The evolution of most careers is the result of interaction between external factors and inherent personalities, and in the career of James Struan Robertson the earliest determinant was primogeniture. It is believed that for at least seven successive generations the eldest sons of his family studied medicine, a tradition which, however, was to end with James. Born in Lismore in 1916, James was the first son of James Inglis Robertson, an Australian graduate of the University of Glasgow and a paediatrician by profession. After schooling at Shore, James entered the University of Sydney, graduating in 1939 with distinction after a course shortened by the war. He was an outstanding student and received the Clayton Prize in Medicine. After the completion of his residency at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, James joined the RAAF in 1940, and after a period at Narrandera he served in New Guinea. However his service career was interrupted by the development of tuberculosis and as a result he was repatriated in 1942, at which time he held the rank of flight-lieutenant.

His initial inclination was to study physiology but Professor Inglis, the then professor of pathology at the University of Sydney became the new external stimulus in the development of James' career, persuading him to accept a post as a part-time demonstrator in pathology and later as a permanent member of the department. It was here that James met Joyce Davison, a biology graduate then working with Professor Inglis, and they were married in 1944. After two years of teaching and research James was awarded a Nuffield Scholarship which took them to Oxford to study with the doyen of pathologists at that time, Sir Howard Florey. James' initial work was in the field of general pathology with particular interest in inflammation. These studies formed the basis of his thesis for which he was awarded his Doctorate of Philosophy by Oxford University. Some difficulty was experienced in finding suitable examiners for this study which was heavily dependent on statistical evaluation, a field in which James had developed particular skills, at a time when medical statisticians were hard to find.

James was contracted to return to the University of Sydney under the terms of his scholarship but en route to Australia a new event redirected his career. The Marks Chair of Pathology at the University of Adelaide had become vacant on the retirement of Professor JB Cleland. James was strongly encouraged by both Inglis and Florey to apply for the post, so he disembarked in Adelaide to be interviewed, and subsequently was awarded the chair at the age of thirty-three years.

It was this appointment which in some ways placed a great strain on James' personality and imposed limitations on his subsequent scientific career. Essentially a shy man with a reserved Scottish temperament, James found the demands of administration and public office rather stressful and a distraction from his main interest of research work. He was twice assistant dean of the faculty of medicine but declined the post of dean. He set very high standards in his role as a teacher but he preferred the quiet of his laboratory. Here he fostered research into aspects of inflammation, blood flow, neuropathology and the early use of electronmicroscopy in pathology. Under his guidance a succession of young pathologists were trained, and five of these subsequently were elected to university chairs.

A study leave trip to America in 1960 brought a new and absorbing interest in the hitherto largely ignored field of road accident trauma. He returned with early models of car seat belts and pioneered their introduction into Adelaide. Under his guidance the university created a Road Accident Research Unit, which directed the disciplines of engineering, trauma pathology, psychology and road design towards the investigation of road traffic accidents, one of the first such projects anywhere in the world. He stimulated the formulation of the NHMRC's Traffic Injury Committee and was for a time its chairman. The work of this unit still continues in several centres producing important research projects. He was foundation fellow of the RCPA and for four years served as chief examiner in morbid anatomy.

Perhaps less evident to his associates were his other interests in life. He was an enthusiastic if somewhat erratic golfer, a sport which he commenced rather later than most golfers. He was interested in photography, utilising his skills in teaching, particularly in his clinico-pathology conferences which were of outstanding quality. He also combined with RAA Pellew on clinical ward rounds foreshadowing the concept of topic teaching. He was a keen reader with an abiding interest in history, and was for some time an aspiring oil painter until he felt his talent to be outshone by that of his daughter who is a professional artist. He was proud of the achievements of his family and actually encouraged his son Gordon to break the family tradition to follow a career in science, a decision which has been validated by the latter's appointment as director of the Molonglo Radio-Observatory near Canberra. James retired from the chair in 1979 two years before the due date, by which time he was developing the symptoms of the progressive illness which was to cause increasing disability in the last four years of his life, but which he bore with stoicism. He is survived by his wife Joyce, daughter Clare, and son Gordon, and also by his brother Tom, a distinguished fellow of this College.