with great courage and determination, even when it confined him to his office and his desk. In spite of this, he always knew what was going on in every corner of `his' hospital. Finally, he retired in 1948 at the age of sixty-three after outstanding service as superintendent of Fairfield for thirty-eight years, knowing that his hospital was in the good hands of his friend and colleague, Henry McLorinan.

In 1938 he was created CMG and was elected a foundation Fellow of The Royal Australasian College of Physicians. During his retirement he helped plan the new `Scholes' block which will stand as a fitting memorial to his services to the hospital and to the community. He died on 11 September, 1954, at the home of his life-long friend, Mr GR Nicholas, his wife having predeceased him.