Gordon Mathison

Gordon Clunes Mackay Mathison
Born	1883 Stanley, Victoria, Australia
Died	1915 Alexandria, Egypt War injuries
Nationality	Australia
Fields	Respiratory physiology

Captain Gordon Clunes Mackay Mathison MB BS, MD, DSc, FRCP (born 1883 in Stanley, Victoria, Australia, died 1915 in Alexandria, Egypt) was a physician and medical researcher. He was appointed as the first director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia, but died from wounds received in the Battle of Gallipoli before taking up the position.

Career

Education

Mathison attended Caulfield Grammar School from 1896 to 1900, where his scholarship and good character were later remembered.^[1] From 1901 to 1905 Mathison studied medicine at the University of Melbourne, where he received many academic awards.^[2]

Medical research

Mathison's research career began as a University of Melbourne Scholar studying physiology. In 1907 he travelled to England to take up an appointment as a Sharpey Scholar at University College London. He received a Beit Memorial Fellowship in 1910 to conduct research at University College Hospital, where he was awarded a DSc for his research into the physiology of respiration. During this period he focused on the effects of asphyxia, and was commissioned by the Royal Society to investigate the causes of altitude sickness.^[3][4]

In September 1913 Mathison was appointed Sub-Director of Pathology and Sub-Dean of the Clinical School at the Melbourne Hospital. On 23 April 1915 Mathison was nominated as the first director of the nascent Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, but did not survive to take up the position, which was later offered to Dr Sydney Patterson.^[5][6]

Military Service

While in the United Kingdom, Mathison had been active in the University of London Officers’ Training Corps^[7][8] In August 1914, soon after the outbreak of the World War I, he enlisted in the 2nd Field Ambulance, Australian Army Medical Corps. He embarked with his unit on HMAT A18 Wiltshire from Melbourne to Egypt on 19 October 1914.^[9] Mathison was attached as a medical officer to the 5th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force at the time of the Battle of Gallipoli.

On 10 May 1915, Mathison was killed by a stray shell fragment at Cape Helles.^[10] He was evacuated to Deaconesses Hospital, Alexandria, Egypt, where he died of his wounds on 18 May 1915, and was buried in Chatby War Memorial Cemetery, Alexandria.^[11]

The University of Melbourne established a triennial lecture on medical research in Mathison's honour using an endowment from friends of Mathison.^[12][13] A bequest from Mary Mathison in memory of her son was used to establish the Gordon Clunes Mathison Research Scholarship at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research ^[14]

References

1. ^ Caulfield Grammar School Jubilee book (1931), Ramsay Publishing, Melbourne, Australia, provided by Caulfield Grammar School
2. ^ "PERSONAL.". The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956) (Melbourne, Vic.: National Library of Australia): p. 7. 1 March 1910. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10838168. Retrieved 5 October 2011. 
3. ^ British Medical Journal, p1070, June 19, 1915 PDF of Obituary
4. ^ Caulfield Grammar School Magazine, Volume 1; No 1 1909 (Dec) p15
5. ^ Macfarlane Burnet, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute 1915–1965 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1971).
6. ^ Ann Brothers, A Dedicated Life- Gordon Clunes McKay Mathison. Chiron Journal of the University of Melbourne Medical Society, 2002 Vol 4(5) p52
7. ^ British Medical Journal, p1070, June 19, 1915. PDF of Obituary
8. ^ Caulfield Grammar School Magazine, Volume 1; No 1 1909 (Dec) p15
9. ^ The AIF Project
10. ^ Australian War Memorial World War I Red Cross File: Gordon Clunes Mathison
11. ^ World War I- National Archives of Australia
12. ^ Gordon Mathison killed at Gallipoli- Melbourne Medical School
13. ^ Gordon Clunes McKay Mathison, MBBS 1906, MD 1911 1884-1915 Chiron Journal of the University of Melbourne Medical Society, 1992 Vol 2(5) p16
14. ^ Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Annual Report, 1942

External links

"Tribute to Late Dr. Mathison.". The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956) (Melbourne, Vic.: National Library of Australia): p. 18. 19 May 1917 (Obituary). http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1619070. Retrieved 5 October 2011. 

• The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Persondata
Name	Mathison, Gordon
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1893
Place of birth	Stanley, Victoria, Australia
Date of death	1915
Place of death	Alexandria, Egypt