Robert Quentin-Baxter was born in Waimate where his father practised as a surveyor. During his earlier life there his father taught him to fish and he acquired his angling skill and love of Canterbury rivers and lakes, which endured throughout his life. As he grew beyond the services of the local school, his parents sent him to Otago Boys' High School. Although he was always small and appeared of rather frail physique, he became a captain of both the first XV and first XI. When talking about this, of which he was naturally proud, he was at pains to point out that although both teams achieved success in school matches, he was not one of the stars of either. However, he continued to play rugby for the University of Otago when he went there as a medical student, and got a university blue.

At this time, medical education was primitive — probably all over the world — certainly in Otago. There were full-time professors for preliminary science subjects and for anatomy and physiology, although they all suffered from lack of support and help. When it came to clinical teaching, this was entrusted to the honorary visiting staff of the local hospital. These men were all engaged in busy general practice and it was astounding the amount of time they devoted both to hospital work, totally unpaid, and to teaching, for which they received what was grandly termed an `honorarium'. It was not done well, but the marvel is that it was done at all'.

This was aggravated, as far as Bob was concerned, by the outbreak of war in 1914, when nearly all the active members of the staff joined the army. Medical students at his grade were prevented from joining the army until they had done at least a year as house-surgeons, and so after not very satisfactory tuition, he went to Wellington Hospital in October 1915 and continued until May 1916. Here he found the lack of advice from seniors was even worse than in Dunedin, and untrained residents had total responsibility for serious cases, quite outside the limit of their abilities. Bob was horrified at the results of his own treatment and decided that he would not practise until he had received more tuition. He went straight from Wellington to the Western front where he experienced the dangers and discomforts of trench warfare. He was particularly upset by the bloodbath of Passchendaele where he received the immediate award of the Military Cross for gallantry in treating patients under fire.

At the end of the war his demobilisation was slow and he was able to marry in October 1919, his fiancée Dorothy Barclay, the daughter of the local GP in Waimate, who had come to England. He was persuaded to join the staff of Queen Mary Hospital, Hanmer, a military hospital for war neuroses. This was a very pleasant life with an agreeable chief and pleasant country where there was excellent local fishing. From his chief, he learned one thing of importance "listen to your patient". However, he realised this was not getting on with the medical education he had promised himself and so he went to England to search out possibilities of rectifying this. Good fortune took him to St George's Hospital whose football team was doing badly, and they were anxious to recruit a New Zealander with a university blue as a member of the team. He pointed out he had not played for years but consented to play in a match almost immediately. His performance was abysmal and the club was relieved to be rid of him as he was of them. At St George's the resident staff were keen, and most of them were men like himself whose education had been interrupted by the war. Consulting staff were also keen. One of the most forward was James Collier, a rather theatrical teacher whose clinics at both St George's and Queen Square were always crowded. Eventually Bob became his house-physician and profited so much from his advice that he passed the examination for MRCP in 1925. Collier urged him to apply for a job in Queen Square, but as this meant at least another year in England, and he had a wife and child in New Zealand he went instead to the West End Hospital for Nervous Diseases for six months. He then returned to New Zealand to commence practice in Christchurch and was appointed almost immediately to the honorary consulting staff. His association with Hanmer naturally meant that he was at first looked to for advice on the treatment of neuroses, although his London training had been largely in neurology.

His appointment to Christchurch was as a general physician and so he had opportunities to widen his knowledge. He eventually became senior physician acid director of medicine and took part in the training of medical students. He also became president of the local division of the BMA and was instrumental in founding the New Zealand Neurological Association of which he became the first president. Bob's work received a fillip with the appointment of Murray Falconer as neurosurgeon in Dunedin, as this appointment also included a consultancy in Christchurch where together they enjoyed a close association.

Bob was made an associate member of the Association of Physicians of Australasia, a rather shadowy precursor of the College and was naturally a foundation fellow. He enjoyed the opening meeting of the College but activities during the war were limited. However he was a regular attender at New Zealand meetings, being a member of the dominion committee for periods between 1940 and 1962. He was vice-president of the College from 1950 to 1952. He retired in 1952, but continued with his private practice and was appointed to the honorary consulting staff and had rather more time for fishing.

Bob's later years were marked by frequent serious operations from which he made a good recovery. To him, his most trying disability was Dupuytren's contracture, which interfered with his holding a rod, and he was happy to put up with a hand with just an index finger and thumb as its only digits so that he could still hold that rod. Bob was able to make a long trip overseas to see his daughter Gillian, and a son, Quentin. Gillian is a graduate in philosophy from both Canterbury and Oxford, who married Jonathan Bennett, then a professor of philosophy in Vancouver and son of FO Bennett. Quentin was on the staff of the embassy in Tokyo and was later to become professor of international law at Victoria University of Wellington. His other two sons stayed in New Zealand, Kimball, as a farmer, and the other, Graham (Bob) as a businessman. Bob had the happy knack of making friends and will be well remembered by his colleagues and patients.