When Malcolm Cockburn died on 12 May 1965, South Australia lost not only one of its most senior and respected paediatricians but a most colourful personality as well. He always had a fund of stories which were most humorously told.

He completed his medical course at the Adelaide University in 1925. After several years of postgraduate study overseas he returned in 1929 to begin his association with the Adelaide Children's Hospital. He was its medical superintendent until 1932 and continued as an honorary physician for many years. In 1936 he gained his MD and he was elected a foundation Fellow of The Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 1938. He was also a foundation member of the Australian Paediatric Association and eventually its president in 1957-58. He served for six years in the armed forces both in the UK and the Middle East and rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He then returned to continue both his association with the Children's Hospital and his busy private practice where his counselling skills were much in demand.

In 1959 he became medical administrator at the Adelaide Children's Hospital. His experience, wisdom and good humour were invaluable at that time when the Hospital was rapidly expanding. He was honorary paediatrician at the Queen Victoria Maternity Hospital and the Mareeba Babies' Hospital. He was lecturer in medical diseases of children in the medical faculty and was interested in the SA branch of the Australian Medical Association.

His was a life dedicated to the Children's Hospital for over thirty-five years both as a physician and administrator. He was a man of great personal charm with a wide circle of friends and a great sense of humour. He will long be remembered by his friends, patients and parents alike.