Tom was born in Lismore NSW to Alice Catherine Selwood and James Herbert Selwood, auctioneer. The Northern Rivers of NSW provides many opportunities for swimming, long walks along magnificent beaches, fishing, bushwalking, all of which Tom enjoyed to the full. He was educated at Lismore High School, which at the time was one of the largest in the state, with a cohort of excellent teachers. He entered competitive swimming and won several state and university championships. Being Tom, he enjoyed telling people that he was a University of Sydney champion breaststroker!

He completed a BSc at the University of Sydney, mainly in maths and physics, then had a year teaching them at Sydney Technical College to save to do an MBBS at the University. The photograph shows Tom teaching at Sydney Technical College. Tom was an outstanding teacher, especially in maths, physics and later in statistics. He supported himself by coaching in the University of Sydney colleges in these subjects, in addition to other night time jobs such a theatre cleaner and the phone answering person at the Sydney Deaf Hostel. There he learnt several sign languages, which contributed in part to his expressive delivery of lectures and stories.

After completing his internships, he decided to do an MSc in medical statistics under Armitage in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), University of London. Tom loved living in London in the early 1970s and greatly enjoyed the location of LSHTM, which enabled him at lunch time to drop into the Christies and Sotherbys pre-auction wine tastes and in the evening to attend the opera and the ballet. He was particularly fond of Wagner and was attending 'Lohengrin' shortly before his thesis was submitted. During the interval, he worked on his computer print outs, which in those days were very large and felt that someone was staring at him. He looked around to find Armitage and his wife sitting behind him. Apparently, Armitage was undisturbed by his extracurricular activities and offered him a lectureship when he graduated.

In 1973, Basil Hetzel visited the LSHTM and encouraged Tom to return to Australia to work with him at Social and Preventive Medicine, Monash University. This was a very progressive Department and Tom enjoyed lecturing there. He decided to start an MSc with emphasis on medical statistics and health issues, at Monash under Lew Opit, the second head of the Department, who together with Tom and Graeme Oliver did most of the teaching. At the time, medical statistics was relatively little taught in Australia and many persons completed this degree, attracted by the quality of teaching. After Tom died many scientists and doctors told me how much Tom had contributed to their knowledge of and ability with statistics. This was recognised in the award of the FRACP in the Australian Faculty of Public Health Medicine. It was a pity his early illness prevented the completion of his book on understanding medical statistics.

His statistical research was mainly in the areas of skin conditions, cancer and reproductive medicine. He gave the statistical analysis still used in IVF to his colleagues in Monash IVF. He did clinical work in the Family Planning Clinic in medicine and later started a small contraceptive clinic, where he worked to help many women.

He had wide interests and many friends as he was extremely gregarious and enjoyed socialising. He was a very amusing and charming man and it was particularly difficult for him after he was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's in his early 50s. When he was in his early 60s he was one of the unfortunate ones who took Cabaser which had a catastrophic effect in less than 6 months and the subsequent treatment left him requiring full time care. By swimming every day he managed to ameliorate some of the symptoms. He stayed at home until just before he died but was in a nursing home for the last year or so of his life. He was fortunate that he had support from so many neighbours, carers from Uniting Care, friends and family over this difficult period.

He leaves me, his wife, and daughter Jane, who feel fortunate to have had such an entertaining and caring husband and father.