Fred Hollows

Frederick (Fred) Cossom Hollows, AC (born April 9 1929 in Dunedin, New Zealand – died February 10 1993 in New South Wales, Australia) was an ophthalmologist who became known for his work in restoring eyesight for countless thousands of people in Australia and many other countries. It has been estimated that more than one million people in the world can see today because of initiatives instigated by Hollows, the most notable example being The Fred Hollows Foundation.

Early life

Fred Hollows was one of four children, the others being Colin, John, and Maurece. All were born in Dunedin, New Zealand, to Joseph and Clarice (Marshall) Hollows. Joseph Hollows was a truck driver. The family lived in Dunedin for the first seven years of his life. He had one year of informal primary schooling at North East Valley Primary School and began attending Palmerston North Boys' High School when he was 13, where he joined several clubs.Fact|date=January 2008

Hollows received his BA degree from Victoria University of Wellington. He briefly studied at a seminary, but decided against a life in the clergy. After observing the doctors at a mental hospital during some charity work, he instead enrolled at Otago Medical School. While living in Dunedin he was an active member of the New Zealand Alpine Club and made several first ascents of mountains in the Mount Aspiring region of Central Otago.

Hollows was a member of the Communist Party of New Zealand during the 1950s and 1960s. [ [http://www.greenleft.org.au/1993/88/4605 Editorial: Fred Hollows] - GreenLeft online. 17 February 1993] ]

In 1961 he went to Moorfields Eye Hospital in England to study ophthalmology. He then did post-graduate work in Wales before moving to Australia in 1965 where he became associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. From 1965-1992 he chaired the ophthalmology division overseeing the teaching departments at the University of New South Wales, and the Prince of Wales and Prince Henry hospitals.

Hollows was married twice: in 1958 to Mary Skiller, who died in 1975, and in 1980 to Gabi O’Sullivan.

Medical career

Early in the 1970s, Hollows worked with the Gurindji people at Wave Hill in the Northern Territory and then with the people around Bourke and other isolated New South Wales towns, stations and Aboriginal communities. He became especially concerned with the high number of Aborigines who had eye disorders, particularly trachoma. In July 1971, with Mum (Shirl) Smith and others, he set up the Aboriginal Medical Service in suburban Redfern in Sydney, and subsequently assisted in the establishment of medical services for Aboriginal People throughout Australia. [Mum Shirl, Mum Shirl: an autobiography, Mammoth Australia, 1992, pp 107 ISBN 1863301445]

He is responsible for organising the Royal Australian College of Ophthalmologists to establish the National Trachoma and Eye Health Program (the "Trachoma Program") 1976-1978, with funding by the Federal Government. [Powerhouse Museum, " [http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/australia_innovates/?behaviour=view_article&Section_id=1030&article_id=10100 National Trachoma and Eye Health Program 1976] - improving eye health in remote communities", Accessed August 14, 2008] Hollows himself spent three years visiting Aboriginal communities to provide eye care and carry out a survey of eye defects. More than 460 Aboriginal communities were visited, and 62,000 Aboriginal People were examined, leading to 27,000 being treated for trachoma and 1,000 operations being carried out. [Hugh R Taylor, " [http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/175_07_011001/taylor/taylor.html Trachoma in Australia] ", Medical Journal of Australia 2001; 175: 371-372, Accessed August 13, 2008]

Overseas work

His visits to Nepal in 1985, Eritrea in 1987, and Vietnam in 1991 resulted in training programs to train local technicians to perform eye surgery. [Ruit S, Brian G, Hollows F., "On the practicalities of eye camp cataract extraction and intraocular lens implantation in Nepal", Ophthalmic Surgery. 1990 Dec;21(12):862-5. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2096350 Abstract] Accessed August 13, 2008] [Fred Hollows and Garry Brain, " [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=504113 Eye surgery in Eritrea] ", British Journal of Ophthalmology 1991 January; 75(1): 64. Accessed August 13, 2008] Hollows organized intraocular lens laboratories in Eritrea and Nepal to manufacture and provide lenses at cost, which was about A$10 (approximately US$9) each. Both laboratories started production after his death, in 1993.
The Fred Hollows Foundation was launched as an Australian charitable foundation in Sydney on September 3 1992 to continue the work of Fred Hollows in providing eye care for the underprivileged and poor, and to improve the health of indigenous Australians. [Fred Hollows Foundation, " [http://www.hollows.org/Network/#1 Our Network] " Fred Hollows Foundation International Website. Accessed August 13, 2008] The Foundation has also registered as a charity organisation in the United Kingdom where Fred did much of his training, and in his country of birth, New Zealand.

Controversy

A controversy unfolded in March 1992, when Hollows spoke at the Alice Springs National Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Conference. His approach to this topic was straight to the point. Hollows argued that some areas of the AIDS campaign were being inadequately dealt with. According to "The Australian"’s Martin Thomas, Hollows stated that some homosexuals were “recklessly spreading the virus”. Therefore, the safe sex campaign was an inadequate way of dealing with the issue. To contain the disease, Hollows argued that promiscuity needed to be addressed. Hollows observed the spread of AIDS in contemporary African communities and he was concerned that AIDS would spread as vehemently through Aboriginal communities. Clearly, Hollows infuriated some sections of the community with his comments, but apparently did not cause widespread condemnation. [ [http://www.henrythornton.com/article.asp?article_id=4246 The Hissink File - August 2006] ] [ [http://www.adf.com.au/archive.php?doc_id=100 AIDS - Have we got it Right?] - ADF]

Death

Hollows died in Sydney in 1993 at the age of 63. The cause of his death was metastatic renal cancer primarily affecting his lungs and brain. He had been diagnosed with the disease six years earlier. Upon his death the Chief Minister of the ACT, Rosemary Follett, described Hollows to her parliamentary colleagues as "an egalitarian and a self-named anarcho-syndicalist who wanted to see an end to the economic disparity which exists between the First and Third Worlds and who believed in no power higher than the best expressions of the human spirit found in personal and social relationships." [Rosemary Follett, "ACT Parliamentary Hansard" 16 February 1993]

Hollows was given a state funeral service at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, and, in accordance with his wishes, was interred in Bourke, where he had worked in the early 1970s. [ [http://www.hollows.org/Fred_Bourke/ Fred in Bourke] - The Fred Hollows Foundation International] He was survived by his wife Gabi Hollows (an "Australian Living Treasure"), and children Tanya, Ben, Cam, Emma, Anna-Louise, Ruth and Rosa, and his two Grandchildren Nicholas and Isabella.

Recognition and awards

*1981: Advance Australia Award for Aboriginal eye care.
*1985: was a consultant to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
*1985: awarded the Order of Australia but he refused to accept it because he was appalled at what he called blatant government disinterest in eye care for Aboriginal people. However, he went on to become an Australian citizen on April 26 1989.
*1990: received Human Rights Medal
*1990: named Australian of the Year
*1990: received a second Advance Australia Award, for Medicine and Overseas Aid
*1991: named "Humanist of the Year" [Humanist Society of Victoria " [http://home.vicnet.net.au/~humanist/resources/aushumanists.html Australian Humanists of the Year] " Accessed August 13, 2008]
*1991: named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International
*1991: received Honorary Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Science, University of New South Wales
*1991: appointed AC - Companion, General Division of the Order of Australia
*1991: received Honorary Doctor of Science, Macquarie University
*1991: named the first honorary citizen of Eritrea
*1992: received Honorary Doctorate, Queensland University of Technology
*1993: received Albert Schweitzer Award of Distinction, Chapman University, USA
*1993: received Rotary International's highest honour, the "Rotary Award for World Understanding".
*1993: received the "Royal Australian College of Ophthalmologists Medal" for his years of distinguished meritorious and selfless service – presented to him the night before he died.
*1993: posthumously named a "Melvin Jones Fellow" of Lions Clubs International.
*2004: entered into the 'Hall of Fame' at the inaugural NSW Aboriginal Health Awards, in recognition of his "outstanding contribution and achievement to Indigenous health in Australia".
*2005: an operating theatre was named after him at Canberra Eye Hospital, ACT, Australia.
*2005: named one of "New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers" by Prime Television New Zealand.
*2006: named one of the "100 most influential Australians" by The Bulletin magazine. [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/the-100-most-influential-australians/2006/06/26/1151174135442.html The 100 most influential Australians] - The Bulletin and The Sydney Morning Herald. June 27 2006]

Footnotes

ources

* [http://webadmin.hollows.org/Assets/Files/Schools%20factsheet%20Fred%20Hollows.pdf Fred Hollows - Information Sheet] - The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ
* [http://www.hollows.org.au/Fred/Awards/ Recognition and Awards] - The Fred Hollows Foundation
* [http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/1993/88/88p8edit.htm Green Left Weekly obituary]
* [http://www.racismnoway.com.au/classroom/factsheets/60.html Racism no way fact sheet]