Dorothy Roseby, Secretary of the College from its foundation in 1938 until her retirement in December 1974, was an important and influential figure during its early development and its growth to a lusty maturity. She joined a recently incorporated body of only 230 Fellows. When she died in January 1992 there were over 5000 Fellows in the College, and its influence had spread widely, particularly in South-East Asia and the Pacific.

Born in Sydney in 1915, the youngest of four children of Lionel Roseby, real estate agent, and his wife Ethel, she attended MLC School, Burwood (then known as Methodist Ladies College). Dorothy showed leadership qualities while still at school and had an excellent scholastic and sporting record. She was dux of the school in 1931 and head prefect in 1932, when she won an exhibition to study science at the University of Sydney. Graduating BSc in 1936, she completed a secretarial and typing course while doing part-time teaching at the University. Thus equipped, early in 1937 she took on her first fulltime job, as senior secretarial assistant at the University Appointments Board.

Dorothy worked there until July 1938 when she was offered the position of secretary of The Royal Australasian College of Physicians. She was the first, and for some time, the only employee of the young College. Coming with a glowing reference from the secretary of the Board, she quickly demonstrated by the high standard of her work that he had in no way exaggerated her qualities and skills.

Already a perfectionist in her attention to detail, she soon learned further administrative and communication skills from her association with office bearers of the College, such as the first president, Sir Charles Blackburn (qv 1), and the early honorary secretaries and treasurers, Allan Walker, SA Smith, AH Tebbutt, CG McDonald and Walter MacCallum (qqv 1) – all cultured men, of a literary mind and experienced in dealing with individuals and organisations. In Dorothy they had a willing pupil who admired them greatly. She may well also have learned from one or two of them the habit of enjoying a whisky, and perhaps a cigarette, after a hard working session.

Dorothy learned rapidly and, with the guidance of Allan Walker in particular, devised for the College a sound records system and administrative structure which served well for many years. Before too long, Dorothy the pupil was easily able to take on the role of teacher, and would lucidly explain to new office bearers details of the College organisation and procedures. She also became a masterly composer of letters and reports with a clear exposition, a logical flow of argument and excellent English expression. Many such “drafts”, as she called them, would be thankfully accepted and signed by office bearers without even minor alteration.

She possessed some remarkable qualities. One was a capacity to choose the right people for the staff, and then to train and develop them to her standards of work, appearance and behaviour. As a result she built up a first-class team of young women who worked well together and admired and respected Dorothy. She was also their adviser and confidante. In the rather irreverent way which was typical of him, Dick Harris (qv 1), when honorary secretary in the early 1960s, would refer to her as “The Mother Superior” as she guided her staff with a combination of firmness and motherly concern. The term was apt and Dorothy took it in good part.

She was a great organiser and leader. An innocent young physician going to her for information or guidance on a College matter might easily find before leaving that he had been recruited for a task and had readily agreed to take it on.

She had an unusual capacity for making friends. During her years with the College she met many people and formed and maintained friendships in many places. When travelling she knew that she would be warmly welcomed wherever she went.

Her pleasant appearance, outgoing personality gentle humour, air of confidence and ability to mix easily with all kinds of people made her an excellent representative of the College and deeply impressed those she met.

Dorothy attended all meetings of the council and the executive committee and had regular and frequent discussions with the office bearers. Hence her knowledge of the College was considerable. In addition, with her logical mind and memory for detail, she developed an excellent understanding of the policies developed by the College and the reasons behind them. Her advice was often sought on wide range of College matters and there were some who came to believe that she ran the College and influenced its decisions. This was never so. She always maintained a great regard and respect for the office bearers and councillors who collectively bore the responsibility for these matters, and she faithfully carried out their instructions.

At the same time there was a human side which remained largely hidden. Underneath her confident exterior she was rather shy and conscious of her own frailty. Those who worked closely with her over a long period knew that sustained pressures were not easy for her and could make her anxious, depressed and tearful.

The early 1970s were difficult years. The College was undergoing many changes, including the phasing out of members as a class, the introduction of compulsory training programs for those aspiring to become Fellows, the accreditation of hospitals and training posts, radical changes in examinations, the development of effective continuing education for physicians, and increasing activity in South-East Asia. All of this meant a heavy extra workload for Dorothy and her relatively small but dedicated staff. At the same time, the building known as “Harley” next to the College was demolished to the accompaniment of much noise and dust, and the College staff members were working in makeshift offices during an extensive renovation of the College building itself.

Back in 1940 Dorothy had become engaged to a young RAAF trainee pilot. He was posted missing in 1943 and never found. This young woman, still in her twenties, had been dealt a terrible blow. Thereafter she had given her life completely to the College, and in the 1970s she was beginning to find the College work difficult to cope with and began to look forward to her retirement. This event took place at the end of 1974 just before her sixtieth birthday.

Dorothy had been awarded the MBE in 1964 for her services to medicine, and in 1975 the College expressed its thanks to her by making her an Honorary Fellow, its highest award, granted to very few. She accepted the award with great pride. Soon after her retirement the College council appointed Dorothy as honorary archivist. With her knowledge of the history of the College she was able to do much to ensure that important records were preserved for historical purposes.

She remained in contact with her many friends and was physically active until a few years before her death, when rheumatoid arthritis, which had first appeared about 1980, became more of a problem and began to limit her activities. She also had a bone marrow disorder, which made her prone to infections but otherwise remained quiescent until her final illness. This began in November 1991 when she fractured the neck of her left femur in a fall. She had a successful hip joint replacement but serious complications left her very weak. Just as she seemed to be overcoming these problems she fell again and refractured the same femur. Another operation was performed on 31 December, but once again there were complications and this time they were too much for her weakened body. She died in Mona Vale Hospital on 22 January 1992.

Her two older sisters, Hazel and Rital had predeceased her by some years. She was survived by her brother John, his wife Miriam, her brother-in-law Max Cadogan and five nieces, one of these being (Patricia) Sue Morey, a distinguished Fellow of the College and the first president of the Australian Faculty of Public Health Medicine within the College. The Roseby family in Australia has a strong tradition of service to the community and to education in keeping with its Congregational and Methodist background. Dorothy upheld and furthered that tradition. She was cremated with the rites of the Uniting Church at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium, Sydney on 24 January 1992.

The College Council resolved in 1992 to establish a memorial to her in the form of a staff development award titled “The Dorothy Roseby Award”.